Off The Tourist Trail - 1000 Unexpected Travel Alternatives (Part 2 of 2)

CHAPTER: CITIES









269


















ART AND CULTURE










































MAIN IMAGE The town of Spoleto with the duomo in the foreground
BELOW (left to right) A medieval street; a ballet at the Roman theater; a musical
event in Cathedral Square
4 MORE ARTS FESTIVALS

TO RIVAL THE PROMS

BREGENZER FESTIVAL, AUSTRIA Each summer, this festival
takes over the attractive Austrian town of Bregenz. It combines
drama, operetta, and obscure works with magnificent operas
staged on the shores of Lake Constance.
AIX-EN-PROVENCE FESTIVAL, FRANCE Already the most
fashionable city in France, Aix becomes even more so in July.
Theaters and grand palaces are commandeered for
performances of generally lesser-known classical works.
TANGLEWOOD MUSIC FESTIVAL, MASSACHUSETTS
For three glorious months each summer a vast estate becomes
home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which puts on
large-scale performances every night, providing a musical
score to one of the most beautiful corners of New England.
EDINBURGH INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL, UK Late summer
brings three weeks of world-class opera and dance to the city’s
theaters, while the festival’s once humble sidekick, the “Fringe,”
bursts onto its streets. It’s the perfect festival if you fancy some
offbeat stand-up comedy between symphonies.







US268-269_art_spoleto.indd 269 19/2/09 14:39:56
268-269_art_spoleto.indd 269
16/4/09 11:30:49

270


ART AND CULTURE New York’s












Independent Galleries





vs MoMA




New York’s Museum of Modern Art is as famous as it is massive, but for more eclectic offerings, browse
the city’s unique cutting-edge galleries, where progressive art is on show and often on sale




collection features a great number of superstar Anything’s game – particularly in Brooklyn – from
NEED TO KNOW
paintings, from Picasso’s Les Demoiselles d’Avignon taxidermy in motel settings to marshmallow
LOCATION New York City to Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night. It’s undoubtedly sculptures. That said, this being New York, plenty
is in New York State on the $"/"%"
4FBUUMF
east coast of the USA impressive. But if you’re looking for a more eclectic of the art could also well turn out to be a sound
POPULATION /&8 :03, art experience, make for the city’s progressive art investment. As the saying goes: “If you can make
Around 8.3 million 4BO 'SBODJTDP galleries, both in Manhattan and farther afield in it in New York, you can make it anywhere.” It’s
8BTIJOHUPO % $
VISITORS PER YEAR the city’s boroughs. not just artists who get their start here – artistic
Around 40 million -PT "OHFMFT 6 4 "
Before – long before – an artist has a shot movements do, too.
DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES at showing at the Museum of Modern Art, it’s The home of contemporary art in New York
Jan: 32°F (0°C); Apr: 54°F (12°C); .&9*$0 likely they’ll exhibit in one of New York’s many has long been Chelsea, on Manhattan’s West Side,
Jul: 77°F (25°C); Oct: 57°F (14°C)
independent galleries or art spaces. And a tour though SoHo to the south features a number of
of these will give you the chance to check out big-name galleries wedged between its plush
MoMA – the name alone has become a synonym up-and-coming artists before they make a name shops. But the contemporary art scene is by
worldwide for modern art. In 2004, after an for themselves – to discover them as they’re nature migratory, and Brooklyn, with its high
ambitious building project, the Museum of discovering themselves, as it were. ceilings and low rents, has become the new artistic
Modern Art returned to its Manhattan home, For budding buyers on a budget, these frontier. A visit to the DUMBO Arts Center, for
reopening in a gleaming new space designed by galleries can be a boon, with potentially high-value instance, under the Manhattan Bridge, reveals a
Japanese architect Yoshio Taniguchi. The eye- pieces selling for low prices. But above all, they wealth of artist-friendly industrial structures and
catching building reveals spacious, sky-lit galleries make for a memorable visit. The art can be strange, warehouses, while nearby Williamsburg is
and an elegant sculpture garden. The museum’s sure. Bewildering? Probably. But boring? Rarely. crammed with galleries. For a unique take on
contemporary art in Manhattan, don’t miss the
glowing New Museum on the Bowery.
FORGET MoMA?
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
THE BUILD-UP MoMA offers a double draw:
the world’s largest collection of modern art and Getting There and Around a Midtown hotel with a
sculpture, along with a unique building that is a work New York City is served by three formidable literary and artistic
of contemporary art in itself. The collection major airports: JFK, LaGuardia, history, stay at the comfortable,
showcases most of the modern greats, from Matisse and Newark. You’ll find plenty Edwardian-style Algonquin Hotel
of transportation options (www.algonquinhotel.com).
and Braque to Picasso and Klimt. Surrealist fans, take
within the city.
note – Dalí’s The Persistence of Memory hangs here. When to Go
Where to Eat Spring and early fall usher in
Food in New York is very varied, the finest weather – sunny yet
THE LETDOWN Sadly, art loses some of its appeal
from high-end Italian and French breezy. For fewer crowds, aim
when you have to elbow others out of the way to view
to fiery Latino, with plenty of all- for October and November.
it properly. And the relatively steep entrance fee can
American burgers and hot dogs Budget per Day for Two
be tough to justify for those on a budget. in between. Union Square Cafe The sky’s the limit, but if you stay
ABOVE Lining to see one of the world’s most comprehensive (www.unionsquarecafe.com), in a mid-range hotel, eat out
GOING ANYWAY? Avoid the crowds by visiting the collections of modern art at MoMA a favorite with New Yorkers, once a day, and take public
museum midweek or early in the day. You can get features Italian-influenced fare. transportation, US$250-350
around the pricey entrance fee by going between 4 and 8pm on Fridays, when admission is free, though bear Where to Stay should be enough.
in mind that everyone else in the city will have exactly the same idea, so the place gets packed. New York City features a wide Website
array of accommodations. For www.nycvisit.com







2/4/09 15:43:44
270-271_art_ny_art.indd 270
US270-271_art_ny_art.indd 270 16/4/09 11:30:59

271


















ART AND CULTURE
























































MAIN IMAGE Futuristic lobby at the New Museum BELOW (left to right)
DUMBO Arts Center; installation by Tim Noble and Sue Webster at Deitch
Projects; Zach Feuer Gallery, an influential contemporary art space in Chelsea

























US270-271_art_ny_art.indd 271 16/4/09 11:31:00
270-271_art_ny_art.indd 271
2/4/09 15:44:50

272 5 NEW YORK ART MUSEUMS TO RIVAL MOMA


ART AND CULTURE
































A temporary facade at the Deitch Projects’ Grand Street venue
Deitch Projects
The New Museum on the Bowery, with its precariously stacked levels
Dance performance at the Galapagos Art Space
New Museum
Plush stores may have replaced many of SoHo’s Galapagos Art
experimental galleries, but you’ll still find several
The Bowery was once known for its flophouses artistic stalwarts that have managed to withstand Space
– and those who frequented them. Wandering rising rents. The long-running Deitch Projects has
along this street, you’ll still see vestiges of its gritty evolved with the times, featuring ambitious
past, but also cutting-edge venues such as the exhibits that often blend art, music, design, and Ever in search of cheaper pastures, New York’s
aptly named New Museum. Designed by Japanese performance. The galleries showcase work by contemporary art scene tends towards the
architects Sejima and Nishizawa, this seven-story Keith Haring, and recently featured a superb nomadic. Its newest stomping ground is DUMBO
museum rises like a stack of glowing cubes, casting exhibit on Jean-Michel Basquiat’s work from 1981, (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass),
the Bowery in a new light – literally and figuratively. when the New York artist moved from creating where lofts and galleries dot the crooked streets
The changing collection features a wide range of graffiti art on the streets to working in the studio. under the bridge’s steel span. The Galapagos Art
art, from large-scale photographs of 1960s They also present a wide range of multimedia Space, a high-ceilinged venue that is hung with
America to geometric abstracts of bright, jarring projects made with high-profile artists and enormous canvases and dotted with reflecting
colors that seem to vibrate with movement. musicians, including Madonna, photographer pools of water, is one of the first certified “green”
In keeping with the Bowery’s anti-establishment Steven Klein, and film-maker Michel Gondry. art galleries in New York. Its wide range of eclectic
past, the museum’s curators take an inclusive Some of Deitch Projects’ more memorable works exhibits and performances includes live music from
approach, featuring emerging artists along with have included Yoko Ono’s Ex It (1998), which neo-soul bands; Coney Island burlesque; gamelan
established names. They also celebrate the artistic featured trees growing out of 100 wooden coffins; Indonesian concerts; nights of spoken word
heritage of the neighborhood with the Bowery the unique Street Market (2000), which depicted and poetry by the contributors of Poets & Writers
Artist Tribute, an exhibition on the history of artists an apocalyptic urban street; and a project with magazine; puppetry; and the 60 x 60 show,
in the area, including such 20th-century figures New York artist Swoon in 2008 that involved the involving 60 works by 60 composers in 60 seconds
as Mark Rothko and Roy Lichtenstein. The museum construction of seven boats in the form of floating or less, and featuring writhing dancers in leotards.
hosts a monthly performance series, “Get Weird: sculptures that sailed down the Hudson River It’s modern performance art in all its earnest (and
Experimental and Freaky Jams,” which involves from upstate New York to one of the gallery’s new sometimes questionable) artistry – but you won’t
youth hip-hop shows by Brooklyn school students riverfront spaces in Long Island City. easily forget an evening here. Kids can also get
who are paired with independent musicians. Even Every September, Deitch Projects also heats up their fill of entertainment, with kite-flying on the
the museum views are a departure: instead of the the streets of SoHo with an audacious art parade first Saturday of each month at the nearby Brooklyn
usual iconic cluster of skyscrapers, the top floors involving naked cyclists, giant papier-mâché dolls Bridge Park. Kites are provided, and participants
offer wide vistas of the rooftops of the Lower East of politicians, and massive floating eyeballs. get the chance to fly them over the East River
Side, from its sooty chimneys to its fire escapes. between the Brooklyn and Manhattan bridges, and
compete for titles such as “longest-running kite.”
Practical Information
Practical Information Address 76 Grand Street, SoHo (note that the Deitch Projects has two other
Address 235 Bowery, Lower East Side; tel. +1 212 219 1222; locations:18 Wooster Street in SoHo and 4–40 44th Drive in Long Island, Practical Information
www.newmuseum.org Queens); tel. +1 212 343 7300; www.deitch.com Address 16 Main Street, DUMBO, Brooklyn; tel. +1 718 222 8500,
Getting There Subway: line 6 to Spring Street or lines N or R to Getting There Subway: line 1; lines A, C or E; lines N, R or W; or lines 4, 5 www.galapagosartspace.com
Prince Street. or 6 to Canal Street. Getting There Subway: line F to York Street or line A to High Street.
Opening Times Noon–6pm Wed, Sat & Sun, noon–9pm Thu–Fri. Opening Times Noon–6pm Tue–Sat. Opening Times Times vary, so call ahead.







16/4/09 13:37:19
272-273_ny_art_fo.indd 272
US272-273_ny_art_fo.indd 272 24/7/09 10:11:24

273















ART & CULTURE























Exhibition opening at the Agora Gallery in Chelsea

Chelsea’s Colourful artworks inside Momenta Art

Galleries Momenta Art in

Williamsburg
New York’s best-known gallery district is Chelsea,
with 200-plus galleries within an eight-block
radius on the west side of Manhattan. The breadth Space is at a premium in Manhattan, and spiking
and range (and occasional audacity) of the art rents in SoHo and Chelsea have squeezed out many
here is formidable, with powerhouse galleries like artists over the last couple of decades. Next stop?
Gagosian sharing the windswept streets with Brooklyn – and specifically the working-class
plenty of up-and-coming spaces, where many neighborhood of Williamsburg, which has become
emerging artists have their New York debuts. one of New York’s most artistic districts thanks to
The best way to experience Chelsea is by ABOVE Exterior of the Gagosian Gallery in Chelsea its relatively inexpensive warehouses and lofts.
wandering and window-watching; before long, The progressive, friendly Momenta Art stands
you’ll be drawn in. The airy Agora Gallery, which provoking series “Self Eaters and the People out as one of Williamsburg’s more experimental
has been here since 1984, features memorable Who Love Them” has made her a name to watch. venues, with every medium imaginable, from
local and international works, from Andalusian- Other exhibitions have included Tom McGrath’s video satires set in South America to baskets
style Art-Nouveau pieces depicting men in aerial paintings of the East Coast suburbs and woven entirely out of one-dollar bills. Other shows
swirling capes and women draped in lacy shawls urbanized southern California. Raise the have included Seher Shah’s Black Star Project, a
to moody paintings of the Scandinavian coastline entertainment value by touring Chelsea on a portfolio of 25 prints that explore the geometry of
bathed in the northern lights. Thursday night, when galleries often celebrate the cube and its associations as an architectural
The long-running Barbara Gladstone Gallery, the opening of new shows with plenty of element and religious symbol; Elisabeth Kley’s
a model of industrial chic with its grey metal free-flowing wine, nibbles, and chatter. These ambitious drawings, ceramics, and video featuring
façade, cement floors, and snow-white walls, lively events will offer you the chance to extravagant personalities and architecture, from
showcases plenty of bankable artists, along with mingle with other art-lovers, meet artists, and Salvador Dali to Coco Chanel; and Arnold von
rising stars. Exhibitions here have featured works perhaps walk out with a signed work of art. Wedemeyer’s unique video pieces, which have
by 15 artists of different generations who explored been known to present a vase of tulips withering
themes of aspiration and frustration; an overview or a slice of bread hardening. For those with an
Practical Information
of the work of artist Mario Merz, a leading figure eye to buy, note that artwork here is generally far
Agora Gallery 530 West 25th Street; tel. +1 212 226 4151; subway: C or E
in the Arte Povera (“poor art”) movement of the to 23rd Street; 11am–6pm Tue–Sat; www.agora-gallery.com less expensive than in Manhattan galleries.
1960s and 70s; and Jean-Luc Mylayne’s large color
Barbara Gladstone Gallery 515 West 24th Street; tel. +1 212 206 9300;
photographs of birds in their natural subway: C or E to 23rd Street; 10am–6pm Tue–Sat; www.gladstonegallery.com
environments in New Mexico and Texas. Gagosian Gallery 555 West 24th Street; tel. +1 212 741 1111; subway: Practical Information
Address 359 Bedford Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn; tel. +1 718 218
The risk-taking Zach Feuer Gallery is at the C or E to 23rd Street; 10am–6pm Tue–Sat; www.gagosian.com 8058; www.momentaart.org
forefront of New York’s art scene, introducing Zach Feuer Gallery 530 West 24th Street; tel. +1 212 989 7700; subway: C Getting There Subway: line L to Bedford.
such artists as Dana Schutz, whose thought- or E to 23rd Street; 10am–6pm Tue–Sat; www.zachfeuer.com Opening Times Noon–6pm Thu–Mon.







US272-273_ny_art_fo.indd 273 16/4/09 13:37:31
272-273_ny_art_fo.indd 273
16/4/09 11:44:18

274 44 MORE DESTINATIONS FOR OF ART AND CULTURE


ART AND CULTURE






























ABOVE Works from the Ancient Art Collection at the Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels, Belgium
RIGHT Vivid 14th-century frescoes by the Florentine artist Giotto in the Capella degli Scrovegni, Padua, Italy

MUSÉES ROYAUX DES BEAUX-ARTS DE BELGIQUE, BRUSSELS, BELGIUM The poem GIOTTO FRESCOES, CAPELLA DEGLI SCROVEGNI, PADUA, ITALY Here in this chapel,
Musée des Beaux Arts, written by W. H. Auden after a visit to this gallery, is a hymn of praise Giotto, the shepherd-boy painter from Florence, produced his most complete series of
to old masters such as Hieronymus Bosch and Pieter Brueghel, famous for capturing daily frescoes. Painted between 1303 and 1305, its depictions of the life of Christ and the Virgin
life with wonderful realism. That was in 1938, when the museum occupied a former royal Mary are full of human warmth and a sense of calm; honesty is imbued in the simple
palace in the Belgian capital. Today the palace holds the Ancient Art Collection, while a figures, and the vivid colors have endured. The barrel-vaulted chapel holds the tomb of
new building houses work from the 18th century on, including a room devoted to local its patron, Enrico Scrovegni. He commissioned the work to atone for his userer father, whom
Surrealist René Magritte. The whole collection is one of the finest of its kind. the Renaissance poet, Dante Alighieri, had just confined to hell in The Divine Comedy.



GARMA FESTIVAL, NORTHERN TERRITORIES, AUSTRALIA Every August thousands VILLA MAJORELLE, MARRAKECH, MOROCCO Villa Majorelle demonstrates the
of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians are joined by foreign visitors in Garma in dramatic emotive effects of color and design. With the sun radiating off piercing blue
Arnhem Land, home of the Yolngu tribe, for this five-day event in celebration of the walls, it is impossible to walk through the villa’s garden without feeling happy. The shade
country’s indigenous culture. Apart from the sale of art, and much reveling in music, of blue is even named bleu majorelle after Jacques Majorelle, the painter who designed
song, and dance, the festival provides a forum for discussion and debate on Aboriginal and built the property in French colonial days. More recently it belonged to the French
issues. Staged on the remote Gove Peninsula overlooking the Gulf of Carpentaria, it’s a couturier Yves St Laurent and his partner, Pierre Bourgé, whose collection of North
memorable spot in which to contemplate Australia’s cultural heritage. African textiles is in the Islamic Art Museum of Marrakech, housed in the main building.



THE BOATHOUSE, LAUGHARNE, UK BAUHAUS, DESSAU, GERMANY Walter DOMAINE DES COLLETTES, CANNES, ALBA INTERNATIONAL TRUFFLE FAIR,
Tucked into a cliff, looking out across a Gropius’s 1920s straight-lined Bauhaus FRANCE In the hills behind Cannes lies a PIEDMONT, ITALY In a region renowned
Welsh river estuary, the Boathouse is an Building, a powerhouse of art, design, small farm where the Impressionist artist for its food, this is the gourmet highlight.
inspirational spot. Described as “sea and architecture, is an icon of classical Pierre-Auguste Renoir spent the last 11 Every October, food experts from all over
shaken on a breakneck of rocks” by Dylan modernism. While still actively involved years of his life. Setting up his easel in its the world descend on the hilltop town of
Thomas, who spent the last years of his in experimental design, research, and lovely ancient olive grove, he painted Alba to indulge in local delicacies such as
life here, it is hard to imagine a better teaching, it also hosts exhibitions and right to the end, his brushes strapped to chocolate, nougat, cheese, and wine. The
place for a writer in search of solitude. Up events. Nearby Bauhaus gems include his arthritic fingers. The original furniture prized white truffles are sold in a special
the road lies Laugharne, the town he the Masters’ Houses, the Törten Estate is preserved in the house together with tent, at astronomical prices – a single
fictionalized in his play Under Milk Wood. and the cool Kornhaus restaurant. sculptures, paintings, and memorabilia. truffle once sold for 95,000 euros.


EPIDAVROS THEATRE, GREECE Take CÉSAR MANRIQUE FOUNDATION, THE PHOTOGRAPHERS’ GALLERY,
center stage in this 15,000-seat theater LANZAROTE, CANARY ISLANDS LONDON, UK At its launch in 1971, this
and clear your throat – and you will be In Lanzarote, it can be hard to tell where was the first independent photographic
heard 50 rows back. The acoustics here nature ends and buildings begin. One gallery in London. By 2008 it was drawing
are impeccable, and the setting, in the man is responsible for this unusually half a million visitors a year, and has moved
Peloponnese countryside, makes this the sympathetic architecture, inspired by the into a new, purpose-built six-story
perfect Greek theater. Watching a play island’s folds of flowing lava and green, building due to be completed in 2011. It
here can still induce catharsis – the mental palm-filled valleys: César Manrique. mounts popular exhibitions, encourages
and emotional healing believed by Greeks His own beautiful home is built around new talent, and awards an International
to be achieved by watching a drama. five volcanic bubbles. Photography Prize every year.








11/3/09 17:23:11
US274-275_art_misc1.indd 274 16/4/09 12:34:02
274-275_art_misc1.indd 274

275


















ART AND CULTURE














ABOVE Exterior of the National Museum of Mali, Bamako, a showcase for the country’s cultural talent
LEFT Flamboyant European-style architecture at the grandiose Amazon Theater in Manaus, Brazil

AMAZON THEATER, MANAUS, BRAZIL One might well ask how this preposterously NATIONAL MUSEUM OF MALI, BAMAKO This is one of Africa’s finest archaeological
pink belle époque opera house came to be built in a port city in the middle of the South and ethnographic museums. Among several thousand cultural and art objects, perhaps
American rain forest. Step inside and you could be in any opera house in Europe: its the most interesting are the vast collections of photographs and musical instruments.
decorations and furniture hail from France, its marble from Italy, its porcelain and glass Mali is renowned worldwide for its music, and here you can find out all about its roots:
from Venice, and its cast-iron columns and banisters from Britain. The international effort field research has produced hour upon hour of recordings. The museum puts on regular
seems to have been worthwhile – more than a hundred years on, the venue is thriving, musical events as well as films and fashion shows, and plays host to the biennial African
with a varied repetoire of opera, dance, music, and film. Photography Encounters exhibition of contemporary photographic work.



MUSEUM OF ISLAMIC ART, DOHA, AMBER ROOM, CATHERINE PALACE, BERLIN FILMMUSEUM, GERMANY This fantastic celebration of German cinema comprises
QATAR This elegant, understated ST PETERSBURG, RUSSIA A glitzy show four floors of cutting-edge design and effects in the Sony Centre on Potsdamer Platz. It
building, a late work by the American of wealth and craftsmanship, the Amber shows what towering figures and films emerged out of the industry, from silent movies
architect I. M. Pei, is set on an island in the Room comprises six tons of amber. Today’s such as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis and Marlene Dietrich’s Blue Angel, to Werner Herzog and
bay of Qatar. With a wonderful domed room is a reconstruction. The original, a other stars of the German New Wave. Many black-and-white greats were made in Berlin’s
atrium, it holds treasures from across the gift from Friedrich I of Prussia to Russia’s huge Filmpark Babelsber, the world’s oldest large-scale film studios. Once employed to
Islamic world, from Spain to India. Peter the Great, was looted in World War II. make Nazi propaganda films, they are now revitalized, back in use, and open to visitors.


DALÍ THEATRE-MUSEUM, FIGUERES, GUGGENHEIM FOUNDATION, VENICE, CARPET MUSEUM, TEHRAN, IRAN
SPAIN Decorated with bread rolls, this ITALY For 30 years the wealthy American Persia is synonymous with carpets, and a
museum is no doubt the best place to art collector Peggy Guggenheim lived in visit to this museum helps to understand
see what the eccentric Spanish Surrealist the fabulous Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on their history, beauty, and craftsmanship,
artist would himself have described as his Venice’s Grand Canal. A visit to the gallery and their place at the center of Middle-
fantastic genius. Among trompe-l’oeil established here after her death is worth Eastern cultural life. The tradition goes
paintings and other visual jokes are a it as much for the opportunity to step back to 2,500 BC and continues to this
Cadillac with a raining interior and a sofa inside this intimate palace as to admire day. The building, designed in 1978 by
shaped like Mae West’s lips. Dalí himself, the 20th-century art she collected. The the then queen, Farah Diba Pahlavi,
ever the showman, is buried in the crypt. sculpture garden is especially delightful. resembles a carpet loom.


MUSEUM OF BAD ART, BOSTON, USA THREE CHOIRS FESTIVAL, UK Held TOULOUSE-LAUTREC MUSEUM, ALBI,
“It’s clear that many of these artists every summer for nearly 300 years, this is FRANCE The episcopal palace in Albi
suffered for their art,” says MOBA; “now it’s one of the world’s oldest classical choral offers an unlikely window onto the demi-
your turn.” With galleries in Somerville festivals. It rotates between three of monde of belle époque Paris. With a fine
and Dedham Square, this is a collection Britain’s great cathedrals, at Worcester, garden overlooking the Tarn River, this
of previously ignored or abandoned Hereford, and Gloucester, with the host ancient palace-fortress houses the largest
artworks garnered from piles of garbage organist acting as musical director. The collection of works by Henri Toulouse-
and thrift stores. It pokes fun at the most week-long event is a choral extravaganza Lautrec, who grew up in the town. It has
pompous aspects of the art world, of chamber music, opera, organ recitals, his famous Moulin Rouge posters as well
leaving you wondering: what is art for? theater, talks, and exhibitions. as works by his contemporaries.








US274-275_art_misc1.indd 275 11/3/09 17:23:41
274-275_art_misc1.indd 275
16/4/09 12:34:03

276


ART AND CULTURE





























ABOVE Floral tributes decorating the statue of a saint in one of the shrines at Las Pozas, Xilitla, Mexico
RIGHT Keats-Shelley House, remembering England’s great Romantic poets, Rome, Italy


LAS POZAS, XILITLA, MEXICO Rich, English, eccentric, and friend of the Surrealists, KEATS-SHELLEY HOUSE, ROME, ITALY There are few figures in English poetry more
Edward James sold his great collection of art to put his own taste to the test in his very romantic than John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley, and no more romantic a spot in which
own Garden of Eden. It was no small task. The garden is situated deep in the jungle, up to contemplate their lives than this house by the Spanish Steps. For years the haunt of
in the mountains 7 hours north of Mexico City. Here, in the company of a menagerie of England’s Romantic poets, it is filled with paintings and memorabilia in homage to them.
pets and wild animals, he spent more than 20 years nurturing exotic plants and creating Keats came here suffering from tuberculosis and this is where he died, aged 25, in 1821.
houses, trails, bridges, and dozens of ambitious concrete follies. Many display a Surrealist A year later his friend Shelley, 29, drowned while sailing off the Italian coast. The
twist, such as the House on Three Floors Which Will in Fact Have Five or Four or Six. awareness of their deaths, so close together in time and place, only adds to the romance.



WINE FESTIVAL, BURGUNDY, FRANCE STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL, MIHO MUSEUM, SHIGARAKI, JAPAN PERGAMONMUSEUM, BERLIN,
The monks of Burgundy were masters of ONTARIO, CANADA Between April and Visiting this museum, designed by I. M. Pei GERMANY One of the finest collections
viniculture, and the feast of St Vincent (Jan November each year around 12 plays are for textile heiress Mihoko Koyama, is like of ancient archaeological artifacts in the
22) celebrates its grape-fueled heritage. staged in repertory in the city’s four a trip to Alice’s Wonderland. A peach- world, this imposing museum houses a
Each year, a different village defies the theaters. Shakespeare takes center stage, tree-lined path dives into a steel tunnel wealth of Roman and Greek finds as well
winter with processions and tastings but the program also covers a variety of and over a bridge to a part-subterranean as treasures of the Near East such as the
amid paper-flower-decked streets. classical and contemporary drama. space full of Western and Asian antiquities. Pergamon Altar, to which it owes its name.


ANDERSON VALLEY VINEYARDS, BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA, ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT The new Alexandria Library,
CALIFORNIA, USA North of San inaugurated in 2003, has set itself a challenging task: it aims to live up to the example set
Francisco, this bucolic, rolling valley is a by its predecessor, the Ancient Library of Alexandria, widely recognized as the greatest
tranquil enclave attracting artists and library of classical times. Built on the harbor near what is thought to have been the site of
craftsmen, where grapes have nothing to the old library, the building itself is quite breathtaking. A giant glass disc, tilted towards
do all day but ripen in the sun. Encircled the sea, it is a stunning complex in three parts: a conference center, a planetarium, and
by protective mountains, it’s an idyllic the new library itself, connected by a plaza. Outside, carved into its shield-like, curved
spot to spend a few days acquainting granite walls, are letters in more than a hundred different scripts, intended to invite
yourself with the region’s two dozen understanding between all cultures and nationalities. Inside, arranged over 11 cascading
wineries, and dining out in civilized style. levels, there are reading rooms and enough shelf space to stack eight million tomes.


CARL HAMMER GALLERY, CHICAGO, LA CHASCONA, SANTIAGO, CHILE DENNIS SEVERS’ HOUSE, LONDON, UK
USA To catch who’s new and what’s hot, La Chascona (“the uncombed”) is the This cluttered, candlelit house, which
visit this gallery on North Wells Street. epitome of a poet’s home, full of art and belonged to the fictional Jervis family of
Carl Hammer specializes in “Outsider Art,” optimism. It was built by Pablo Neruda Huguenot silk weavers, is a model of
aiming to give a break to untrained – and on a hill by a stream, after he discovered what it was like to live in the East End of
unknown – artists. Much of the work he the spot with his lover, Matilde Urrutia. The London in the early 18th century. With a
promotes is “social art,” the art of the place grew organically, and its fascinating fire in the grate, and a half-eaten meal on
underdog, but he also puts on regular complex of whimsical rooms is filled the table, it is a theatrical time capsule of
shows of known artists. Exhibitions with art and found objects, including ten paneled rooms, brilliantly re-created
change every month. a portrait of Urrutia by Diego Rivera. by the late American artist Dennis Severs.








20/3/09 11:47:29
US276-277_art_misc2.indd 276 24/7/09 10:11:32
276-277_art_misc2.indd 276

277


















ART AND CULTURE













ABOVE Artifacts filling every nook and cranny of the Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, UK
RIGHT Distinctive Giacometti figures outside the Fondation Marguerite et Aimé Maeght, France


SIR JOHN SOANE’S MUSEUM, LONDON, UK One of joys of the Sir John Soane’s FONDATION MARGUERITE ET AIMÉ MAEGHT, ST-PAUL-DE-VENCE, FRANCE This
Museum (see p283) is watching visitors’ faces as they enter each room. Their eyes widen, privately run gallery is the best place to get a feel for post-war art in the south of France.
their jaws drop, and they invariably smile at the discovery of such a cornucopia of treasures. Set in the countryside above the Riviera, the real star is the building. Designed by Catalan
On the outside, this straight-laced Georgian terraced building gives no hint of what is in architect Josep Lluís Sert, the single-story gallery is set around a courtyard peopled by
store. Sir John Soane was one of the founders of the British Museum, and his London Alberto Giacometti sculptures, and crowned with rooftop arrangements like nuns’ cowls,
home is like Dr Who’s Tardis – it seems to contain more art and antiquities than such a which help to suffuse the rooms with light. Artworks are skilfully integrated into the
house could possibly hold, much of it in specially made cabinets and display cases. building and gardens, including a labyrinth by Joan Miró and mosaics by Marc Chagall.



CENTRE BELGE DE LA BANDE DESSINÉE, GIARDINO DEI TAROCCHI, STUDIO MUSEUM, HARLEM, NEW
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM Inspired by Belgium’s GARAVICCHIO, ITALY The cartoon-like YORK, USA Dating from 1968, this was
favorite character, Tintin, this museum holds figures populating this garden are a joyful the country’s first museum to chart black
tens of thousands of comic books. From the flight of fancy, each based on tarot cards. America’s contribution to the arts. Today
first feature-film cartoons to the latest Made of ceramics, mosaic, and glass, they it showcases contemporary African-
digital masterpieces, it shows how strips were assembled by French artist Niki de American artists, and its artist-in-residence
are made, and the people who made them. Saint Phalle over the last 20 years of her life. program has launched many careers.


THE STATE MUSEUM OF V. V. MAYAKOVSKY, MOSCOW, RUSSIA A visit to this CHARLES HOSMER MORSE MUSEUM FADO MUSEUM, LISBON, PORTUGAL
museum helps to recall that the Russian Revolution was not just an overthrow of the OF AMERICAN ART, FLORIDA, USA Best heard live in the tiny bars of Lisbon’s
political order, but a revolution in the arts, too. Here in this building lived the Russian Founded by the granddaughter of Chicago Alfama district, the haunting music of
Futurist poet and artist Vladimir Mayakovsky; one room has been furnished to look as it industrialist Charles Hosmer Morse, this Portugal, Fado, evokes all the joy and
would have done when he moved in. His poetry, plays, film scripts, and poster art gave a has the largest collection of work by tragedy of human experience. Alfama is
strident voice to the Revolution. Today the space is an inspired blend of crazy angles and Louis Comfort Tiffany, and represents the also home to this intriguing museum,
colors, of photographs, manuscripts, art, and memorabilia – the whole thing has been high point of America’s Arts and Crafts where you can follow the development
described as being like the inside of his brain. As for many, however, the Revolution movement. Exhibits range from familiar of the style, see the Portuguese guitar
under Stalin turned sour, and Mayakovsky became increasingly disillusioned, which may lamps and stained glass to paintings, and other instruments, and listen to
have contributed to his suicide here in 1930. pottery, jewelry, and a glittering chapel. recordings of Fado’s great performers.


PRECITA EYES MURAL ARTS CENTER, CAVE OF THE SWIMMERS, WADI SORA, ISLAMIC ART MUSEUM MALAYSIA
SAN FRANCISCO, USA The streets of EGYPT To the members of an expedition (IAMM), KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
the Bay Area are striking for their murals. that stumbled on this cave in the 1930s, This modern museum in Kuala Lumpur’s
Many of these originated from the Mission the black silhouetted figures painted on leafy Lake Gardens is one of the best
District’s Precita Eyes Mural Arts Center, a the rock walls appeared to be floating, places to explore aspects of Muslim
community organization that runs art suggesting swimmers. Nearby caves show culture shared between India, China, and
classes and plans projects to beautify the white cattle and tethered calves, giraffes, Southeast Asia. Two extensive floors hold
neighborhood. In a strange twist for archers, and women in skirts, hinting at a permanent exhibition of jewelry, coins,
street art, murals can only be reproduced other aspects of the lives of their early armor, metalwork, ceramics, textiles, and
with permission from the artist. inhabitants, dating from around 8000 BC. manuscripts, as well as a large library.








US276-277_art_misc2.indd 277 20/3/09 11:49:07
276-277_art_misc2.indd 277
24/7/09 10:11:33

11/3/09 16:13:13
278-279CIT-CHAPTER-OP.indd 278
US278-279CIT-CHAPTER-OP.indd 278 16/4/09 12:34:16

cities




The magnificent skyline of Sana’a, Yemen, bathed in afternoon sunlight (p299)







11/3/09 16:13:28
US278-279CIT-CHAPTER-OP.indd 279 16/4/09 12:34:17
278-279CIT-CHAPTER-OP.indd 279

280


CITIES FORGET AMSTERDAM?




Delft THE BUILD-UP Dubbed the “Venice of the
North,” Amsterdam is world-renowned for its
extensive canal system: its waterways are cruised
by tour boats and moored with brightly painted
barges. Big on outrageous clubs and wild
vs Amsterdam nightlife, Amsterdam is also a cultural and
historical center of great acclaim – its galleries,
museums, and exhibits attract discriminating
art-lovers, romantics, and shoestring travelers
alike. The city’s leafy parks are popular with
With none of the big-city problems associated with Holland’s capital city, Delft offers a picnickers in the summer.
succession of charming canals edged with cafés, cobblestones, and historic grandeur
THE LETDOWN But not that far from the art
galleries, canalside cafés, and flower-filled gardens,
there’s Amsterdam’s red-light district, which can
be a distasteful reminder of why many visitors
MAIN CITY SIGHTS
NEED TO KNOW come here. Adult-themed pubs, clubs, and bars
Royal Delft Blue-and-white Delft ceramics with take sleaze to another level. It’s an ugly world far
LOCATION Delft is in the province Oriental-inspired patterns have been an important
of South Holland (Zuid Holland), /PSUI removed from the city’s sophisticated beauty.
4FB
8 miles (13 km) from The Hague (SPOJOHFO export for over 400 years. In the mid-17th century,
and 9 miles (15 km) from Rotterdam GOING ANYWAY? To get the most from
/&5)&3-"/%4 the city had around 30 potteries. Today, Royal Delft
POPULATION Around 100,000 "NTUFSEBN (www.royaldelft.com) is the last remaining Amsterdam, rent a bicycle from any of the many
VISITORS PER YEAR 5IF )BHVF "SOIFN ceramics factory. It’s open to visitors. MacBike Bicycle Rentals shops (www.macbike.
Around 850,000 %&-'5 nl). Then pick up a map of the dozen bicycle
DAYTIME (&3. "/: Museum Nusantara Like Amsterdam, Delft boasts routes that weave their way around the city and
TEMPERATURES &JOEIPWFO a 400-year link with Indonesia, and the fine range
Jan: 37°F (3°C); Apr: 61°F (16°C); #&-(*6. of exhibits at Museum Nusantara (www.nusantara- hit the roads.
Jul: 64°F (18°C); Oct: 61°F (16°C)
delft.nl) depicts a fascinating shared history and
culture. Founded by the colonial Indische Instelling
Delft is often referred to as “Mini Amsterdam,” and company, the museum houses exotic collections
it’s easy to see why. Pretty stone bridges straddle of artifacts from all over Indonesia, including pottery
tree-lined canals, and Gothic and Renaissance-style and artworks, which chart an evocative relationship
houses rub shoulders with flower-clad convents, from the era of the Dutch East India Company.
ancient monasteries, and ornate church spires. The Vermeer Cube Walk Having painted all his
market square (the largest in the Netherlands) is masterpieces in Delft, Vermeer is honored in
hemmed with dozens of cozy restaurants and grand style throughout the city. You can follow a
pavement bars, while floating cafés on the canals succession of rotating cubes along a dedicated
provide views of the historic 700-year-old center. Vermeer Cube Walk (www.essentialvermeer.com)
But the similarities largely end there. Unlike that travels back to the artist’s birth in 1632 and ABOVE A busker plying his trade outside a pavement café –
Amsterdam, Delft is one of Europe’s most serene then chart his works, life, loves, and death en route. a more palatable side of life in Amsterdam
cities, unblemished by the noise, crowds, street- Nieuwe Kerk The crypts of the Nieuwe Kerk, on
crime, drugs, and prostitution that take the edge the market square, are testament to Delft’s historic
off the country’s capital. It’s a sea of bicycles that ties with the Dutch royal house. The mausoleum
weave, wobble, race, and screech around the of the assassinated William of Orange (1533–84) –
puzzle of passageways and bicycle paths. Delft’s considered the founding father of the Netherlands
cyclists favor battered Dutch-built boneshakers – is to be found here.
(their counterparts in Amsterdam opt for sleek,
streamlined models), and these trademark single-
gear Omas, with their solid handlebars, thick tires PRACTICAL INFORMATION
and industrial-sized padlocks, are available to hire
Getting There and Around Where to Stay
from the tourist office in Hippolytusbuurt. Simply Delft’s nearest airport is Schiphol, Blessed with 18th-century
ring your bell loudly to pass as a local. near Amsterdam. A frequent charm, the Hotel Coen Delft
Delft was put on the map for art-loving romantics train service links the two cities. (www.hotelcoendelft.nl) is
around the world by Tracy Chevalier’s international The journey time is 50 minutes. crammed with Delft pottery and
Delft city center is compact and antiques, and it’s within walking
bestseller Girl with a Pearl Earring. Set in the
easy to walk round, but if you’d distance of most attractions.
household of the 17th-century painter Johannes like the real deal, hire a bike.
Vermeer, it’s the story of a peasant maid who When to Go
Where to Eat June, July and August often bring
becomes the artist’s assistant and then his model. There’s something for everyone sunshine, but don’t bank on it.
In the film adaptation of the book, several scenes in Delft – from fast food to
Budget per Day for Two
were shot against the blood-red window shutters gourmet cooking. For the city’s Around US$275.
of Delft’s Stadhuis, and there are guided walks (see best pancakes, served on huge
plates, head to Café Wapen van Website
right) that center on Vermeer’s status as one of the
Delft (tel. +31 15 21 231 68). www.delft.nl
best-known artists of the Dutch Golden Age.





6/2/09 17:10:43
US280-281_cit_delft.indd 280 16/4/09 12:34:24
280-281_cit_delft.indd 280

CHAPTER: CITIES









281








CITIES






















































MAIN IMAGE A canal with the towers of Delft’s Oostpoort (East Gate) in the
background BELOW (left to right) Classic blue-and-white Delftware; the spire of
Nieuwe Kerk; Girl with a Pearl Earring (1665) by Delft-born artist Johannes Vermeer

3 MORE LOWCOUNTRY
CITIES TO RIVAL AMSTERDAM

GHENT, BELGIUM The quaint cobbled streets, winding canals,
and grand buildings hark back to an affluent medieval era
when, as a thriving textile center, Ghent was Europe’s largest
city outside Paris. Today, it offers visitors a pleasing mix of past
and present, with waterways lit by fairy-lights, gilded guild-
houses, and street stalls of trinkets and hippy kitsch.
ANTWERP, BELGIUM Like Delft, Antwerp has a pottery tradition,
but it fuses its enthusiasm for tin-glazed tiles with an abundance
of urban grit. This down-to-earth city, which has a rich mercantile
and cultural past, is undergoing a spirited regeneration, seen in
its trend-setting architecture and lively restaurant and pub scene.
THE HAGUE (DEN HAAG), THE NETHERLANDS The third-
largest city in Holland boasts a buzzing energy like never before.
Characterized by medieval cobbled streets, The Hague boasts
handsome 18th-century mansions, paved courtyards, opulent
palaces, and an eye-popping collection of clock towers and spires.







US280-281_cit_delft.indd 281 16/4/09 12:34:25
280-281_cit_delft.indd 281
9/2/09 12:48:36

282


CITIES Less-Explored
London











Much more than just Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, London is Western Europe’s largest
and most vibrant city, a multi-ethnic melee, cultural hothouse, and bastion of the new ABOVE Big Ben and a red sightseeing bus
FORGET THE LONDON

museums, such as the absorbing Geffrye Museum TOURIST TRAIL?
NEED TO KNOW
and the innovative Museum in Docklands, reveals all
LOCATION London is sorts of fascinating and little-documented stories THE BUILD-UP Visiting London for the first
situated on the River Thames *OWFSOFTT time is like the ultimate sightseeing trip, offering
in southeast England "UMBOUJD about the city and the people who made it.
0DFBO a string of world-famous landmarks, monuments,
POPULATION &EJOCVSHI Modern London is one of the most extraordinary
(MBTHPX and street scenes which are instantly recognizable
Around 7.5 million /PSUI cities on the planet. It can confidently lay claim
VISITORS PER YEAR 4FB to being the world’s most ethnically diverse and from films, paintings, and photographs – from
Around 25 million .BODIFTUFS the city’s familiar red double-decker buses
*3&-"/% eclectic metropolis – a third of Londoners were
DAYTIME 6/*5&% through to the flashing neon signs of Piccadilly
,*/(%0.
TEMPERATURES actually born abroad, and the contribution of Circus. Perhaps no other city in the world
Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 50°F (10°C); -0/%0/ foreign nationals to the city’s cultural and culinary musters as many iconic images in as small a space.
Jul: 64°F (18°C); Oct: 52°F (11°C)
make-up can hardly be underestimated, from the
cafés of Chinatown to the Sikh and Hindu temples THE LETDOWN Crowds, lines, and costs are the
London is one of the world’s most touristy cities, in Southall. It’s a place of amazing cultural ferment, main turn-offs. Visiting London’s major attractions
and little wonder. Seeing the place for the first setting the global agenda in everything from is a wallet-emptying business – Madame Tussauds,
for instance, charges around £25 per adult, or £85
time, many visitors experience a strange sense of fringe theater and pop music through to avant-
for a family ticket – and the queues and heaving
déjà vu: Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament garde art and architecture, epitomized by the
throngs of visitors can be horrendous at all
towering statesmanlike above the serene waters of string of landmark new constructions that have
major sights. In addition, the expense of getting
the River Thames; Nelson’s Column rising out of the appeared across the city during the past decade. around can be equally punitive: around £5 for a
pigeon-infested expanse of Trafalgar Square; the These range from the spectacular London Eye single tube journey within central London on
voluminous dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the through to the stunning new Swiss Re Tower, the city’s world-famous (but ridiculously
romantic outline of Tower Bridge; red double- popularly known as “the Gherkin.” And not overpriced) underground system, whose jam-
decker buses and the regal façade of Buckingham forgetting Docklands, where clusters of towers, packed cars turn into human sardine cans during
Palace; Life Guards and Beefeaters in their ceremonial including the monumental Canary Wharf, have the morning and evening rush hours.
red tunics and unusual headgear – the list of clichés risen from nowhere over the past three decades
goes on. More than a city, London has become the to become a symbol of the modern city – built, DOING IT ANYWAY? A little advance planning
can massively improve your experience of
universal symbol of Englishness and empire, from appropriately enough, on the remains of its
London. Get hold of a good city map or A–Z,
the lordly towers of Westminster Abbey to the remarkable industrial and maritime past.
purchase tickets for tourist sights ahead to avoid
royal pageantry of the Trooping of the Colour.
the lines, and check websites for special offers
For many visitors, these emblematic sights are PRACTICAL INFORMATION and discounts. You may also be able to save some
what London is all about. This is no surprise, given money by getting hold of a London Pass
how imposing many of them are, or how much Getting There and Around Where to Stay (www.londonpass.com). Buy a Travelcard or
London is served by Heathrow, London’s landmark hotels include
history and tradition they encapsulate. Having said Oyster card rather than purchasing individual
Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, and the Dorchester, Ritz, Savoy, and
that, there’s a whole lot more to London than London City airports. There is a Claridge’s. There is also a new tube tickets. And avoid the rush-hours if you
kings, queens, palaces, and soldiers in silly hats. sprawling underground (or generation of boutique hotels, can, especially if you’ve got luggage.
Indeed, a trawl through its small and less-touristed “tube”) system, plus extensive such as the Conran-designed
overground train and bus services, myhotel Bloomsbury (www.
as well as plentiful taxis. myhotels.com) and the mid-range
Where to Eat but very hip Hoxton Hotel (www.
London is a serious contender for hoxtonhotels.com). For something
world capital of food, offering less flash, try the Premier Inn chain
every conceivable type of cuisine, (www.premierinn.com).
from pie ‘n’ mash to glitzy eateries, When to Go
such as Hakkasan (www. Late spring and early fall when
hakkasan.com) and Amaya the weather can be good. The
(www.realindianfood.com), city is especially vibrant during
which showcase modern Chinese the run-up to Christmas.
and Indian food. Gordon Ramsay’s
Budget per Day for Two
Hospital Road restaurant (www.
gordonramsay.com), the capital’s US$300 for accommodations,
only triple-starred Michelin food, and travel.
establishment, gets rave reviews Website
for its French-influenced dishes. www.visitlondon.com.
ABOVE St Paul’s Cathedral viewed from the Millennium Bridge






19/2/09 14:41:03
US282-283_cit_offbeat_london.ind282 282 16/4/09 12:34:32
282-283_cit_offbeat_london.indd 282

283








CITIES











ABOVE The handsome cream facade of the Sir John Soane’s Museum
LEFT “The Gherkin” – Norman Foster’s 2003 architectural showpiece

Small Museums



London has enough museums – over 300 and
counting – to exhaust even the most ardent
culture-vulture. The city is home to some of the
world’s greatest collections, including the British
Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, and the
Natural History Museum, to name just three. If the
sheer scale of the major museums (and the density
of the crowds thronging them) seems daunting,
however, then there are plenty of more intimate
establishments to explore, covering smaller slices
of local or cultural history, such as the absorbing
Geffrye Museum, which showcases changing
fashions and lifestyles through a series of period
interiors dating from 1600 to the present day.
Other museums have been dedicated to – or
created by – famous individuals, lending them a
sense of personality, and sometimes a decided
quirkiness, which is generally missing from the
larger public collections. Notable examples include
the Freud Museum, occupying the rambling
Hampstead house where the great Viennese
psychoanalyst spent his final years and which has
been preserved largely as Freud left it, complete
with his book-lined study and original consulting
couch. Or the equally enjoyable, if slightly less
reverent, Sherlock Holmes Museum at 221b Baker
Street, which lovingly recreates the home of the
celebrated fictional detective, and features Holmes’s
violin, magnifying glass, and chemical apparatus.
Then there’s the unique Sir John Soane’s Museum
in Lincoln’s Inn Fields, an elegant old Georgian
townhouse once owned by Sir John Soane, one of
the foremost architects of his era, who filled it with
an extraordinary array of artworks and antiquities
collected from around the world, piled up around
the atmospheric old house in a picturesque jumble.


Practical Information
Freud Museum 20 Maresfield Gardens, Hampstead; tel. +44 20 7435 2002;
www.freud.org.uk
Geffrye Museum Kingsland Road, Shoreditch; tel. +44 20 7739 9893; www.
geffrye-museum.org.uk
Sherlock Holmes Museum 221b Baker Street, Marylebone; tel. +44 20 7935
8866; www.sherlock-holmes.co.uk
Sir John Soane’s Museum 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, Holborn;
tel. +44 20 7405 2107; www.soane.org







US282-283_CitOffbeatLondon.indd 283 19/2/09 14:41:31
282-283_cit_offbeat_london.indd 283
24/7/09 10:11:41

284


CITIES





























Boats on Regent’s Canal in Little Venice
Hidden Green
Sign outside the King’s Head Theatre, Islington
Entrance to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich
Pub Theater Spaces
Maritime

London’s theatrical scene can seem a bit moribund Surprisingly for such a large metropolis, London is London
if judged by the touristy offerings served up in the one of the world’s greenest cities. From the myriad
innumerable West End theaters, with their wall-to- tree-filled squares that dot the heart of the city to the
wall musicals and other populist shows. Despite sprawling golf courses, reservoirs, and woodlands London is intimately connected to all things watery
appearances, there is a thriving fringe scene in many that fringe the outer suburbs, nature is surprisingly – indeed, the city owes its very existence to the
of the capital’s pub theaters – London’s equivalent to close at hand. Meanwhile Hyde Park, Regent’s Park, River Thames. A boat trip to Greenwich from central
New York’s off-off-Broadway. These “theaters” usually Hampstead Heath, Greenwich, and Richmond are London offers a unique view of the city. En route
consist of a small room above a pub. They often landmarks in their own right – great expanses of you will pass spectacular waterfront developments,
have only basic equipment, forcing producers into grass, heath, and woodland that have somehow the imposing Tower of London, HMS Belfast (which
prodigious feats of improvization and putting actors survived centuries of frantic urban development. saw service during World War II) and a beautiful full-
and audience more or less in one another’s laps – all Many of London’s town squares are effectively scale reconstruction of the Golden Hinde – the Tudor
making for some intimate drama. There’s an eclectic miniature parks themselves, such as Soho Square galleon on which Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated
repertoire on offer, too, taking in everything from and Russell Square. The expansive Lincoln’s Inn the globe in 1577–80.
new plays and adaptations to revues, cabaret, and Fields is said to have inspired the creators of New Greenwich itself is a veritable showcase of all
the occasional classic. Tickets are a snip compared York’s Central Park. Some of the city’s most beautiful things nautical, including the National Maritime
to those at mainstream theaters. green spaces today are, ironically, the result of its Museum and the Cutty Sark – a 19th-century tea
London’s oldest, and still the best-known, pub Victorian industrial heyday, such as the lovingly clipper. Facing Greenwich across the river is the
theater is the King’s Head Theatre, which has graced restored Regent’s and Grand Union canals, which fascinating London Docklands area, once one of the
Islington’s fashionable Upper Street since 1970. It once thronged with coal barges but now offer long most important ports in Europe, from where ships
has helped to launch the careers of some of Britain’s corridors of sylvan tranquillity through the eastern departed to all parts of the British Empire and
most celebrated actors, notching up 30 West End and northern suburbs. Abandoned railway lines also beyond. The great Victorian docks fell into sudden
and six Broadway transfers in the process. The nearby provide the city with pockets of unspoiled nature, decline during the 1960s but a massive regeneration
Old Red Lion Theatre, founded in 1979, also has an such as the beautiful Parkland Walk in north London, project transformed the area into a thriving business
illustrious pedigree. Other notable venues include which follows the line of the old train tracks from district, with the monumental Canary Wharf tower –
the Finborough Theatre in Earl’s Court, which has Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace. A short way away the UK’s tallest building – at its heart. The absorbing
developed a remarkably big reputation for such a lies the peaceful wooded parkland of Highgate Museum of London Docklands nearby traces the
tiny venue, and the Landor Theatre in Clapham, Cemetery, famed as the final resting place of Karl history of the docks from Roman times to the present.
which is known for its offbeat musical productions. Marx, George Eliot, and many other local luminaries.
Practical Information
Practical Information Practical Information Cutty Sark Greenwich (under restoration; due to reopen summer 2010);
Finborough Theatre Earl’s Court; tel. + 44 20 7244 7439; Grand Union Canal Brentford to Paddington Basin; tel. + 44 20 8858 2698; www.cuttysark.org.uk
www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk www.visitlondon.com/areas/river The Golden Hinde Southwark; tel. + 44 20 7403 0123; www.goldenhinde.org
King’s Head Theatre & Bar Islington; tel. + 44 20 7226 8561; Highgate Cemetery Highgate; www.highgate-cemetery.org HMS Belfast Southwark; tel. + 44 20 7940 6300; hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk
www.kingsheadtheatre.org Lincoln’s Inn Fields Holborn Museum of London Docklands West India Quay, Canary Wharf; tel. + 44 20
Landor Theatre Clapham; tel. + 44 20 7737 7276; www.landortheatre.co.uk Parkland Walk Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace; www.haringey.gov.uk 7001 9844; www.museumindocklands.org.uk
Old Red Lion Theatre Islington; tel. + 44 20 7837 7816; Regent’s Canal Little Venice to Limehouse Basin; National Maritime Museum Greenwich; tel. + 44 20 8858 4422;
www.oldredliontheatre.co.uk www.visitlondon.com/areas/river www.nmm.ac.uk







6/2/09 17:14:09
US284-285-cit_offbeatlon_fo.indd284 284
284-285-cit_offbeatlon_fo.indd 284 16/4/09 12:48:33
Th R d L T ll d LAYERS PRINTED:

285








CITIES























Ornate gateway on Gerrard Street, Chinatown
World Food



As befits the former capital of the world’s
largest empire, London’s food scene has an
overwhelmingly cosmopolitan slant, the legacy of
the waves of immigrants who have settled in the
city over the past century. Right in the middle of
the West End lies Chinatown, one of London’s most
popular dining destinations. Although the area has
a reputation for lame Anglo-Cantonese food and
notoriously rude service, this notion has now been
partly dispelled by a new generation of restaurants,
such as the Baozi Inn, which specializes in Beijing-
TOP Culinary delights in Borough Market ABOVE Browsing a stall at Camden Market BELOW Fresh flowers at Columbia Market and Sichuan-style street food, and fragrantly spiced
handmade noodles – all at bargain prices.
Markets The most famous ethnic area is the Bengali
enclave of Brick Lane, just east of the City of London,
the capital’s financial hub. The district is home to
Markets are an enduring element of London street innumerable curry houses, though you’ll find better
life, and the sound of local stallholders hawking Indian food in Southall, in the far west of London.
their wares in piercing Cockney accents is a Madhu’s, famous for its unusual Kenyan-influenced
distinctive feature of the city’s soundtrack. Old- cooking, is a good bet. For all things Turkish and
fashioned markets abound, such as the archetypal Greek, head northeast to Stoke Newington and
Walthamstow Market, the longest outdoor market Haringey. They boast almost as much ethnic color as
in Europe, and the colorful Columbia Road Flower Brick Lane, but with none of the tourists, along with
Market, where endless lines of potted plants add a an outstanding selection of places to eat, such as
horticultural flourish to inner-city Shoreditch. the popular 19 Numara Bos Cirrik, which has built
Some of the the city’s old fish, fruit, vegetable, up a cult following for its superb mezes and grills.
and meat markets have been transformed into must- Most of the city’s Arab community lives in the
do shopping experiences. While Greenwich Market area to the west of the city center, particularly in
has become a major source of upmarket collectibles and around Queensway and Edgware Road where
including fine art, antiques, and arts and crafts, the you’ll find an abundance of Lebanese eateries. The
most spectacular transformation is that of Borough classy Al Waha claims, with some justification, to
Market, where an elegantly restored Victorian dish up the juiciest shwarma in town.
wrought-iron market building hosts myriad stalls
serving up a fabulous array of gastronomic delights. Practical Information
Finally, Camden Market’s sprawling cornucopia Practical Information 19 Numara Bos Cirrik 34 Stoke Newington Road, Dalston;
of the weird, wonderful, and downright tacky Borough Market Borough; www.boroughmarket.org.uk tel. + 44 20 7249 9111
ensures that it remains the market haunt of choice Camden Market Camden Town; www.camdenmarkets.org Al Waha Notting Hill; tel. + 44 20 7229 0806; www.alwaharestaurant.com
for the capital’s mohican-sporting punks, black- Columbia Road Flower Market Shoreditch; www.columbiaroad.info Baozi Inn 25 Newport Court, Chinatown; tel. + 44 20 7287 6877
frocked Goths, and other alternative fashionistas. Greenwich Market Greenwich; www.greenwichmarket.net Madhu’s Southall; tel. + 44 20 8574 1897; www.madhusonline.com







US284-285-cit_offbeatlon_fo.indd285 285 16/4/09 12:48:40
284-285-cit_offbeatlon_fo.indd 285
6/2/09 17:15:33

286


CITIES FORGET CAIRO?






THE BUILD-UP Modern Cairo was founded
on the east bank of the River Nile in AD 969,
but the area boasts a history stretching back
to Pharaonic times, as evidenced by the iconic
Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, which watch
over its western outskirts. Often dubbed “the
city that never sleeps,” Cairo is Africa’s largest
metropolitan area. Attractions include the
mind-boggling riches of the Egyptian Museum,
the historic Coptic and Arabic quarters, the
Cairo Opera House, and the soccer stadium.
THE LETDOWN Sheer urban chaos. There’s
a 24-hour aural backdrop of horn-blasting
traffic, a tangible aura of pollution, the world’s
most aggravating taxi drivers, and, above all,
was the largest library ever assembled by the crowds – caffeine-addled locals clogging up the
ABOVE Wall relief in the Kom es-Shoqafa Catacombs, Alexandria, Egypt ancients, and the harbor-front Pharos Lighthouse, pavements of Midan Tahrir, snap-happy tourists,
which collapsed in AD 700, stood taller than any and hawkers thronging around the pyramids.
Alexandria ancient structure aside from the Pyramids of Giza. GOING ANYWAY? If you can adapt to this
It was in Alexandria in around 30 BC that Cleopatra’s
vs Cairo suicide by snakebite marked the last gasp of the mayhem, Cairo soon asserts itself as one of the
world’s great cities. Fail to adapt, however, and
Pharaonic era, and, a century later, that the earliest
incarnation of Christianity was first formally codified. there are always the outlying pyramid sites of
Saqqara and Dahshur (see pp12–13) for relief.
Stately Alexandria makes for a much more The illustrious past of the city named the
“Capital of Memory” by the 20th-century British
satisfying urban break than brash Cairo
novelist Lawrence Durrell reveals itself in tantalizing
glimpses. No trace remains of Alexandria’s ancient
founder, despite persistent rumors that his tomb
NEED TO KNOW
lies beneath the Roman amphitheater. The site of
LOCATION Alexandria sprawls .FEJUFSSBOFBO the original library was discovered as recently as
for 19 miles (30 km) along the 4F B
Mediterranean coast of Egypt, "-&9"/%3*" 2004, and the ancient foundations of the Pharos
124 miles (200 km) from Cairo $BJSP Lighthouse now underpin the more recent Fort
POPULATION 4"6%* Qaitbey. And then there is the palace where
Around 4.2 million &(:15 "3"#*"
Cleopatra had her dalliances with Julius Caesar and
VISITORS PER YEAR -VYPS 3FE
Around 131,000 4FB Mark Antony, which has long been submerged in ABOVE Crowds crossing a typically traffic-clogged road
"TXBO in Cairo, Egypt
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES the harbor and is currently being excavated.
Jan: 59°F (15°C); Apr: 66°F (19°C);
Jul: 79°F (26°C); Oct: 75°F (24°C) 46%"/
MAIN CITY SIGHTS
Roman Amphitheatre The recently excavated
Egypt’s second city and largest port, Alexandria amphitheater is the city’s most impressive surviving
comes across as refreshingly unintimidating and Roman structure. A selection of delicate mosaics PRACTICAL INFORMATION
orderly when compared to Cairo. This is a lovely can be visited in situ in the adjacent Villa of Birds.
city to explore on foot – it’s hassle-free and Kom es-Shoqafa Catacombs These eerily brooding Getting There and Around Where to Stay
International flights land at Al Built in 1929, the Sofitel Cecil
endlessly rewarding, whether you follow the 2nd-century-AD relics of the Roman occupation
Nozha Airport, 4 miles (7 km) Hotel (www.sofitel.com), whose
sweeping palm-lined corniche to the imposing are reached by a spiral staircase that burrows 115 ft southeast of the city, or Borg al former guests include Noel
medieval walls of the harbor-front Fort Qaitbey or (35 m) underground. After a trip here, visit nearby Arab Airport, 31 miles (50 km) Coward and Winston Churchill,
wander the narrow backstreets through bustling Pompey’s Pillar, a 82-ft- (25-m-) tall Pharaonic column. to the west. Reliable train and bus heads the list when it comes to
services connect Alexandria to historic ambience and a prime
markets to its many Roman ruins. Bibliotheca Alexandrina This modern landmark, location on the corniche.
Cairo. The city center is easily
Contemporary Alexandria, set at the physical which evokes its legendary ancient namesake, was explored on foot. Taxis are cheap When to Go
and cultural juncture of Africa, Europe and Arabia, inaugurated in 2002, more than two millennia after and a good option if you want to There’s no bad time to visit the
is a difficult city to pin down. Though predominantly the original building was razed to the ground by a explore further afield. city, but its temperate climate
makes it a great winter
Islamic, it still remains the most important center Christian mob. The ancient building contained Where to Eat destination. The sea keeps
of the Coptic Church, founded here almost 2,000 some 700,000 papyrus scrolls, and its modern-day Eating out is one of the chief temperatures down in the
pleasures in this city. Local
years ago. Architecturally, the city has a distinctly replacement ranks among the world’s largest hottest months (Jul– Aug).
Egyptian fare is very tasty and
Mediterranean character, while its aura of moderate libraries, with shelf space for eight million books. inexpensive. Locals and visitors Budget per Day for Two
affluence is decidedly atypical of urban Africa. Fort Qaitbey Built in the 1480s to guard the generally agree that there’s no Less than US$50 if you want to
Alexandria’s historical pedigree is second to entrance to the harbor, this imposing fort stands on better place to sample the city’s keep costs down, but US$150–
300 if you’re living it up.
none. It was founded in 334 BC by Alexander the the foundations of the 492-ft- (150-m- ) high Pharos legendary fresh seafood than the
unpretentious Kadoura Restaurant Website
Great and served as the capital of Egypt for 1,000 Lighthouse, which was built in the 3rd century BC (tel. +20 3 480 0405). www.egypt.travel
years. The city’s original Bibliotheca Alexandrina and collapsed 1,000 years later.






24/3/09 14:55:36
286-287_cit_alex_potosi.indd 286
US286-287_cit_alex_potosi.indd 286 16/4/09 12:34:40

287






FORGET CUSCO? CITIES


THE BUILD-UP Cusco, the former capital
of the Inca, boasts a plethora of pre-colonial
and colonial-era sights, and is a jumping-off
point for trips to Machu Picchu and Lake
Titicaca. It’s small wonder this is the most-
visited city in Peru, and its enormous selection
of tours means that there’s something for
every type of visitor.

THE LETDOWN Most of Cusco’s Inca
heritage was destroyed centuries ago, and
what is visible now is in ruins. Furthermore,
sightseeing here can be daunting. The city is
congested and rife with fly-by-night operators,
with visitors often being handed back and forth
between self-appointed “guides” and “experts”
who frequently require a big cash outlay.
ABOVE View across the rooftops of Potosí from the top of the San
Francisco Church
GOING ANYWAY? If Cusco is on your must-see
Potosí richest city in the New World for nearly two centuries, many of which have more to offer in terms of
list, opt for a trip to the city’s outlying areas,
local culture. Here you’ll see more at your own
vs Cusco thanks to its fabled Cerro Rico – the world’s largest pace, without the crowds and the pressure to
buy yet another guided tour.
silver mine. Today, the mine’s once-prodigious output
is everywhere to be seen. It adorns ceilings and
walls in every other building, gleaming unexpectedly
With its colonial grandeur and air of mystery,
from dimly lit corners. The brilliant metal covers the
Potosí has the edge on better-known Cusco altar in the Baroque Church of San Lorenzo,
dominates the collection at the Casa de Moneda
(Royal Mint) and can be seen in no less than nine
NEED TO KNOW
museums and as many convents around the city.
LOCATION Potosí lies More than 2,000 colonial buildings have been
on Bolivia’s chilly, windswept
southwest Altiplano 1&36 identified or preserved in Potosí, which is more
(Andean plateau)
#3";*- than in any other Latin American city – it’s little
POPULATION -B 1B[ #0-*7*" wonder this remarkable place became Bolivia’s first ABOVE Groups of vacationers taking a break on the historic
Around 150,000 4BOUB $SV[ Plaza de Armas in Cusco, Peru
0SVSP UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
VISITORS PER YEAR
About 7,500, most of whom 4VDSF
come for Carnival 10504¶ MAIN CITY SIGHTS
1"3"(6":
HEIGHT ABOVE SEA Casa de Moneda Potosí’s first mint is now one of
LEVEL 13,350 ft (4,070 m) $)*-& "3(&/5*/"
Latin America’s finest museums. It boasts an art
gallery full of priceless viceregal paintings, a large PRACTICAL INFORMATION
There’s no shortage of people who have journeyed exhibition space with displays on everything from
to Cusco in Peru and other cities along South colonial coins to current smelting techniques, and Getting There and Around Where to Stay
Getting to Potosí is no hardship. Try the comfortable, centrally
America’s “gringo trail,” but very few have marveled a larger-than-life mask of Bacchus in the courtyard
The city is served by a high- located Hostal Colonial
at Potosí – a city that takes your breath away, and that must be seen to be believed. altitude airport, which boasts (tel. +591 622 4809). The
not only because of its high altitude. This majestic Convento y Museo de Santa Teresa This 1691 fantastic views. Many travelers friendly staff here have a
place is today home to the descendants of those wonder, which is the center of all things Baroque in arrive via bus or 4WD from La well-deserved reputation for
who labored for the Spanish centuries ago, and has the city, does double duty as a museum and a Paz or Oruro, and enjoy equally assisting travelers of all stripes.
impressive views on the way. The
a colonial legacy to rival that of any other Latin convent – the nuns live next door. Here you’ll find When to Go
city is easy to walk around and
American city. Cusco, Lima, and Mexico City might some of the continent’s most impressive colonial taxis are plentiful and cheap. Potosí can be chilly all year round,
but is most pleasant during the
all have their charms, but they also have plenty of and religious artworks, and exhibits on convent life. Where to Eat summer months, from June to
drawbacks, not least their over-abundance of Cerro Rico Words fail to describe this colossal The cuisine in Potosí is similar August, when it is dry and sunny.
tourists. Much of Potosí is a peaceful treasure trove monument to avarice, the silver mine, which has to that found throughout the Budget per Day for Two
of colonial architecture, art, and antiques, where been a graveyard to more than a million miners Andes, only it has more spice to No more than US$75. Much of
it. There are myriad chicken- and
the past lingers on in grand old buildings and on over the centuries. A tour is an absolute must. the city can be seen on foot,
potato-based dishes on offer,
charming cobbled streets. Churches of San Francisco, San Lorenzo, San and warm soups are a traditional which brings travel costs down.
The city’s proud motto – “I am rich Potosí, Martín and the Jesuits These superb churches lie favorite. El Mesón, located on Prices here are among the lowest
treasure of the world, king of the mountains, envy near each other in the heart of the city, and are the main square (tel. +591 622 of anywhere on the continent.
3087), is an excellent restaurant Website
of kings” – coined by Charles I of Spain more than widely considered to rank among the world’s finest
and a great place to sample local www.boliviaweb.com/cities/
400 years ago, only hints at Potosí’s former glory. examples of colonial architecture. They also house dishes at affordable prices. potosi.htm
This was the world’s first boom town and the some outstanding pieces of religious art.






US286-287_cit_alex_potosi.indd 287 24/3/09 14:55:54
16/4/09 12:34:42
286-287_cit_alex_potosi.indd 287

288


CITIES Less-Explored
New York











Scratch the surface of the world’s most iconic city and you’ll find another side to this diverse,
culture-crammed metropolis – and understand why the slogan is “I ♥ New York” ABOVE Sightseers admiring the Statue of Liberty, New York
FORGET THE NEW

to Italian Brooklyn, where white-haired nonnas YORK TOURIST TRAIL?
NEED TO KNOW
(grandmothers) watch the world go by from their
LOCATION New York City $ "/"%" wooden chairs on shaded pavements. And bigger THE BUILD-UP New York’s skyline is perhaps
is in New York State on the 4FBUUMF its most celebrated (and recognized) feature,
east coast of the USA isn’t always better: Fifth Avenue’s fragrant, multi-
4BO /&8 :03, so it’s not surprising that most of the city’s main
POPULATION 'SBODJTDP 6 4 " tiered department stores make for splendid window-
Around 8.3 million people 8BTIJOHUPO % $ browsing, of course, but for local designers, hit sights are architectural, with many offering
VISITORS PER YEAR -PT "OHFMFT downtown’s quirky shopping district, where you can soaring views of the twinkling lights – and of
Around 40 million )PVTUPO each other. The Empire State Building and
find everything from hand-sewn, sequined skinny
DAYTIME Statue of Liberty lead the pack, followed by the
TEMPERATURES .&9*$0 jeans to custom cuff links and (because you know splendid span of the Brooklyn Bridge. Then
Jan: 32°F (0°C); Apr: 54°F (12°C); you want one) Yankees caps along Canal Street at a there’s the unmissable Museum Mile, which
Jul: 77°F (25°C); Oct: 57°F (14°C)
fraction of the uptown cost. As for avant-garde art, runs along Central Park, where you can peruse
with such New York names as Warhol and Basquiat superb art collections and then take a breezy
Even for first-time visitors, New York will seem as for inspiration, emerging artists from around the stroll through the world’s best-known city park.
familiar as an old friend. It is, after all, one of the most world introduce their collections at the city’s
THE LETDOWN Two words: sweaty lines.
filmed, photographed, and written-about cities in galleries. And far from the chorus-line high kicks and
Visiting the city’s big-name sights – particularly
the world, and its icons have achieved something feather headdresses of Broadway are the alternative
in the heat-blasted summer months – is a
of a superstar status. Wander the city, and celluloid theaters (or “off-off-Broadway,” as they’re called), with
practice in patience. The lines at the Empire
images will flicker across your consciousness: Cary quirky shows from poetry slams to body-painting. State Building are notorious – you could spend
Grant waiting in vain for his love atop the Empire The television show Sex and the City trained a the better part of your afternoon on the hot
State Building in the 1957 classic An Affair to spotlight on the city’s flirty nightlife – where you can pavement. Another downer about the iconic
Remember; Audrey Hepburn strolling Fifth Avenue gaze at a sparkling view of Manhattan while sipping sights is that they’re, well, iconic: the hype, the
and gazing into Manhattan’s most famous jewelry a drink of the same name. But explore the city’s crowds and the fact that you’ve probably seen
store in Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961); and Spiderman crooked backstreets and you’ll come across rumpled, them in photos and films ad nauseam can make
swooping towards the Brooklyn Bridge to save his centuries-old bars with uneven floors, scarred the real thing somewhat anti-climactic.
dangling leading lady in the 2002 Hollywood wooden furniture, and ruddy-cheeked regulars
DOING IT ANYWAY? To avoid the wait at the
blockbuster of the same name. And Central Park? who’ll fill you in on other local haunts.
Empire State Building, buy your tickets online
This lush swath of green could practically apply for
(www.esbnyc.com), or arrive when it opens at
its own Actors’ Union card, having been the verdant 8 am, or in the early evening. In general, a prompt
backdrop for lovers smooching, strolling, and ice- PRACTICAL INFORMATION morning arrival helps greatly in bypassing the
skating, as well as plenty of chase scenes, in films crowds, particularly at popular museums such
Getting There and Around distance of Times Square and
from Annie Hall (1977) to Ghostbusters (1984). Even a as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA,
New York is served by three major Grand Central Station. The Mayfair
subway grating has received top billing – remember airports: JFK and LaGuardia (both (www.mayfairnewyork.com) and the Museum of Natural History.
Marilyn Monroe with her skirt flying up? in Queens), and Newark (in New boasts boutique comfort in the
Without doubt, New York lives up to its name, Jersey). To get from the airports thick of the Theater District. Head
but it’s when you go from the legendary to the to the city take the subway, a bus to SoHo for the 60 Thompson
(www.mta.org), a shuttle bus (www.60thompson.com), an
lesser known that the city really stirs to life. Roam
(www.supershuttle.com) or a taxi. elegant, soothing antidote to
the vibrant ethnic neighborhoods, from the the city’s accelerated pace.
Where to Eat
sizzling taquerías (taco stalls) of Spanish Harlem
New York’s cuisine is marvelously When to Go
varied, from haute French to spicy Spring and early fall usher in the
Mexican. The Balthazar (www. finest New York weather. But for
balthazarny.com) serves up superb fewer crowds, aim for October
French fare, with an infectious vibe. and November, after the summer,
For juicy burgers head to Corner but before the December rush.
Bistro (tel. +1 212 242 9502) Budget per Day for Two
and for Italian with a twist, fill up The sky’s the limit for what you
at Babbo (www.mariobatali.com), can spend in New York, but budget
a popular restaurant with super- US$250–350 for a mid-range
chef Mario Batali at the helm. hotel, a meal out, and the
Where to Stay occasional taxi.
The Pod (www.thepodhotel.com) Website
has simple rooms within strolling www.nycvisit.com
ABOVE Central Park on a summer’s day with skyscrapers in the distance






11/3/09 16:14:14
288-289_cit_offbeat_ny.indd 288
US288-289_cit_offbeat_ny.indd 288 16/4/09 12:34:48

289








CITIES











ABOVE Accessories on display at the funky Kirna Zabete
LEFT Stylishly dressed mannequin in the Betsey Johnson window

Unique

Boutiques



For fashion with a twist, stroll the streets of SoHo,
NoHo, and NoLita, where you’ll find such whimsical
clothing shops as Kirna Zabete, which features the
work of home-grown designers and one-of-a-kind
threads and accessories, from graffiti silk twill
dresses to Flapper-style fringe scarves. Or pop in
to the adorable and avant-garde CoCo & Delilah,
where a chandelier presides over artful displays of
fanciful dresses and chunky accessories by a long
list of innovative young designers. New York’s
popular gal-pal television show Sex and the City
could just as easily have been called Shoes and the
City, since the streets of New York are packed with
sassy shoe shops, many of which sell styles that
you won’t find anywhere else. Check out the
1960s-inspired sandals and stilettos by local
designers Sigerson and Morrison in their
eponymous SoHo shop. And don’t miss the sleek
boutiques of New York couturiers who have since
hit the big time, where you can often find one-off
pieces from their collections. The spiky-haired,
tattooed fashionista Betsey Johnson debuted her
playful dresses and heels in her SoHo shop, and
that’s still the best spot to check out her latest
offerings. Brooklyn-born Kenneth Cole, one of the
leading designers to bring AIDS “awearness” to the
fashion community, also has eye-catching
downtown digs. His collection reveals an urban
sensibility that pays homage to New York,
including thick-soled shoes that can withstand the
city’s rugged streets, and weird and wonderful
accessories inspired by skyscrapers.


PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Betsey Johnson 138 Wooster Street, SoHo; tel. +1 212 995 5048;
www.betseyjohnson.com
CoCo & Delilah 115 Saint Marks Place, East Village; tel. +1 212 254 8741;
www.coco-delilah.com
Kenneth Cole 597 Broadway, SoHo; tel. +1 212 965 0283;
www.kennethcole.com
Kirna Zabete 96 Greene Street, SoHo; tel. +1 212 941 9656;
www.kirnazabete.com
Sigerson Morrison 28 Prince Street, SoHo; tel. +1 212 625 1641;
http://sigersonmorrison.com







US288-289_cit_offbeat_ny.indd 289 11/3/09 16:14:32
288-289_cit_offbeat_ny.indd 289
16/4/09 12:34:49

290


CITIES


































Indie-pop band Margot And The Nuclear So & So performing as part of
the CMJ Music Marathon
Music Venues



New York’s indie music legacy has included punk
rock icons the Ramones, the New York Dolls,
Talking Heads, Blondie, and Sonic Youth. Many
innovative jazz and blues musicians, such as
freewheeling artist Ornette Coleman and
Thelonious Monk, also made their start here. New
York’s alternative music scene continues to flourish,
TOP New Yorker walking beneath cherry blossoms in the Brooklyn Botanic Garden ABOVE Late afternoon stroll in Cloves Lake Park, Staten Island Greenbelt and you can groove to creative tunes throughout
the city, from East Village haunts with cheap booze
Hidden Parks novel. The ferry to Staten Island is one of the city’s and tiny corner stages to low-lit Harlem jazz joints.
great deals, offering top-notch views of the Statue
Check out local bands seven nights a week at the
and Greenery of Liberty and the city skyline – for free. Upon lively Cakeshop in the Lower East Side. In the West
arrival, make for the center of the island, where Village, the cheery Cornelia Street Café showcases
you’ll find the Greenbelt, a lush nature reserve of local music of all stripes, from improvisational
New York reveals a surprising number of green verdant forest, streams, and lakes. Staten Island also quartets to “po’jazz,” a blend of poetry and jazz.
spaces where you can wiggle your toes in the grass features a superlative: Todt Hill, the highest natural Tap your toes to jam sessions and Afro-Cuban
and forget that you’re in the concrete jungle. point in the five boroughs of New York (and also and Latin jazz at the intimate lounge Smoke in
Central Park is, of course, de rigueur on every New where the 1972 epic The Godfather was filmed). Trek Morningside Heights. The Brooklyn Academy of
York itinerary, but venture farther afield and you’ll to the top and gaze out at the rolling greenery that Music (BAM) has long been at the forefront of
find quiet pockets of greenery that you might gives way to the sparkling Upper Bay. Standing contemporary music, dance, and theater. Tune in
share only with the chirping birds. here, you might just forget you’re in New York. to free live shows, from world music to modern
For a reminder that Manhattan is, in fact, an vocalists, at the BAMcafé on weekends. Indie music
island, head to its southern tip. Tucked behind the fans might want to time a visit to New York for the
Practical Information
sun-speckled promenade lies the petite, peaceful Brooklyn Botanic Garden 1000 Washington Avenue, Brooklyn; subway: lines CMJ Music Marathon in October, one of New York’s
Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park, with its gentle grassy 2 or 3 to Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum, lines B or Q to Prospect Park or largest musical events.
slopes, pretty linden trees, and sweeping views line 4 to Franklin Avenue; www.bbg.org
of the East River and the Statue of Liberty. For a Robert F. Wagner, Jr. Park Near Rector Place and the Esplanade in Battery Practical Information
romantic escape, roam the lush Brooklyn Botanic Park, on the southern tip of Manhattan; subway: lines 1, R or W to Rector BAM 30 Lafayette Ave, Brooklyn; tel. +1 718 636 4100; www.bam.org
Garden, with their acres of fragrant foliage, from Street; www.bpcparks.com Cakeshop 152 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side; tel. +1 212 253 0036;
orchids to honeysuckle. New York’s coastal areas Staten Island Greenbelt and Todt Hill Staten Island; public transportation: www.cake-shop.com
take the ferry or the 11X, 12X or 13X express buses to get from Manhattan
have some splendid patches of greenery, including Cornelia Street Cafe 29 Cornelia Street, Greenwich Village; tel. +1 212 989
to Staten Island; www.nycgovparks.org
Fire Island’s Sunken Forest, one of the few 9319; www.corneliastreetcafe.com
Sunken Forest On Fire Island, just to the south of Long Island; public
remaining maritime forests on the eastern CMJ Music Marathon www.cmj.com/marathon/
transportation: take the LIRR (Long Island Railroad) from Pennsylvania
seaboard. Its mist-soaked gnarled trees look like Station in Manhattan to Bay Shore, from where it’s a 15-minute walk or a Smoke 2751 Broadway, Morningside Heights; tel. +1 212 864 6662;
they’ve been plucked straight out of a Tolkien short taxi ride to the ferry (30 minutes to Fire Island); www.fireisland.com www.smokejazz.com





20/3/09 10:53:09
290-291-cit_offbeatny_fo.indd 290 16/4/09 12:49:15
US290-291-cit_offbeatny_fo.indd 290

291








CITIES






















Chinatown chef hard at work
World Food



If America is a melting pot, then New York’s diversity
of cuisine is one of its finest manifestations. In the
foodie capital of the USA, it’s not so much a question
of finding a cuisine, as trying to choose between
them. The numbers say it all: over 180 nationalities
– and counting – live in New York. You could find
your way through the neighborhoods by scent
alone, from the smoky tang of caramel-skinned
duck in Chinatown (Peking Duck House is one of
its best restaurants) to the chunky tomato sauces
that hark back to grandma’s kitchen in Naples, ladled
out at many of Little Italy’s trattorias. And of course,
TOP Exterior of the Bowery Poetry Club ABOVE Rapper Nas performing at the Bowery Poetry Club New York-style pizza is a city obsession and the
ultimate urban fuel, often wolfed down while on the
Off-Broadway heralded as the progenitor of spoken word in New run – try the thin-crust slices at Lombardi’s. The city’s
Jewish heritage introduced such favorites as bagels
Theater and York, serves up a nightly mix of memorable acts. with cream cheese, which have become synonymous
with New York cuisine. You’ll find old-world delis
The Bowery Poetry Club also presents an eclectic
Performances range of performances, from poetry recitals to across town, particularly on the Lower East Side,
performance art. For a sassy night out, come by for
where one of the best is Katz’s Delicatessen. And if
a “Badass Burlesque” night. The club also puts on you’re in the mood for spicy food, try some fiery
From leotard-clad dancers writhing on stage to wine- lively events for the neighborhood, including salsa at the Mexican and Latin American taquerías
fueled audience-participation nights to political puppet performances and bingo nights hosted by (taco stalls) of Spanish Harlem, or head to Koreatown
poetry slams, New York abounds with avant-garde a popular local drag queen. Finally, for avant-garde – or K-town – for kimchi (a spicy vegetable dish) and
theater and performances. Downtown is home to improvizational comedy, check out the Upright karaoke on and around West 32nd Street. Farther
many of the off-off-Broadway theaters, including Citizens Brigade (UCB). Keep your eyes peeled: amid afield, munch on grape leaves and tangy feta at the
the Public Theater, which showcases emerging all the emerging comics, big names will occasionally lively Greek restaurant Agnanti in Astoria, Queens,
playwrights, and also hosts the splendid Shakespeare stop by, including Robin Williams and Tina Fey. and for a vodka-fueled Russian feast, make your way
in Central Park event every summer. The student- to the restaurants of Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach,
thronged Astor Place is a breeding ground for where nothing’s done in moderation, from the velvet
Practical Information
independent theaters, including Under St. Marks, a paintings to the bubbling vats of beef stroganoff.
Bowery Poetry Club 308 Bowery, East Village; tel. +1 212 614 0505;
black-box-and-folding-chairs performance space.
www.bowerypoetry.com
As its name suggests, the theater space is under
Nuyorican Poets Cafe 236 East Third Street, East Village; tel. +1 212 505 Practical Information
St. Marks Place, a street that has long been known 8183; www.nuyorican.org Agnanti 19–06 Ditmars Boulevard, Astoria, Queens; tel. +1 718 545 4554;
for its incense and zany performance art. www.agnantimeze.com
Public Theater 425 Lafayette Street, East Village; tel. +1 212 539 8500;
Poetry Slams (sometimes called spoken word) www.publictheater.org Katz’s Delicatessen 205 East Houston Street, Lower East Side; tel. +1 212
are recitals of free-form poems, rap, and storytelling Under St. Marks 94 St Marks Place, East Village; tel. +1 212 868 4444; 254 2246; www.katzdeli.com
that are usually entertaining, unpredictable, and http://horsetrade.info/ Lombardi’s 32 Spring Street, SoHo; tel. +1 212 941 7994; www.firstpizza.com
raucous, but never boring. The Nuyorican Poets Upright Citizens Brigade 307 West 26th Street, Chelsea; tel. +1 212 366 Peking Duck House 28 Mott Street, Lower East Side; tel. +1 212 227 1810;
Cafe, located in Alphabet City and generally 9176; www.ucbtheatre.com www.pekingduckhousenyc.com







US290-291-cit_offbeatny_fo.indd 291 20/3/09 11:11:35
290-291-cit_offbeatny_fo.indd 291
16/4/09 12:49:22

292


CITIES




FORGET LAS VEGAS?


THE BUILD-UP The most flamboyant city
street in the world, Las Vegas’s 5-mile (8-km)
“Strip” is a dazzling, non-stop extravaganza of
casinos and hotels with fantastic themes and
flamboyant, round-the-clock entertainment,
offering something for every taste and age.

THE LETDOWN The glare of neon and the
incessant tinkling of slot machines can get very
wearing. Strip clubs and illegal prostitution
further tarnish the sheen, as do horrendous
traffic, gamblers committing financial suicide,
and losers seeking an instant divorce.
ABOVE Bright neon lights spelling out Reno’s famous slogan
GOING ANYWAY? Visiting Vegas without
gambling is like touring France without tasting
the wine. But establish in advance the amount
Reno Set astride the Truckee River, Reno has a historic of money you’re prepared to lose. When it’s
district and bucolic parks. The downtown Riverwalk
gone, walk away. And the gorgeous stranger you
is a setting for arts and music festivals. Rent a
meet is almost certainly interested in one thing
vs Las Vegas bicycle and follow the Truckee River Bike Path or – your money. Whatever you do, stay sober. Las
explore Newland Heights, where the millionaires of
Vegas is mercenary and it’s shockingly easy to
the great mining boom built gracious mansions. marry on the spur of the moment.
Reno offers all the thrills and glitz of its big There are even hiking trails within the city limits.
And, while culture vultures might feel starved in
sister Vegas, but with a side order of charm
Las Vegas, Reno has a fistful of cultural venues and
events, as well as world-class museums.
If all that’s not enough to give this desert city
NEED TO KNOW
the edge over its rival, it’s surrounded by a sparkling
LOCATION Reno, Nevada, is wonderland of mountains and lakes. In winter, the
450 miles (725 km) northwest $ "/"%"
of Las Vegas, 180 miles (290 km) 4FBUUMF snow-capped peaks glisten invitingly – skiing at
northeast of San Francisco nearby Lake Tahoe is barely a 45-minute drive away.
/FX :PSL
POPULATION 210,000 3&/0 6 4 "
VISITORS PER YEAR -BT 7FHBT 8BTIJOHUPO % $ MAIN CITY SIGHTS
Over 5 million -PT "OHFMFT ABOVE The neon sensory overload that is downtown
National Automobile Museum Set in a stunning
DAYTIME Las Vegas at night
TEMPERATURES Jan: 33°F Modernist glass building are over 200 of the world’s
(1°C); Apr: 48°F (9°C); Jul: 70°F .&9*$0 rarest vehicles. “Cars of the stars” include James Dean’s
(21°C); Oct: 50°F (1O°C)
1949 Mercury, and Elvis’s 1973 Cadillac Eldorado.
Truckee River Arts District The Riverwalk is lined
The “Biggest Little City in the World,” Reno was with galleries, boutiques, and bistros. Visitors can PRACTICAL INFORMATION
already a mature gambling destination when Las take to the water at Truckee River Whitewater Park.
Getting There and Around cozy Harrah’s Steak House (tel.
Vegas was cutting its teeth. Founded in the mid- Nevada Museum of Art This black-clad, angular
Reno-Tahoe International Airport +1 775 788 2929) will satisfy
19th century as a crossroads settlement during the structure holds an impressive collection of works is 2 miles (3 km) southeast of carnivores with four-star dining.
Comstock Lode silver- and gold-mining rush and depicting nature and the desert environment. downtown Reno; shuttles and Where to Stay
construction of the transcontinental railroad, early Fleischmann Planetarium and Science Center taxis are available to to downtown The sophisticated Eldorado Hotel
Reno boomed as a divorce and, later, wedding Northern Nevada’s crystal-clear night skies are Reno. There is a well-developed & Casino (www.eldoradoreno.
and inexpensive public
capital well ahead of Las Vegas. By the 1930s, the perfect for stargazing. The planetarium’s SkyDome com) is highly regarded for its
transportation system within the stylish rooms, great facilities, and
back-room gambling dens that initially served has dazzling movies and 3D shows to inspire you. city, and the old town center is excellent location right by the
transient miners had turned mainstream and legal, easy to get around on foot. The “Biggest Little City” sign.
adding respectability to Reno at about the time South Tahoe Express (www. When to Go
that mobsters were developing Las Vegas as their souttahoeexpress.com) offers a Early April to late June are warm
shuttle service from the airport to
own boomtown on Nevada’s southeastern frontier. and sunny, while winter months
Lake Tahoe, and Sierra Nevada
Reno’s city fathers have since been careful to Stage Lines (tel. +1 800 822 are perfect for hitting the slopes
preserve its quality of life and areas of old-world 6009) operates between at nearby Lake Tahoe.
charm, avoiding the wilder excesses of Vegas. Sure, down town Reno hotels and Budget Per Day for Two
Reno’s answer to The Strip, Virginia Street, is a Lake Tahoe. Allow about US$140 per day to
sparkling river of neon at night, lined with casinos, Where to Eat include accommodation, meals
The elegant White Orchid (tel. +1 and local travel.
and the city has plenty of lounge bars and cabaret
775 689 7178) serves top-notch Website
shows. But, where Las Vegas is nothing if not over
American contemporary cuisine; www.visitrenotahoe.com
the top, Reno manages to remain endearing. ABOVE Skiing fresh powder in the mountains above Lake Tahoe





US292-293_cit_gyeongju.indd 292 16/4/09 12:34:56
292-293_cit_gyeongju.indd 292
20/3/09 10:50:27
CHAPTER: ANCIENT AND HISTORICAL SIGHTS

293








FORGET KYOTO? CITIES

THE BUILD-UP Having served as the imperial
capital of Japan for more than 1,000 years,
Kyoto boasts a suitably impressive collection
of palaces, temples, shrines, and gardens.
Geishas still trip through streets lined with
traditional inns and townhouses.
THE LETDOWN Kyoto was largely spared
from bombing during World War II, but much
of its magnificence has been destroyed by
factories, traffic, and high-rise apartment blocks.
City planning has occasionally bordered on
ABOVE Rooftops of the palace at Anapji, rising above a field of rapeseed sabotage – the mammoth new train station
(Japan’s largest) being a case in point.
Gyeongju This period has left its mark in other ways, too. Sillan GOING ANYWAY? Its Zen gardens are among
artisans were the envy of East Asia, and a glut of
Kyoto’s most appealing features. However, visitors
are often required to carry their footwear around
golden treasure has been hauled from the earth
vs Kyoto and displayed at the Gyeongju National Museum – in a plastic bag, which somewhat spoils the
atmosphere. It may be worth booking a tour
a sight not to be missed. Also scattered around the
city are some of the most jaw-droppingly beautiful around one of the more illustrious imperial villas
instead, as these receive far fewer guests.
Japan’s ancient capital has been spoiled, but temples in the land – most notable are sumptuously
painted Bulguksa, the martial arts center of Golgulsa
the pride of Korea is still full of treasures
and isolated Girimsa. Most visitors also take time to
check out Namsan, a mountain just south of the
town that still yields archaeological discoveries on
NEED TO KNOW
a regular basis. It is best reached by bicycle and, on
LOCATION Gyeongju is 210 the way, you’ll be amazed at how quickly the city
miles (340 km) southeast of the
/035)
Korean capital, Seoul ,03&" gives way to farmland and bucolic landscapes –
VISITORS PER YEAR 4 FB PG unthinkable in Kyoto.
+BQBO
Over 4 million &BTU 4 FB
4FPVM Kyoto’s jewels may be more highly polished,
POPULATION *ODIFPO and certainly better known, but it’s Gyeongju that
270,000 4065)
,03&"
DAYTIME 6MTBO better evokes the atmosphere of its bygone days ABOVE The futuristic interior of Kyoto’s gargantuan train
station – in stark contrast to the city’s traditional charm
TEMPERATURES ,XBOHKV (:&0/(+6 as the capital of an advanced and noble culture.
Jan: 34°F (1°C); Apr: 54°F (12°C);
Jul: 75°F (24°C); Oct: 61°F (16°C)
MAIN CITY SIGHTS
Tumuli Park Containing almost two dozen burial
When it comes to preserving ancient capitals, mounds, this enclosed area is very picturesque. The PRACTICAL INFORMATION
sometimes you just can’t beat a bit of good, Cheonmachong (“heavenly horse”) tomb, named
old-fashioned dictatorship. Kyoto lost much of its for an exquisite painting of a flying horse found Getting There and Around Where to Stay
original genteel atmosphere after World War II, inside, is open to the public as a museum. Gyeongju can be reached directly There are numerous 5-star
by bus from Incheon, Korea’s options around Bomun Lake, a
largely transforming into a modern Japanese city. Bulguksa In a country with no shortage of stunning
main airport (5 hours), but most few kilometers east of central
In the 1970s, the same fate may have befallen temples, ornately painted Bulguksa is among the travelers come here via Seoul, Gyeongju, but those seeking
Gyeongju, capital of the Silla empire (57 BC– AD 935), best. It is thoroughly deserving of its place on from where there are buses something more homey should
had Korea not been ruled at the time by a military UNESCO’s World Heritage list, as is Seokguram, the every half hour or so (4 hours). head to Sarangchae (tel. +82 54
strongman from the area. The city was shielded nearby mountaintop Buddhist grotto with breath- Gyeongju’s tiny train station is 773 4868), a budget gem of a
also served by seven trains a day guesthouse whose rooms are set
from the burgeoning Korean economy by a cap on taking views, that can be reached via a steep but
from the capital (4–5 hours). around a traditional courtyard.
building height. So, from just 72 ft (22 m) above pleasant hiking trail or a winding shuttle-bus ride.
Where to Eat When to Go
ground level, one is able to see the whole city – Anapji This pleasure garden and palace complex, As in all Korean cities, you can eat Winters in Korea can be bitterly
something hard to imagine in present-day Kyoto. centered around a charming lotus pond, was built excellent food for next to nothing cold and summers stifling, so go
The limit is based on the height of Gyeongju’s for King Munmu in the 7th century. Many people in Gyeongju. The city is noted for in spring (Mar–May) or fall
largest burial mound, or tumulus. The city is dotted opt to visit at night, when the surrounding trees its restaurants serving ssam-bap, (Sep–Nov).
a largely vegetable-based meal
with these soft, grassy hillocks, evidence of a line and bamboo are delightfully illuminated. Budget per Day for Two
made up of over a dozen separate
of Silla kings that stretched unbroken for almost a Namsan This mountain lies just south of central US$140 will be more than enough.
dishes. There are several places
millennium. Other royalty and assorted noblemen Gyeongju. Surrounded by tombs and temples, and to eat on the road running along Transportation, admissions and
were afforded the same privilege, so there are a fair still yielding up its treasures to archaeologists, it the eastern edge of Tumuli Park, food are cheap in Gyeongju, so
your expenses will depend upon
few such mounds to see, mostly in Tumuli Park in can fill a whole day of hiking and sightseeing. but the most attractive is Sampo your choice of accommodations.
Ssambap (tel. +82 54 762 6148),
the city center. Here, you are even allowed to walk Many visitors opt to explore by rented bicycle,
which is decorated with photos Website
inside one mound for a look at the way in which on which you can also weave through the
and Korean bric-a-brac. www.gyeongju.go.kr
Silla royalty was entombed. surrounding patchwork of farms and fields.


US292-293_cit_gyeongju.indd 293 20/3/09 10:51:05
16/4/09 12:34:58
292-293_cit_gyeongju.indd 293

294


CITIES Less-Explored

Hong Kong









Hong Kong is a vibrant East-meets-West destination of world-class dining, shopping,
and nightlife, but its appeal reaches far beyond the showpiece Victoria Harbour
ABOVE Parade at Disneyland Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region of China” (historically FORGET THE HONG
NEED TO KNOW
known as “The Fragrant Harbour’” in Chinese) KONG TOURIST TRAIL?
LOCATION Hong Kong is made bounced back and, since 2004, has seen booming
up of a southern peninsula of $)*/"
China, plus a cluster of 236 islands visitor numbers, largely from China. THE BUILD-UP Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour
POPULATION Hong Kong’s signature attractions span its is a stunning inlet of the South China Sea, and
Over 7 million /FX 5FSSJUPSJFT irregular topography. At sea level, riding the aging is awash with sights familiar even to those who
NUMBER OF VISITORS )0/( ,0/( green-and-white Star Ferry that chugs heroically have never visited the city. On opposite banks
Over 28 million are the high-rise districts of Kowloon and Hong
,PXMPPO between the Kowloon Peninsula and Hong Kong
DAYTIME
-BOUBV )POH ,POH Kong Island. From Central (Hong Kong Island),
TEMPERATURES Jan: *TMBOE *TMBOE Island remains a timeless pleasure. Crossing from
66°F (19°C); Apr: 77°F (25°C); Kowloon, gaze up into the hills behind Cesar Pelli’s the Peak Tram chugs up to Victoria Peak for
Jul: 88°F (31°C); Oct: 82°F (28°C) 4PVUI $IJOB 4FB stunning panoramas across the harbor, city, and
soaring Two IFC Tower, I. M. Pei’s angular Bank of
hills beyond, while the Star Ferry has been a
China headquarters and Lord Foster’s meccano-like Hong Kong icon since the 1890s.
Hong Kong is a city that raises expectations. HSBC building. The futuristic Peak Tower atop
Travelers’ anecdotes frequently drop phrases Victoria Peak affords the city’s best vantage point. THE LETDOWN This is a high-octane city, and
like “cultural kaleidoscope,” “gateway to China,” Day and night, visitors throng the harborside the urban pace is relentless. The huge influx of
“world-class hotels,” and “amazing dining culture,” malls, restaurants, and bars. A nightly laser and light mainland Chinese tourists can result in long
while Hong Kong raised its own bar by rebranding show adds an extra dimension of color and drama. weekend and high-season lines, especially at
itself as “Asia’s world city,” Even Chek Lap Kok Hong Kong is a renowned destination for diners Disneyland Hong Kong. Hawkers selling tailored
airport, built on reclaimed land on Lantau Island, and, while locals choose the dim sum snacks and men’s suits are persistent on Nathan Road and
near the Star Ferry terminal. Hong Kong is also a
is regularly rated the world’s best. double-boiled soups of Cantonese cuisine, the city’s
major corporate events and conference center,
It is in the evening, sitting in a chic cocktail food scene offers something for everyone, from a
and hotels can get booked up far in advance.
lounge overlooking Victoria Harbour, that Hong sumptuous array of mainland Chinese dishes to
Kong really delivers. The harbor view – flanked by pan-Asian and global fare. DOING IT ANYWAY? Traveling between
skyscrapers sculpted by leading global architects But there is much more to Hong Kong than its Kowloon and Central by taxi can be time-
and set against a backdrop of undulating hills – is well-trodden tourist routes and, by leaving behind consuming. A multi-purpose Octopus card (www.
magnificent. The density of these vertical steel the delights of the harbor, you’ll discover the city’s octopuscards.com), valid on the subway, trams,
pinnacles explains why movie director Christopher culture, history, and heritage, secluded spots and trains, buses, and even the ferry, is a speedy, more
Nolan chose Hong Kong to represent Gotham City green spaces, and experience the real Hong Kong. affordable way to get around Hong Kong.
in his Batman blockbuster The Dark Knight. When
night falls, Hong Kong is a mesmerizing vision, PRACTICAL INFORMATION
whether viewed in the flesh or on the silver screen.
In addition to its glamorous appeal, classy tourism Getting There and Around (www.bishopleihtl.com.hk) offers
Hong Kong’s Chek Lap Kok mid-range rooms in Central’s
marketing, and openness to globalization, Hong
airport (www.hongkongairport. Mid-Levels district. Hong Kong’s
Kong is remarkably resilient. When the territory was com) is located on Lantau Island. most quirky design-led hotel is
returned by the British to Chinese rule in 1997, Frequent Airport Express trains the Luxe Manor in Kowloon
concerns were raised about its future as a tourist run to Kowloon and Central (www.theluxemanor.com).
destination. Then the late 1990s Asian financial crisis Hong Kong Island in 24 mins. When to Go
and the 2003 SARS outbreak decimated its economy. Where to Eat Mar–Apr and Oct–Nov offer the
Yung Kee (www.yungkee.com. best climate. The long summer
On both occasions, the officially titled “Hong Kong
hk) serves unfussy Cantonese in between is very humid. Hotel
dim sum and a splendid roast accommodations are very hard
goose. Bo Innovation (www. to find during the week-long
boinnovation.com) offers more Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb) and
contemporary, deconstructed National Day (1 Oct) holidays.
Chinese cuisine, while two-
Michelin-starred French fare is Budget per Day for Two
the hallmark of L’Atelier de Joël Hong Kong is not a cheap
Robuchon (www.robuchon.hk). destination. Allow US$250–350
for a mid-range hotel, meals, and
Where to Stay
The pride of Hong Kong is transportation. Hotel rates rise
The Peninsula (www.peninsula. significantly at peak times.
com) on the waterfront of Website
Kowloon. Bishop Lei House www.discoverhongkong.com
ABOVE Peak Tower building at twilight






24/3/09 17:24:10
US294-295_CIT_OffHK.indd 294 24/7/09 10:11:48
294-295_CIT_OffHK.indd 294

295








CITIES























ABOVE Dim sum dumplings on a Hong Kong street-food stall
LEFT Aerial view of the market stalls and crowds of shoppers in the
Temple Street night markets of Kowloon.
Tastes of Asia



It is said that Hong Kongers’ two passions are
shopping and food. The range of retailers may be
impressive, but the dining is even better. “Asia’s
World City” boasts a truly globalized food scene.
Cantonese dim sum is highly praised, but Hong
Kong also serves up sublime cooking from across
Asia. Exquisite hotel restaurants historically set the
standard, but fine independent restaurants can
now be found right across the city. At the other
end of the scale, so can market stalls offering some
of the most delicious – and cheap – street food.
The Mid-Levels district boasts an eclectic range
of dining choices, while the boho-chic culinary
styles of Star and Gough streets attract Central’s
smart set. In Kowloon, scores of reputable Cantonese
restaurants line the streets around Nathan Road.
For traditional Chinese food, the venerable Tai
Ping Koon, one of Hong Kong’s oldest restaurants,
dating from 1860, serves a much-appreciated
roasted pigeon. Upscale and expensive Japanese
restaurants abound, but for excellent-value sushi,
maki rolls and tempura, Sushi Mata is a popular
choice with in-the-know locals.
Across the water on Hong Kong Island, light
and fragrant Vietnamese dishes are served with
charming élan at Rice Paper in Causeway Bay. Non-
meat-eaters need not feel left out: Life Café in Mid-
Levels serves vegetarian, vegan, and raw-food
breakfasts, lunches, and a dinner menu including
vegetable stir-fries and Indonesian gado-gado.

Practical Information
Life Café Shelley Street, Mid-Levels, Central; tel. +853 2810 9777;
www.lifecafe.com
Rice Paper 413–8, 4F, World Trade Centre, 280 Gloucester Road,
Causeway Bay; tel. +853 2890 3975.
Sushi Mata 61–5 Chatham Street, Tsim Sha Tsui; tel. +853 2191 4787.
Tai Ping Koon Several branches; www.taipingkoon.com







US294-295_CIT_OffHK.indd 295 20/3/09 11:31:01
294-295_CIT_OffHK.indd 295
16/4/09 12:35:05

296


CITIES





























Striking facade of the Hong Kong Museum of Art in Kowloon

Appealing interior of G.O.D. (Goods Of Desire) Museums and
Hong Kong Park, a delightful urban oasis
Antiques and Galleries Parks and
Homewares
Often dismissed as a shopping-and-dining city that Natural Spaces
views culture with disdain, Hong Kong is seeking
Hong Kong loves to shop, and boasts Asia’s most to emphasize its appreciation of history and the
exciting portfolio of glitzy malls and designer labels. arts. An annual contemporary art fair has been Hong Kong is far more than a chrome-and-glass
But tucked discreetly away from the melee of big launched, and the long-running Hong Kong Arts urban jungle – in fact, some 40 percent of the
names and their insatiable shoppers is a world of Festival draws an eclectic mix of creative talents. terrain is dedicated as protected parkland. When
more refined retailing, a refreshing alternative to But as well as importing global performers, the downtown temperature rises, Hong Kongers
the mall culture of Central, Kowloon, and Causeway Hong Kong is reassessing its own cultural and head for the hills for fine hiking and cycling trails,
Bay and the over-touristed markets of Stanley and historic identity. Emerging from its recent slumber or to one of myriad national parks and beaches for
Temple streets. is the Hong Kong Museum of Art. Several guest family relaxation and convening with nature.
Halfway between Victoria Harbour and the curators have breathed new artistic life into this Even in the urban areas, pleasant parks and
Peak is the aptly named Mid-Levels, where the long-neglected museum – a space always imbued gardens can be found. The delicately landscaped
sloping streets around Hollywood Road are home with potential. The Open Dialogues contemporary Hong Kong Park sits on a grassy incline overlooking
to elegant, authentic antiques shops and low-key art series presaged bolder, more conceptual shows. the Financial District. Paths weave between rocks
art galleries. Since 1982, the Altfield Gallery has Somewhat more cerebral is the often-overlooked and ponds, attracting city elders, schoolchildren,
been a leading purveyor of fine 18th- and 19th- University Museum & Art Gallery, which takes an bank workers, and families, while the fountains are
century Chinese furniture and artworks, and has intellectual but accessible approach to ancient popular spots for pre-wedding photo shoots.
also diversified into high-quality Southeast Asian Chinese art and archaeology. Opened in 2006, the 150-acre (61-ha) Hong
artifacts. The Red Cabinet is another specialist dealer, Though not usually a topic to lure visitors, urban Kong Wetland Park in the Northern Territories is a
showcasing antique furniture and accessories for planning is critical to Hong Kong’s future vision – modern ecotourism center, demonstrating the
private collectors and export dealers, as well as especially as land reclamation alters the shape of its dramatic diversity of the wetland habitat, which is
superior reproduction items. shoreline. The Hong Kong Planning & Infrastructure often overlooked by city folk. Set in the heart of a
Farther afield, in Aberdeen, China Art sells Exhibition Gallery offers a glimpse, via videos, picturesque rolling valley, the Kadoorie Farm &
exquisitely restored antique Chinese beds, models, maps, and interactive exhibits, of the city Botanic Garden is beautifully maintained and
cabinets, chairs, tables, and soft furnishings. of tomorrow. Going back in time, the Museum of showcases new initiatives for sustainable living
Promoting a quirkier, contemporary angle on Coastal Defence, located in a 19th-century former and improving wildlife habitats and biodiversity.
Asian home furnishings is G.O.D. (Goods of Desire), British fort, explores Hong Kong’s military past. Keen walkers should head to Shek O Country
with shops in Central, Causeway Bay and Tsim Sha Park. The undulating 2½-mile (4-km) Dragon’s Back
Tsui. Their stated aim is to promote unconventional Peak trail, linking Wan Cham Shan and Shek O Peak,
Practical Information
and desirable furniture for modern consumers. Hong Kong Museum of Art Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; affords fine views of Big Wave Bay.
www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Arts
Practical Information Hong Kong Planning & Infrastructure Exhibition Gallery 3 Edinburgh Place, Practical Information
Altfield 248–9 Prince’s Building, Chater Road, Mid-Levels, Central; Central; www.infrastructuregallery.gov.hk Dragon’s Back Trail Southern District; http://www.afcd.gov.hk
www.altfield.com.hk
Museum of Coastal Defence Shau Kei Wan, Eastern District; Hong Kong Park 19 Cotton Tree Drive, Central, Hong Kong Island
China Art Aberdeen; www.chinaart.com.hk www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/Museum/Coastal Hong Kong Wetland Park Tin Shui Wan, New Territories;
G.O.D. Several outlets; www.god.com.hk University Museum & Art Gallery Pok Fu Lam, Central; www.wetlandpark.com
Red Cabinet 1–3 Hollywood Road, Central; www.red-cabinet.com.hk www.hku.hk/hkumag Kadoorie Farm & Botanic Garden Tai Po, New Territories; www.kfbg.org.hk







20/3/09 14:11:03
296-297_CIT_OffHK_FO.indd 296 24/7/09 10:13:24
US296-297_CIT_OffHK_FO.indd 296

297








CITIES























Hong Kong tram making its way through Central after dark
Alternative

Evenings



Evenings in Hong Kong tend to revolve around
eating, drinking, and conviviality – with some
snaps of the dazzling night-time skyline thrown
in for good measure. Yet after-dark Hong Kong
affords just as much diversity as during the day.
Floodlit horse-racing at the Happy Valley
Racecourse is a time-honored night out for locals,
who take their racing and their betting extremely
seriously, and great fun for visitors. Located in an
TOP Star Ferry crossing Victoria Harbour ABOVE Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island BELOW Fish drying by the harbor on Cheung Chau Island urban bowl and surrounded by high-rise buildings,
the racecourse itself is a spectacular sight. Be sure
Boat Trips to study the form carefully before betting.
Visitors who prefer to play a sport rather than
watch one can fine-tune their golf swing into the
Hong Kong’s history is tied to the sea. Made up of night at the City Golf Club. Located close to Tsim
236 islands, it is surrounded and defined by water. Sha Tsui, the upper level of the two-story driving
The urban centers of Kowloon and Central radiate range affords fine views over the harbor.
back from Victoria Harbour, and the tradition of Fast ferries, operating around the clock between
feng shui (literally, “wind and water”) decrees that Central and Macau, mean that a high-rolling
harmonious residences should face the sea. evening in Macau’s bars and glitzy super-casinos
So, naturally, the best way to discover Hong is relatively straightforward – provided you don’t
Kong’s hidden treasures is by boat. The most visible stake your return fare on the baccarat tables.
option is the Star Ferry, which runs between Kowloon For a romantic and nostalgic trip, the venerable
and Hong Kong Island, and also offers harbor tours Hong Kong Tram plies a meandering route between
and charter vessels for evening parties. For a more Causeway Bay and Western via the Central Business
upscale experience, the Agua Luna, an 80-year-old District and Downtown. Jump on and off en route
junk, has been restored in style, with scarlet sails, (there’s a stop roughly every 275 yards/250 m), or
for cocktails-and-canapés harbor parties. just sit and snuggle up as your wooden carriage
Lamma Island’s rising contours, lush vegetation, trundles through the heart of Hong Kong.
and excellent seafood restaurants make for an Practical Information
alluring day-trip by boat. A scenic hike across Aqua Luna Several sailings daily between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui Practical Information
from Yung Shue Wan to Sok Kwu Wan takes about (reservations essential); www.aqua.com.hk Causeway Bay–Western Tram www.hktramways.com
2 hours. From Sok Kwu Wan catch a 35-minute Cheung Chau Central Ferry Terminal, Pier 5, Central; www.nwff.com.hk City Golf Club Jordan, Kowloon; www.citygolfclub.com
ferry back to Central. Another getaway option is Lamma Island Ferry Central Ferry Terminal, Pier 4, Central; Happy Valley Racecourse Happy Valley, Hong Kong Island;
Cheung Chau, a picturesque island with beaches, www.nwff.com.hk www.happyvalleyracecourse.com
markets, and great seafood. A ferry from the Star Ferry Star Ferry Pier, Kowloon Point, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon; Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Shun Tak Ferry Terminal, Lai Chi Kok, Kowloon;
Central Ferry Terminal takes 45–55 minutes. www.starferry.com.hk www.turbocat.com







US296-297_CIT_OffHK_FO.indd 297 20/3/09 14:10:40
296-297_CIT_OffHK_FO.indd 297
16/4/09 12:49:49

298


CITIES FORGET MARRAKECH?




Fez THE BUILD-UP Ever since the budget airlines
started flying to Marrakech, the city has
experienced a tourism gold-rush. With its
colorful bazaars, year-round sun, fabulous
palaces, and designer-renovated riads, Marrakech
vs Marrakech quickly found itself billed as one of the world’s
most fashionable short-break destinations.

THE LETDOWN Marrakech is no longer the
bargain destination it once was. The tourists that
Marrakech may set the city-break crowd’s hearts aflutter, but Fez, Morocco’s throng the souks – often inappropriately dressed
ancient spiritual capital, really makes hearts throb for a Muslim country – are easy prey for shop
owners, who quickly inflate prices according to
customers’ perceived wallet sizes.

GOING ANYWAY? Timing is all: avoid the
over the centuries and is almost entirely free of motor
NEED TO KNOW hordes at the peak times of Christmas, New
vehicles. Its bent and narrow lanes are far better Year and Easter, as well as the scorching heat of
LOCATION Fez is situated in suited to mules and donkeys, which still work hard
northern Morocco, on the fertile high summer. Vary your clock once there too,
5BOHJFS
plains at the base of the Middle carrying everything from bags of cement to hitting the main Djemaa el-Fna, the central
Atlas Mountains square, late at night when it’s a locals-only scene.
3BCBU '&; televisions in and out of the medina. The medieval
POPULATION "UMBOUJD way of organizing a city also persists in Fez, with
0DF B O
1 million .030$$0
.BSSBLFDI each quarter having its own mosque, fountains,
DAYTIME
TEMPERATURES and communal bakeries, as well as areas dedicated
Jan: 48°F (9°C); Apr: 57°F to particular arts and crafts, such as slipper-making,
"-(&3*"
(14°C); Jul: 93°F (34°C);
Oct: 64°F (18°C) 8&45&3/ leatherwork, and the city’s famous fine embroidery.
4")"3"
Ancient though it is, Fez isn’t above learning a
few new tricks. Scores of its old townhouses are
Morocco’s capital city has shifted repeatedly over being turned into the riad guesthouses beloved
the centuries, according to the whim and power of foreign visitors, and a UNESCO-supported
of the dynasty of the day. These days, Rabat might rehabilitation scheme has provided funding and
host the embassies and Marrakech the tourists, but expertise to help restore threatened and crumbling
the majority of Moroccans will still point to Fez as parts of this World Heritage city. Government plans
the country’s spiritual and cultural heart. to boost Moroccan tourist numbers past 10 million ABOVE Tourist searching for bargains in a busy souk in
Fez was Muslim Morocco’s first capital, and in mean that there’s not a lot of time left to get here Marrakech, Morocco
2008 the city celebrated its 1,200th birthday with before the crowds do.
remarkable understatement. But unlike their glitzy
Marrakechi rivals to the south, Fassis don’t feel the MAIN CITY SIGHTS
need to shout about their city. Just one day in the Talaa Kebira The medina’s main street leads visitors
buzzing warren of the old city is all most visitors to the heart of the old city, from the Bab Bou Jeloud
need to be instantly hooked. Exploring the Fez Gate past mosques, markets, and fountains, and an
medina is undoubtedly one of the Arab world’s unending stream of people and pack animals. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
greatest travel experiences. Its dusty streets are Bou Inania Medersa One of the finest buildings
gloriously alive, and its sights, sounds, and smells in Fez, this 14th-century theological college is a Getting There and Around visitors an excellent choice of
Fez Saïss airport has direct accommodations for different
have the force of a battering ram on the senses. masterclass in Moroccan craftsmanship. Its
connections to many major budgets. Riad Lune et Soleil
The city has changed very little over time, and is sumptuous decorations include intricate mosaics, European cities, mainly through (www.riadluneetsoleil.com)
today the most complete and unspoiled medieval woodcarvings, and decorative plasterwork. budget airlines. Other flights is a charming and eccentrically
Islamic settlement in the world. Surrounded by hills Tanneries Moroccan leather is produced here the come via Casablanca, which is decorated guesthouse,
54 miles (87 km) southwest of
on all sides, Fez has been unable to expand much old-fashioned – and highly smelly – way, with skins renowned for its excellent food.
Rabat. Fez has excellent road
submerged in open-air vats full of dyes made from and rail connections with the When to Go
indigo, poppies, and saffron. The colorful results are rest of Morocco. Spring and fall are the most
on sale throughout the medina. Where to Eat pleasant times to visit the city
weather-wise. Winter is cold
Batha Museum This museum, housed in a beautiful Fez is famous in Morocco for its and rainy, while summer heat
19th-century palace with a classical Andalucian culinary heritage, and is the can be uncomfortable.
home of b’stilla, a sweet-savory
garden, holds a fine collection of Moroccan artifacts
dish of filo pastry stuffed with Budget per Day for Two
from the heyday of the great imperial dynasties. nuts and pigeon. The restaurant From US$90 upwards,
Festival of World Sacred Music This cross-cultural at La Maison Bleue hotel (www. depending on accommodations.
musical festival was founded in response to the maisonbleue.com) offers one of The best riads charge up to
first Gulf War and is now a huge international the city’s best dining experiences. US$160 per room per night.
success, attracting world-class performers for grand Where to Stay Website
The boutique hotel riad scene is www.visitmorocco.com/index.
concerts and intimate recitals. The week-long
ever-expanding in Fez, offering php/eng/I-am-going-to/Fez
ABOVE The Bab Bou Jeloud Gate at dusk, Fez, Morocco festival takes place every year in June (see p56).






298-299_cit_fez.indd 298 18/11/08 12:21:1524/7/09 10:13:52
US298-299_cit_fez.indd 298

CHAPTER: CITIES









299








CITIES






















































MAIN IMAGE Women shopping in a covered market, Fez, Morocco
BELOW (left to right) Vats of colored dye at a tannery, Fez; mosaic-tiled stairway
in the Bou Inania Medersa

3 MORE ARAB CITIES TO
RIVAL MARRAKECH

SANA’A, YEMEN The center of the Yemeni capital is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site known for its concentration of ancient
mud-brick tower houses – tall buildings built for defensive
purposes. With traditional dress very much in vogue here – few
men would dare be seen lacking their jambiya (dagger) in their
belt – Sana’a is a true vision of old Arabia.
TUNIS, TUNISIA Tunis hosts another of north Africa’s great
medinas, but the city’s origins far predate the arrival of Islam. The
main mosque was built with columns stolen from Roman-era
Carthage, which stood at the edge of the modern city. Further
ruins add to the blend of ancient, medieval, and modern.
ALEPPO, SYRIA Syria’s second city is home to the country’s
greatest souks. Miles of bustling covered bazaars surround the
stunning 8th-century Great Mosque and lead to the mound of
Aleppo’s imposing citadel, which withstood the armies of both
the Crusaders and the Mongols.







US298-299_cit_fez.indd 299 18/11/08 12:21:3816/4/09 12:35:13
298-299_cit_fez.indd 299

300


CITIES Less-Explored
Venice











No one can fail to be impressed by magical Venice, but it is the backwaters of the city,
far from the tourist trails, where the real soul of the city lies undisturbed by crowds



NEED TO KNOW seagulls to enjoy far-reaching views against a
backdrop of the snow-spattered Alps.
LOCATION Venice is in The immense 210-sq-mile (550-sq-km) expanse
the top northeast corner of
.JMBO
Italy, on the curve of the 7&/*$& of the Venice lagoon has much to offer visitors, too.
Adriatic Coast Its waters are dotted with islands that have been
POPULATION 60,700 *5"-: inhabited since Roman times and through the
"ESJBUJD
VISITORS PER YEAR 3PNF 4FB Middle Ages. There are still hosts of monasteries
19 million /BQMFT
DAYTIME 5ZSSIFOJBO (albeit abandoned), the famous lazaretti, or
TEMPERATURES 4FB hospitals, constructed for plague victims and
Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 54°F (12°C); *POJBO
1BMFSNP 4FB lepers, and small but thriving fishing communities.
Jul: 73°F (23°C); Oct: 61°F (16°C)
Barely navigable channels snake through shallows
and salt marshes. The northern stretch harbors fish
Any trip to this waterborne city inevitably starts farms, market gardens, and open spaces where
at Piazza San Marco, with its entourage of glittering herons, cormorants, and flamingoes come to breed. FORGET THE VENICE
monuments. Here are photo opportunities galore, The public waterbus, or vaporetto, runs out to
including feeding pigeons and rooftop views from Murano, with its world-famous glass; Burano, TOURIST TRAIL?
the Campanile (bell tower). A trip in a gondola known for its lace; and Torcello, where the first
THE BUILD-UP The dazzling array of must-see
rowed by a handsome gondolier, as you glide on lagoon dwellers settled. The lagoon’s southern end
sights includes grandiose Piazza San Marco, and
the magnificent Grand Canal beneath the majestic features islands with multiple uses, from being
the intricately decorated Doge’s Palace. Then
Rialto arch, is about as delightfully stereotypical as ancient ammunition dumps to havens for refugees. there’s the bejeweled Basilica of St. Mark and its
it can get. But there is much more of Venice to be Just 20 minutes away by waterbus from St Mark’s treasures, and the myriad museums and churches
experienced, hidden away in the city’s backwaters. is the Lido, with its long stretch of sandy beach that showcase the glorious Renaissance art
All it takes is a wrong turn, a detour from the offering respite from the high culture of the city. created here. Hours can be spent on the city’s
tourist trails and the maddening crowds are left Farther south, joining the mainland, the lively main water artery, the Grand Canal, lined with
behind as you wander into the real Venice, where fishing port of Chioggia is worth a visit for its sandy palaces and crossed by four major bridges.
the locals live, work, and socialize. In this maze of beach and fish restaurants.
alleys, wonderful rewards come in the form of A little off the beaten track, these backwaters THE LETDOWN You’ll be hard put to have the
famous square to yourself, day or night. Waiting
authentic neighborhood cafés and canalside wine of the “floating” city hide a uniquely Venetian allure.
and jostling in line become familiar pastimes at
bars, or osteria, buzzing with the sounds of the
top sights and prices are sky high at every corner.
local Venetian dialect. These are inviting places for PRACTICAL INFORMATION
a relaxed morning cappuccino, an unhurried DOING IT ANYWAY? Careful planning is
alfresco lunch, or a spritz apéritif, later in the day. Getting There and Around budget option, while Pensione essential to ensure an enjoyable vacation, so go at
Wander farther to discover tiny squares where kids Marco Polo airport is 6 miles La Calcina (www.lacalcina.com) a non-peak time, steering clear of European public
(10 km) northeast of Venice. falls in the mid-price category.
play soccer and neighbors settle down to chat holidays. Try and visit sights at lunchtime to
Buses take 20 minutes to reach Those looking for luxury should
beside Renaissance churches housing exquisite the city and launches about opt for Palazzo Abadessa avoid groups. Invest in a Venice Card travel pass
works of art. Then, unexpectedly, you emerge at 45 minutes. The city is best (www.abadessa.com). covering boat transportation and the main sights.
the lagoon’s edge in the company of wheeling explored on foot, although the When to Go
public ferry or vaporetto makes Winter can be sunny and crisp,
for a relaxing cruise. with fewer crowds. However,
Where to Eat take heed that in the months
Food in Venice centers on of October, November, and
seafood. Exclusive Da Fiore December, you are more likely to
(www.dafiore.net) in the San encounter flooding, known as
Polo district specializes in dishes Acqua Alta. Spring (Mar–May)
made from seasonal ingredients. is lovely, as a little warmth
Or opt for La Caravella, where streams into the sun’s rays.
traditional fare is reinterpreted Budget per Day for Two
(www.restaurantlacaravella.com). US$210 including food and
ABOVE A popular destination for visitors in Venice, the
Where to Stay accommodations. ever-crowded Piazza San Marco
Al Campaniel (www. Website
alcampaniel.com) is a good www.turismovenezia.com
ABOVE Church of San Michele on San Michele, an island in Venice lagoon






14/4/09 15:48:44
US300-301_Cit_OffVenice.indd 300 24/7/09 10:14:01
300-301_CIT_OffVenice.indd 300

301








CITIES























ABOVE A vaporetto on the Grand Canal, Santa Maria della Salute in the
background LEFT Colorful houses lined along the quiet canals of Burano

Boat Trips



Armed with a 24-hour ticket or a Venice Card boat
pass, you can take the weight off your feet and
explore the city and its surroundings on a vaporetto
or public ferry. Line 1 is the popular, all-stops
service for the Grand Canal, passing under brand-
new Constitution Bridge and the historic Rialto
Bridge. By nightfall, it becomes a divinely romantic
cruise, sliding past elegant palaces, their lights
reflecting on the surface of the canal. Of a different
nature, and much quieter, is Route 51/52, whose
slimmer motoscafo craft circle the entire city, taking
in the fascinating Arsenale and Castello districts.
A delightful day can be spent out on the
northern lagoon on a sturdier motonave ferry if you
take the LN line. After calling in at the islands of
Murano and Burano, the ferry runs on to Punta
Sabbioni. As it steams past the passages where the
lagoon connects with the Adriatic Sea, passengers
can witness the construction work under way for
the Mose Floodgate Project, intended to protect
Venice from the sea. Past monumental Forte di
Sant’Andrea, its cannons mounted at water level to
cripple enemy ships, the next stop is the city’s
beach resort, the Lido. Private lagoon trips with
specialist guides, including marine scientists, can
also be arranged through Context Travel.
It’s worth making the effort to travel on the car
ferry that shuttles between San Nicolò on the Lido
and the Tronchetto car park. Known to the
Venetians as the “ferry boat,” it transits via the broad
Giudecca Canal, the tall decks providing lovely
views, and the on-board bar great drinks.



PRACTICAL INFORMATION
For ferry information www.actv.it
For the Venice Card www.hellovenezia.com
For boat trips on the northern lagoon www.contexttravel.com







US300-301_CIT_OffVenice .indd 301 14/4/09 15:49:17
300-301_CIT_OffVenice.indd 301
16/4/09 12:35:21

302


CITIES


















A replica of the ceremonial Bucintoro barge displayed in the Naval
History Museum
Smaller

Museums



A host of little-visited but interesting museums
and galleries are hidden around town, each with
curious exhibits that shed light on the story of this
magnificent city. On entering the Palazzo Querini
Stampalia Museum, you are transported back to
the 1700s for a glimpse of life in a Venetian palace
of that period. Beautifully furnished rooms are
decorated with rich fabrics, fine porcelain, famous
Murano glass, and period paintings by illustrious
artists such as Longhi and Bellini.
The Naval History Museum (Museo Storico
Navale) near the Arsenale has displays of ancient
watercraft, which provide an excellent overview of
life and work in Venice prior to the arrival of motor-
powered boats. One highlight here is the replica of
the Bucintoro ceremonial barge that had pride of
place in the Sposalizio del Mare rituals symbolizing
Venice “marrying” the sea – the original was put to
the flames by Napoleon. Not to be missed is the
Pavilion of Boats (Padiglione delle Navi), with a
royal vessel complete with decorated oars and
TOP Piazza San Marco as seen from the Grand Canal ABOVE Basilica di San Marco and San Marco district seen from the Campanile naval craft employed during World War II.
On Murano, the dusty old bishops’ residence,
Viewpoints Giudecca island. A walkway around the hotel’s pool Palazzo Giustiniani, now the Glass Museum (Museo
affords stunning views over the vast sweep of the del Vetro), is a treasure trove of priceless, fragile
shipping canals and the layout of the majestic city pieces of exquisite craftsmanship. One of the many
After a while, Venice can feel claustrophobic with backed by the mighty Alps. A bar overlooks highlights is a gigantic candelabra composed of
its narrow, sunless streets and swarms of people, beautifully laid-out gardens and residences, as 356 handmade pieces, weighing over 660 lbs
but visitors in the know can enjoy spectacular well as tastefully converted industrial premises. (300 kg). Explanations of glass-working techniques
vantage points high above the bustle. Lines usually Finally, for unbeatable aerial views take a boat covering beads, millefiori, mirrors, and blowing
build up outside the celebrated 323-ft (99-m) over to the Lido (see p301) and treat yourself to a accompany the visit. A ferry trip away, Burano has a
Campanile (bell tower) in Piazza San Marco, but it’s helicopter ride. Visitors taking off or landing at the showcase museum, Museo del Merletto, with
worth the wait. In 1452 an impatient Frederick III, outlying Venice airport only get a fleeting glimpse exhibits that display the ancient art of lace-making,
the Holy Roman Emperor, rode his horse up the of the lagoon, but from the chopper, the intricate believed to derive from a magical veil of foam
ramp, but nowadays there’s an elevator. system of channels, shallows, sandbanks, and which was dreamed up by a fisherman.
A short boat trip across St Mark’s Basin is the islands becomes crystal clear.
quiet monastery island of San Giorgio Maggiore.
PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Here, at the back of the church designed by PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Museo del Merletto Piazza Galuppi 187, Burano; www.museiciviciveneziani.it
Andrea Palladio, one of the remaining Benedictine Campanile San Marco Piazza San Marco, San Marco; www.basilicasan Museo Storico Navale Riva S Biasio, Castello; www2.regione.veneto.it/cultura/
monks accompanies visitors up to a little-visited marco.it musei/inglese/pag462e.htm
bell tower that affords wonderful vistas. But the Heliair Aeroporto G. Nicelli, Lido di Venezia, Lido; www.heliairvenice.com Museo del Vetro Fondamenta Giustinian 8, Murano; www.museicivici
best place for memorable panoramas is the Skyline Hilton Molino Stucky Hotel Giudecca 810; www.hilton.com/venice veneziani.it
Terrace at the Hilton Molino Stucky hotel on San Giorgio Church San Marco; Line 2 Palazzo Querini Stampalia Castello 5252; www.querinistampalia.it







14/4/09 16:11:35
US302-303_CIT_OffVenice_FO.indd 302 16/4/09 12:50:07
302-303_CIT_OffVenice_FO.indd 302

303








CITIES














Canal-side residences and vendors selling their wares on the
promenade, Riva degli Schiavoni, in Castello

The monastery of San Lazzaro degli Armeni surrounded by manicured Castello Walk
gardens on San Lazzaro island
Doorway leading into the atmospheric 15th-century osteria
Cantina Do Mori
Lagoon Islands The less-visited Castello district that accounts for
Osterie the city’s far eastern section is perfect for a
fascinating walking tour via quiet squares and
Far-flung patches of marshy land transformed neighborhood cafés. A stroll along waterside
into fishing villages, monasteries, asylums, Found all over town, these traditional watering Riva degli Schiavoni, named after Slav sailors from
hospitals, and market gardens, the islands in spots are convivial places for an ombra (glass of the Dalmatian Coast, leads past a procession of
the Venice Lagoon are a marvelous world unto house wine) or a spritz, the local concoction of palaces and La Pietà, the church where Antonio
themselves. San Pietro in Volta, inhabited by white wine and a generous dash of Campari or Vivaldi used to give musical instruction. Then it’s on
hardy fisher-folk and rowing champions, is a similar apéritif, embellished with a fat green olive past the stuccoed ochre Ca’ di Dio, or House of
photogenic village set on a slender strip of sand and a slice of lemon. Perfect accompaniments are God. Now a convalescent home, it once hosted
facing the Adriatic, and accessible from the Lido the omnipresent bowls of chips or peanuts, but pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land in the
by car ferry, bus, or bicycle. It comes alive in the connoisseurs prefer cicchetti, flavorsome traditional Middle Ages. Over a bridge is the huge Arsenale
summer months with a string of saints’ festivities bar snacks. Favorites include crostino di baccalà shipyard, where galleys and warships were
that see colorful processions and dancing in (creamed salt cod spread on crusty bread), folpetti assembled during the centuries of the Venetian
the streets. A bunch of excellent fish restaurants (a saucerful of tender baby octopus) and sarde fritte Republic. Encircled by a high crenellated brick wall,
there includes Trattoria Da Nane. (crispy fried sardines in light batter). the shipyard is open during art shows such as the
A short distance north across the water on The Rialto market area boasts a great choice of Biennale extravaganzas.
vaporetto Line 20, a dwindling community of atmospheric osterie including Cantina Do Mori, Close to Castello’s southern edge is broad Via
Armenian monks on San Lazzaro degli Armeni where the ceiling is hung with copper cooking Garibaldi, lined with eateries such as cheerful
continue as guardians of a historic library with pots. At Al Marca, customers clutching drinks and Trattoria Giorgione. Next to a lively market, the
numerous beautifully illustrated manuscripts. food spill out into the square mixing with shoppers road forks, and you turn down a shady, tree-lined
They also act as tour guides for visitors to their laden with fresh fruit and vegetables. avenue constructed under the late 18th-century
peaceful haven. The fascinating neighboring A fine establishment on the opposite side of French dominion. Here a statue of Garibaldi towers
island of San Servolo (guided tours available), the Grand Canal in Cannaregio is low-ceilinged over a pond crawling with terrapins, which have
erstwhile psychiatric sanatorium, now not only La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi, which does delicious been released here by locals.
houses an international university but also hosts things with anchovies and calamari. Frequented by At the rear of Castello, accessible by a long
artisans’ workshops. the young crowd, bustling Osteria alla Botte wooden bridge, is the sleepy backwater of San
Northwards, most visitors head for Burano for located in the San Marco district has often been Pietro, site of settlements dating back to the
its brightly painted houses and lace shops, but next known to verge on the rowdy. A place worth 7th century. Its handsome church of Palladian
door is also pretty Mazzorbo, home to laid-back hunting out near the Accademia Gallery is friendly design, the Chiesa di San Pietro di Castello, was
trattorias and vegetable gardens bulging with prize Al Bottegon, where old-fashioned pickles, actually the cathedral of Venice up until 1807,
artichokes. A private taxi launch is needed to reach mortadella sausage, and hard-boiled eggs on when Basilica di San Marco took over. During the
San Francesco del Deserto, a peaceful cypress- toothpicks are served along with wine. Bottles can Venetian Republic years, the ecclesiastical
ringed retreat for a small community of Franciscan be purchased from the ranks of impressive authorities were all but confined here, well away
monks who happily show the curious around their vintages lining this family-run bar. from the city’s seat of power at San Marco, to keep
island home, founded by Saint Francis himself. Church and State separate. Nearby, the public
PRACTICAL INFORMATION gardens of Sant’Elena and its playground are a
PRACTICAL INFORMATION Al Bottegon (Cantinone già Schiavi) Fondamenta Nani, Dorsoduro 992; good spot to relax with a book or enjoy a picnic.
For ferry information www.actv.it tel. +390 41 523 0034
Isola di San Francesco del Deserto www.isola-sanfrancescodeldeserto.it La Bottega ai Promessi Sposi Calle dell’Oca, Cannaregio 4367; PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Isola di San Lazzaro degli Armeni Line 20 from San Zaccaria; tel. +390 41 241 2747 Biennale Palazzo Giustinian Lolin, San Vidal, San Marco 2893;
tel. +390 41 526 0104 Cantina Do Mori Calle dei Do Mori, San Polo 429; tel. +390 41 522 5401 www.labiennale.org
Isola di San Servolo www.sanservolo.provincia.venezia.it Al Marca Campo Bella Vienna, San Polo 213; tel. +390 03 992 4781 Chiesa di San Pietro di Castello Campo San Pietro; www.chorusvenezia.org
Trattoria Da Nane Via Laguna 282, Pellestrina; tel. +390 41 527 9110 Osteria alla Botte Calle della Bissa, San Marco 5482; tel. +390 41 520 9775 Trattoria Giorgione Via Garibaldi 1533, Garibaldi; www.ristorantegiorgione.it







US302-303_CIT_OffVenice_FO.indd 303 14/4/09 16:12:08
302-303_CIT_OffVenice_FO.indd 303
16/4/09 12:50:14

304


CITIES










































































MAIN IMAGE Elegant, colorful Rīga from above BELOW (left to right)
Latvians in costume at the Open-Air Ethnographic Museum; street café in
the heart of Rīga’s Old Town; House of Blackheads, Old Town
























14/4/09 15:52:32
304-305_cit_riga.indd 304
US304-305_cit_riga.indd 304 16/4/09 12:35:28

CHAPTER: CITIES STAGE CREATIVE TEAM LONDON MANAGERS
EDITOR DESIGN EDITOR DESIGN

*state stage: roughs/1sts/2nds/finals *editors & design, pls initial & date



305




FORGET PRAGUE? CITIES


THE BUILD-UP Prague needs no introduction.
Rīga beautiful cities in Europe, the Czech capital
Widely considered to be one of the most
offers a fascinating blend of Bohemian,
Germanic, and Jewish cultural influences and
serves as an enduring symbol of the rich and
cosmopolitan history of Central Europe. Its
captivating 18th-century streetscapes and
vs Prague majestic medieval churches, synagogues, and
mansions have survived largely untouched.

THE LETDOWN In many respects Prague’s
Prague may have hogged the limelight since the Velvet Revolution of 1989, but tourist industry is a victim of its own success:
taxi drivers are notorious for overcharging,
the Baltic gem that is Rīga gives the Czech capital a run for its tourist money money-changers routinely misrepresent their
rates, and the Old Town Square is awash with
tacky souvenir shops and postcard stalls. It is
now the sixth most-visited city in Europe, and
the elegant streets throng with tourists. The city
NEED TO KNOW the Town Hall (Rātslaukums), which represented has also, rather unfortunately, become a favorite
the merchants (the original building was destroyed
&450/*" destination for British stag parties.
LOCATION Rīga, the capital of in World War II and has since been replaced by a
Latvia, is located on the Baltic coast
at the mouth of the Daugava River (VMG PG modern office building). By the late 19th century, GOING ANYWAY? The crowds are at their
3ūHB
POPULATION Rīga was the third-largest city in the Russian worst at Easter, Christmas, and in the summer,
Around 750,000 - "57*"
3Ī(" Empire, and evidence of this prosperity can be so aim to go in fall or winter. To avoid being
VISITORS PER YEAR -JFQÍKB seen in its many Art Nouveau buildings, which are scammed, change money in banks or use ATMs,
Around 825,500 %BVHBWQJMT
DAYTIME regarded as the best in Europe. World War II saw and try to avoid using taxis altogether.
TEMPERATURES -*5)6"/*" much of the city devastated, but extensive
Jan: 27°F (-3°C); Apr: 43°F (6°C); restoration work has left the Old Town’s streets and
Jul: 63°F (17°C); Oct: 45°F (7°C) 7JMOJVT
courtyards looking much as they did centuries ago.
An excellent collection of museums reflects
It would be hard to deny the fairy-tale appeal of the city’s cultural standing, not least during the
Prague’s Old Town, but as it attracts ever-growing 19th-century growth of national sentiment, which
hordes of tourists – and the hawkers who prey on culminated in the brief existence of an independent
them – the city risks losing its Cinderella glamor Latvia between the two world wars. Today, with this
and being revealed as more of an ugly sister. It’s independence regained, Rīga finds itself capital of
hardly surprising that savvy travelers have been a nation eager to engage with the world around it
looking for “the new Prague” for some time now. – NATO and EU membership included – and to ABOVE Crowds of sightseers on the streets below the castle,
With Rīga, they might just have found it. introduce visitors to its own brand of Baltic charm. Prague, Czech Republic
Long the most lively and cosmopolitan of
the Baltic capitals, and with a rich history as a MAIN CITY SIGHTS
mercantile center, Rīga refused to let its merits Town Hall Square This square is the focal point of
go unnoticed when the Soviet Union collapsed the Old Town. Its step-gabled House of Blackheads, PRACTICAL INFORMATION
in 1991, and instead plunged headlong into its which was damaged in the war and rebuilt in the
new-found independence. Today, this medieval city, 1990s, once housed a guild of unmarried merchants. Getting There and Around considering a 20-minute tram
known for its pretty gables, turrets, and steeples, is At the edge of the square is the somber but Rīga airport is connected to many ride to the upmarket Mežaparks
European cities, and ferries run district for the excellent Homestay
also a dynamic, thriving metropolis looking to the fascinating Museum of the Occupation of Latvia.
from Stockholm in Sweden and guesthouse (www.homestay.lv).
future, with a boisterous nightlife to match. Funky Dome Cathedral The largest church in the Baltics Lübeck in Germany to the city. The owners are welcoming and
cafés, sophisticated restaurants, and edgy was founded in 1211 and exhibits a variety of You can also access Rīga on trains helpful, the rooms are comfortable,
boutiques line the cobbled streets here, where old architectural styles due to various extensions over from Lithuania and Russia. The and the breakfasts are superb.
and new come together with undeniable charm. the centuries. The interior might be plain, but it Old Town and Art Nouveau When to Go
District are best explored on foot. The long, warm summer days
Rīga’s beautiful, well-preserved Old Town serves boasts an ornate 17th-century pulpit.
Registered taxis have yellow see Rīga at its most engaging,
as a constant reminder of the city’s fascinating past. Art Nouveau District Art Nouveau buildings are registration plates. but also its most busy. Winter
In the 13th and 14th centuries, under the rule of scattered around Rīga, but the best examples lie near Where to Eat can be gloomy and windy here,
Baltic German crusaders, it became a member of the Old Town along Alberta, Strēlnieku and Elizabetes Latvian cuisine is hearty. It was but the cultural life of the city
the powerful Hanseatic League of trading cities, streets. The inventive and symbolic work of Mikhail traditionally based on soups and continues, and on clear, snowy
porridges, but nowadays meat – days, it can look striking.
the legacy of which can be seen in the many Eisenstein – father of the renowned Soviet film
particularly pork – is the focus. Budget per Day for Two
medieval merchants’ houses that line the streets. director, Sergei – is particularly popular with visitors. Sample dishes cheaply at the From US$75. Food and drink
At this time, the city’s administrative headquarters Open-Air Ethnographic Museum This site on the popular Alus Sēta (tel. +371 (including alcohol) is very
were based in three buildings: the magnificent edge of the city draws together homesteads, 6722 2431) in the town center. reasonably priced, so the major
expense will be accommodations.
Dome Cathedral (Doma baznīca), which represented churches, and other buildings from all over Latvia, Where to Stay
the Catholic Church; the turreted Rīga Castle (Rīgas offering a fascinating glimpse of the country for The city has accommodations for Website
all budgets, but it is worth www.rigatourism.lv
pils), which represented the German nobility; and visitors without time to go beyond Rīga.






US304-305_cit_riga.indd 305 14/4/09 15:52:56
16/4/09 12:35:29
304-305_cit_riga.indd 305

306 6 MORE MEDIEVAL CITIES TO RIVAL PRAGUE


CITIES Český Krumlov Bologna Bratislava





NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW

LOCATION Český Krumlov lies in LOCATION Bologna lies .JMBO LOCATION On the Danube river in
the Southern Bohemia region of the (&3."/: in the Po Valley of northern 7FOJDF southwestern Slovakia, on the edge
Czech Republic, 110 miles (180 km) Italy, between the Reno #0-0(/" of the Little Carpathian Mountains 10-"/%
southwest of Prague and Sàvena rivers POPULATION $;&$)
10-"/% 3&16#-*$
POPULATION Around 14,100 1SBHVF POPULATION *5"-: Around 426,000
1M[Fŵ "ESJBUJD
VISITORS PER YEAR $;&$) 0TUSBWB Around 371,200 3PNF 4FB VISITORS PER YEAR 4-07",*" ,PTJDF
Around 1.2 million 3&16#-*$ VISITORS PER YEAR /BQMFT Around 686,200 7JFOOB
DAYTIME ė&4,Å ,36.-07 Around 1.1 million 5ZSSIFOJBO DAYTIME #3"5*4-"7"
4FB
TEMPERATURES -JO[ DAYTIME TEMPERATURES TEMPERATURES
Jan: 37°F (3°C); Apr: 54°F (12°C); 4-07",*" Jan: 36°F (2°C); Apr: 55°F (13°C); *POJBO Jan: 32°F (0°C); Apr: 50°F (10°C); )6/("3:
"6453*" 4FB
Jul: 70°F (21°C); Oct: 48°F (9°C) Jul: 73°F (23°C); Oct: 57°F (14°C) $BUBOJB Jul: 68°F (20°C); Oct: 50°F (10°C)
A popular day trip from Prague, Český Krumlov Italians call the city “Bologna la rossa” (Bologna It seems natural to compare Bratislava with Prague:
is nestled scenically between two loops of the the red) and it is not hard to see why – many of from the end of World War I until the “Velvet
Vltava River and also boasts a very attractive its buildings are painted in reddish hues, from Divorce” of the Czech Republic and Slovakia in
medieval center. The city’s main draw is a vivid red to terracotta, although the epithet is 1993, the two cities were yoked together as part
castle complex on a rocky outcrop above the also said to refer to the city’s left-leaning politics. of Czechoslovakia. But historically speaking,
river, which offers visitors guided tours to its The Old Town, which sits on the site of a Bratislava, which was once part of the Austro-
18th-century Baroque theater. But there is more settlement dating from the 5th century BC, was Hungarian Empire, has more in common with
to the city than its castle, and even with the damaged during World War II, but still impresses Vienna or Budapest. Though the modern parts of
trappings of modern tourism, it’s a pleasure to with its medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque the city will earn few devotees, the medieval Old
explore streets lined with medieval, Renaissance, buildings. It is also home to one of the world’s Town is a treat. At its heart are two beautiful
and Baroque town houses. In the summer, oldest universities. Today, the city is best known pedestrian squares, Františkánska námestie and
tourists and locals alike take to the Vltava River to Italians for its food, which is quite something in Hlavné námestie, with the distinctive Old Town
on kayaks, rafts, and even inner tubes. a country famed for its gastronomy. Hall on the latter. The City Gallery of Bratislava,
which is housed in three of the city’s impressive
palaces and also in the rebuilt castle overlooking
Practical Information Practical Information
the city, holds more than 35,000 artworks.
Getting There The easiest way to get to Český Krumlov is to take a bus Getting There Bologna’s airport is connected to many cities in Europe and
from Prague. You can also take a train from Prague, but you’ll need to its train station has direct connections to other cities in Italy.
change at České Budějovice. If you’re coming from the south, it may be When to Go Spring is generally the best time to visit Bologna. Summers
best to take a train to Linz in Austria, and from there, a shuttle bus. can be oppressively hot and many businesses close in August, while Practical Information
When to Go Visiting in summer means sharing the town with thousands of winters are usually very cold. Getting There The airport is 7 miles (12 km) from the city and is mainly
other visitors, but it also brings the best weather for rafting on the Vltava Website iat.comune.bologna.it used by low-cost airlines. It is also easy to fly to Vienna’s Schwechat Airport
River. Winter is cold, but the city can look very attractive at this time. and then make the 30-mile (50-km) transfer by bus. Regular ferries run
along the Danube river between Bratislava and Vienna.
Website www.ckrumlov.info
Fruit and vegetable market on a cobbled backstreet lined with When to Go Summer is the most pleasant time to visit the city, although it
distinctive russet-colored buildings, Bologna, Italy
can look very attractive when it’s covered in snow.
The charming city of Český Krumlov beside the Vltava river, with idyllic Website www.visit.bratislava.sk/en
wooded hills and fields in the background, Czech Republic
St. Michael’s Gate, the only surviving original gateway to the medieval
city, and street-side cafés, Bratislava, Slovakia





































14/4/09 15:53:43
306-307_cit_riga_fo.indd 306
US306-307_cit_riga_fo.indd 306 16/4/09 12:50:36

307


Carcassonne Gdańsk Bruges


NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW NEED TO KNOW CITIES
LOCATION Carcassonne is 6/*5&% LOCATION Gdańsk is on the LOCATION Bruges is in the
,*/(%0. -JMMF #BMUJD 4FB
in the southern French region southern edge of Gdańsk Bay on Flemish-speaking province of West /PSUI
364 '&% 4FB
of Languedoc-Roussillon the Baltic Sea in Poland Flanders, in northwest Belgium /&5)&3-"/%4
1BSJT 4USBTCPVSH
POPULATION POPULATION (%"ij4, POPULATION
Around 44,000 Around 457,600 4[D[FDJO Around 117,000 #36(&4 "OUXFSQ
'3"/$& 48*5;&3-"/% #&-"364 (IFOU
VISITORS PER YEAR VISITORS PER YEAR 8BSTBX VISITORS PER YEAR #SVTTFMT
Around 3 million #BZ PG -ZPO Around 700,000 Around 3.65 million #&-(*6. -JFHF
#JTDBZ
#PSEFBVY *5"-: 10- "/% -JMMF
DAYTIME TEMPERATURES DAYTIME DAYTIME $IBSMFSPJ
Jan: 43°F (6°C); Apr: 54°F $"3$"440//& .BSTFJMMF TEMPERATURES TEMPERATURES
(12°C); Jul: 73°F (23°C); Jan: 30°F (-1°C); Apr: 41°F (5°C); ,SBLØX Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 57°F (14°C); '3"/$& -69
$;&$)
Oct: 59°F (15°C) 41"*/ .FEJUFSSBOFBO Jul: 61°F (16°C); Oct: 45°F (7°C) 3&16#-*$ 6,3"*/& Jul: 73°F (23°C); Oct: 59°F (15°C)
4FB
It may be a highly regarded attraction today, but Although the historic center of this port city was It is hard to describe the capital of the West
Carcassonne’s walled city, known as “La Cité,” was devastated during World War II, meticulous Flanders province of Belgium without using the
very nearly lost to history: in 1849, the French restoration has recaptured much of the former phrase “fairy tale,” although it was not always
government announced that it was in such glory of its cobbled streets and Flemish architecture. that way. After its heyday from the 12th to 15th
disrepair that it would have to be demolished. Attractions include the vast St. Mary’s Church, centuries, the port fell into decline when its river
Following a public outcry, the architect Eugène said to be the largest brick church in the world, channel silted up, stifling trade. It was only in the
Viollet-le-Duc, who was also responsible for work the Gdańsk Crane, the largest medieval port early 20th century that the creation of the nearby
on Notre-Dame de Paris, was commissioned to crane in Europe, and the elegant façades along port of Zeebrugge reinvigorated Bruges. The
restore the fortifications as a monument of historical Ulica Długa. This historic city saw the first shots of medieval walled city is circled by a canal and
importance. Today, it is possible to take tours of World War II fired in Gdańsk Bay in 1939, and was filled with charming step-gabled houses and
the castle and its ramparts, and the Romanesque also the home of the 1980 Solidarity trade union, attractive churches. Although the main squares
and Gothic St. Nazaire Basilica is a very popular the formation of which is considered a key – Markt and Burg – are usually bustling with
sight. The Ville Basse (Lower Town), outside the walls, moment in the decline of the Soviet Union. tourists, it is still possible to find peace and quiet
boasts two handsome 13th-century churches. in the streets nearby. The canals are particularly
appealing first thing in the morning, before the
Practical Information
day visitors arrive.
Practical Information Getting There Lech Wałęsa Airport is 9 miles (14 km) from the city. Avoid
taxi promoters in favor of transfer buses into the center. You can also get to
Getting There Carcassonne is linked by air to several cities in the UK and
Ireland, including London and Dublin. The town is also easily reached by the city by rail. Trains arrive at Gdańsk Główny train station on the edge of Practical Information
train from other cities in France. the Old Town – the station is a historic attraction in its own right. Getting There The nearest airports to Bruges are at Brussels and Charleroi
When to Go Summer is the most popular time to visit Gdańsk, both for the
When to Go The temperate climate means that Carcassonne can be visited in Belgium and Lille in France. Trains shuttle visitors from the airports to
throughout the year, but it is at its busiest in the summer months. Some warmer weather and for the city’s extensive festival calendar – the Bruges center. Eurostar services go directly from London to Brussels, from
attractions are closed in winter. Dominican Fair in July is a highlight. which point you can take another train on to Bruges.
Website www.en.gdansk.gda.pl
Website www.carcassonne.org When to Go The Old Town is packed with tourists in summer, so visit out of
season to avoid the crowds. Be prepared for cold weather in the winter.
Website www.brugge.be
Aerial view of the walled city of Carcassonne, France Close-up of the magnificent clock face on the red-brick St. Mary’s
Church, Gdańsk, Poland
The canal at dusk, with the towering Belfry illuminated in the
background, Bruges, Belgium








































US306-307_cit_riga_fo.indd 307 14/4/09 15:54:37
16/4/09 12:50:43
306-307_cit_riga_fo.indd 307

308


CITIES Less-Explored

San Francisco









For every well-trodden tourist trail, San Francisco offers an equally fascinating
alternative, off the beaten track, for an authentic experience
ABOVE Tourists crowded along San Francisco’s popular
Fisherman’s Wharf
FORGET THE SAN
NEED TO KNOW For every famous tourist-laden attraction, there’s an
equally good spot for an authentic experience FRANCISCO TOURIST
LOCATION San nearby. Tired of the crowds and commercialism at TRAIL?
Francisco is located along $ "/"%"
California’s Pacific Coast 4FBUUMF Fisherman’s Wharf? Stroll along to see the historic
POPULATION 6 4 " /FX :PSL $JUZ ships at Hyde Street Pier. Frustrated by lines at THE BUILD-UP Most visitors come to the city
792,000 4"/ Coit Tower or Twin Peaks? A city with 43 named armed with film-fueled images of the Golden
'3"/$*4$0
VISITORS PER 8BTIJOHUPO % $ Gate Bridge rising out of the fog and boats
YEAR 16.1 million -PT "OHFMFT hills isn’t short of impressive views. Try the ocean bobbing alongside Fisherman’s Wharf. And
vistas from the windswept hills of the Presidio or
DAYTIME who can resist a ride on the romantic cable cars?
TEMPERATURES Jan: the quiet footpaths around the northwest coast.
57°F (14°C); Apr: 63°F (17°C); .&9*$0 At Alamo Square you can admire the classic
Jul: 66°F (19°C); Oct: 69°F (21°C) THE LETDOWN Fisherman’s Wharf is a tourist
row of “Painted Ladies” (wooden houses), with the
trap, with overpriced food and shops. Trips to
skyscrapers of the Financial District gleaming in the Alcatraz are often sold out. Parking is difficult
San Francisco is everybody’s favorite American background. Then explore the surrounding streets, at popular places and the streets to famous
city. It would be hard to find another with a more where you’ll find more of these ornate Victorian viewpoints can be clogged with traffic. There are
appealing combination of striking architecture, homes. Brave the descent down crooked Lombard only three cable car lines, so they are not a main
world-class cuisine, cultural attractions, vibrant Street on Russian Hill, and seek out hidden cobbled mode of transportation in the city.
communities and the laid-back, anything-goes lanes like Macondray Lane and Havens Place.
lifestyle, gilded with a mild climate and a stunning You can also visit outstanding art museums, DOING IT ANYWAY? Book tickets for Alcatraz
setting on the northern California coast. This is a such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, in advance. Go to Fisherman’s Wharf early in the
morning to spot a real fisherman. Wear comfort-
romantic city, and if you did nothing more than the Legion of Honor, the Asian Art Museum, and
able shoes. Use public transportation whenever
ride its antique cable cars, stroll along the the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park. But
possible, and ride the cable cars at least once.
waterfront, and watch the fog rolling in around the don’t miss the smaller museums dedicated to
Golden Gate Bridge, you would come away happy. cable cars, cartoon art, Jewish heritage, African
There is, however, much more to this diaspora, Chinese history, and life in pioneer days.
fascinating place. Since its meteoric rise during the And after you’ve admired the incomparable
1849 Gold Rush, San Francisco has always been a Golden Gate Bridge from every angle, drive across
free-thinking town. The rainbow slices of San it and look back across the bay for an unforgettable
Francisco’s city life are apparent in its more than 40 view of this splendid city.
neighborhoods. Visit the Italian café-bars of North
Beach, which were a hub for the Beat Generation PRACTICAL INFORMATION
writers of the 1950s, a legacy that still lingers. Get a
Getting There and Around Where to Stay
nostalgic blast of flower power in the old hippie
San Francisco International A budget option is Grant Plaza
haven of Haight-Ashbury. Castro is the center of Airport is 15 miles (25 km) Hotel (www.grantplaza.com).
the city’s gay and lesbian community, and its lively south of the city. Oakland You can opt for the mid-range
bars and clubs welcome straight revelers too. International Airport across the Hotel Boheme (www.hotel
bay is about 20 miles (33 km) boheme.com) or spend on
from downtown. The city has luxury at Palace Hotel
good public transportation links, (www.sfpalace.com).
so you don’t need to rent a car.
When to Go
Where to Eat Fall has the warmest
Combine the city’s diverse ethnic temperatures. Summers can
cuisines and top chefs with the be chilly. Winter brings heavy
Bay Area’s array of fresh produce, showers, but the climate is mild
seafood, and fine wines, and you year round. As the city is a
get a rich dining scene. Try Ella’s popular convention destination,
(www.ellassanfrancisco.com) hotels can be busy year round.
for an all-American breakfast;
R&G Lounge (www.rnglounge. Budget per Day for Two
com) for traditional Cantonese US$300 for accommodations and
cuisine; or Farallon (www. food at the recommended spots.
farallonrestaurant.com) for a Website
blow-the-budget seafood meal. www.onlyinsanfrancisco.com
ABOVE Cars navigating the sinuous curves of Lombard Street






14/4/09 15:55:30
US308-309_CIT_SanFrancisco.indd 308 16/4/09 12:47:17
308-309_CIT_SanFrancisco.indd 308

309








CITIES












ABOVE Victorian ornamentation in Haight-Ashbury
LEFT Rows of “Painted Ladies” on Alamo Square
Neighborhood

Hang-outs



The real heart of San Francisco lies in its
neighborhoods, and one of the best ways to
enjoy the city is to skip the tourist areas and hang
out where the locals do. No neighborhood is
more famous than Haight-Ashbury, the
psychedelic hub of the counterculture of the 1960s
on the edge of Golden Gate Park. These days, the
die-hard hippies and head shops are joined by
boutiques and restaurants and equally fashionable
customers. Survey the scene from The Grind Café,
a local favorite.
The Mission District is another edgy
neighborhood, where working-class Hispanic
families, artists, and cool youth create a vibrant
atmosphere. Stroll along 24th Street to see some of
the area’s fantastic street murals – pick up a map at
Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitor Center – then
have lunch or dinner in one of the many Latino
restaurants or hip eateries.
The adjoining neighborhoods of Castro and
Noe Valley are great for walking, thanks to the
“golden fire hydrant” opposite Dolores Park that
saved the beautiful homes here from the fires of
the 1906 earthquake. Castro is home to San
Francisco’s large gay and lesbian community. The
flamboyant Castro Theatre is a suitable landmark
and a great place to catch a movie.
Richmond is a bustling residential district
between the Presidio and Golden Gate Park, home
to Russian descendants and Chinese immigrants
who have formed a second Chinatown here. Next
to the Civic Center, Hayes Valley has gentrified into
a trendy neighborhood of great bars, restaurants,
galleries, and boutiques. Try the popular Absinthe
Brasserie and Bar to enjoy cuisine of top quality.

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Absinthe Brasserie and Bar 398 Hayes St at Gough, Hayes Valley;
www.absinthe.com
The Castro Theatre Market St, 429 Castro St, Castro; www.thecastro
theatre.com
The Grind Café 783 Haight St, Haight-Ashbury; www.thegrindcafe.com
Precita Eyes Mural Arts and Visitor Center 2981 24th St, Mission District;
www.precitaeyes.org







US308-309_CIT_SanFrancisco.indd 309 14/4/09 15:56:18
308-309_CIT_SanFrancisco.indd 309
16/4/09 12:47:18

310


CITIES























The pews and the altar in dimly lit Saints Peter and Paul
Catholic Church

Heavenly Highs



In a hedonistic city like San Francisco, cathedrals,
churches, and other places of worship may not top
your sightseeing list. But these establishments
reveal the city’s rich history and ethnic diversity.
Mission Dolores is the city’s oldest building,
founded by Spanish missionaries in 1776. Its adobe
walls, cemetery, and small chapel – which still has
its original timber beams and colonial statues and
altarpiece – are a tribute to the city’s origins. It
lends its name to the Mission District, home to a
largely Hispanic population to this day.
By contrast, Nob Hill’s Grace Cathedral was only
completed in 1964. Beneath its soaring spire, a
wealth of artworks create a spiritual retreat from
the urban buzz, including artist Charles Connick’s
TOP A Chinese Pavilion standing amid lush greenery at the Golden Gate Park ABOVE The beautiful greens and fairways of Lincoln Park Golf Course awash in stained-glass windows and an altarpiece by Keith
the first rays of the sun
Haring. Two medieval labyrinths from the floor of
Chartres Cathedral are replicated, while the gilded
Green Spaces Rock. When the wind is right you can even hear bronze doors are modeled after Ghiberti’s Gates of
the barking of the sea lions who inhabit these Paradise on the baptistery in Florence.
offshore outcrops. In Chinatown, burn some incense and make an
Covering more than 1,000 acres (405 ha), The last thing you might expect to see in the offering at the Kong Chow Temple, founded by
Golden Gate Park is the city’s most famous downtown Financial District is a grove of giant immigrants in 1851. The god is said to bring good
green space. You could spend days exploring its redwood trees, but that’s exactly what you’ll find at fortune in business, and you’ll see his image in
many attractions, from the Japanese Tea Garden the TransAmerica Redwood Park. The half-acre park restaurants and shops throughout the district.
and Botanical Gardens to the Conservatory of on the eastern side of the TransAmerica Pyramid is The ornate white-stone towers of Saints
Flowers. But there are plenty more alternatives a shady retreat, with playful fountains and statues. Peter and Paul Catholic Church are a North Beach
for getting away from it all. The redwoods are fitting green partners for the landmark. Built for Italian immigrants in 1924, it
Large areas of the northern and western pyramid, which is San Francisco’s tallest building. now says Mass in Italian, English, and Chinese.
shoreline are protected in the Golden Gate Another hidden green space is Ina Coolbrith Finally, for an uplifting experience in the
National Recreation Area. The Presidio encompasses Park in Russian Hill, which has terraces carved into downtrodden Tenderloin district, you can sing and
woodlands, beaches, dunes, marshlands, and a steep hillside and benches to enjoy the flowers, sway with the gospel choir at Glide Memorial
grasslands that shelter a wealth of birds and wildlife. trees and spectacular views. United Methodist Church.
There are plenty of walking and biking trails and
historic buildings to explore. PRACTICAL INFORMATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Lincoln Park, another part of the National Cliff House 1090 Point Lobos, Richmond; www.cliffhouse.com Glide Memorial United Methodist Church 330 Ellis St, Tenderloin;
Recreation Area, may have a golf course and major Ina Coolbrith Park Taylor and Vallejo streets, Russian Hill www.glide.org
art museum, the Legion of Honor, but it also has Lincoln Park Entrances off Clement Street at 34th and 48th avenues, Grace Cathedral 1100 California St, Nob Hill; www.gracecathedral.org
wild, windswept cliffs, and dramatic views, which Richmond Kong Chow Temple 855 Stockton St, Chinatown
you can see along the Coastal Trail. It adjoins Sutro The Presidio Golden Gate National Recreation Area, Building 201, Fort Mission Dolores 3321 Sixteenth St, Mission District; www.missiondolores.org
Heights Park, where there are more stunning views Mason, Marina District; www.nps.gov/prsf Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church 666 Filbert St, North Beach;
from Cliff House, a restaurant overlooking Seal TransAmerica Redwood Park 600 Montgomery Street, Financial District www.stspeterpaul.san-francisco.ca.us/church







14/4/09 16:13:34
310-311_CIT_SanFrncsco_FO.indd 310 16/4/09 12:51:03
US310-311_CIT_SanFrncsco_FO.indd310 310
Th R d L T ll d LAYERS PRINTED:

311








CITIES


















Fresh fruit and local produce stalls at the Farmers Market set up on the
Ferry Plaza
Residential Telegraph Hill topped by the Art Deco 64-m (210-ft)
Coit Tower
Food and Drink Antique streetcar, part of a vintage transportation system at a
Grand Views
station near Embarcadero
With the bountiful produce of northern California Transportation
and the fine wines of Napa Valley and Sonoma Rising over 900 ft (274 m), Twin Peaks is the most
County close by, not to mention the culinary popular – and crowded – spot for sweeping city
influence of the Pacific Rim, it’s not surprising that A ride on the famous cable cars is a must in San views. The road to the top is often clogged with
San Francisco has one of the best dining scenes in Francisco, but there are plenty of other fun ways of traffic, and parking is limited to just 20 minutes.
the country. Top chefs shop alongside local food- getting around the city. The F-line streetcars are Check out some of the city’s other, lesser-visited
lovers at the Ferry Building Marketplace, a gold another vintage transportation system much loved hilltop vistas instead.
mine of gourmet goodies, set inside a historic by locals. Each of these colorful electric trolleys is South of Twin Peaks, near the city center,
waterfront building on the Embarcadero. The Ferry different, with historic cars dating from the 1890s Mount Davidson is San Francisco’s highest peak at
Plaza Farmers Market operates outside on Tuesdays to the 1950s. They run 6 miles (10 km) each way, 925 ft (282 m). The surrounding hillside is part of a
and Saturdays, selling everything from organic along Market Street from the Castro to the municipal park, covered in eucalyptus forest with
produce and flowers to artisan breads and cheeses. Embarcadero and on to Fisherman’s Wharf. ivy, ferns, and brambles creating a wilder landscape.
Visit the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory, With Silicon Valley at its doorstep, it’s no The peak offers grand views to the south and east.
tucked away down an alley in Chinatown, for a wonder that there are also high-tech transportation Although it’s smaller and lower in elevation,
peek at how these traditional treats are made. options. Take a City Segway Tour and glide along many locals rate Tank Hill, directly north of Twin
Tours and samples are free, but few can resist the waterfront on your own super-cool personal Peaks, as having the best view of the city. You can
buying a bag to take home. transporter. The 3-hour tour takes in many historic see both the Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge,
Only in San Francisco would you find a non- sites. Or you can let a talking car be your guide – a the Presidio and Golden Gate Park. It is also a
profit restaurant founded by Zen Buddhists and GPS-guided GoCar, that is. You can rent these jolly haven for 60 species of native plants.
serving some of the most acclaimed vegetarian three-wheeled, two-seater yellow convertibles by Another wonderful, if windy, spot lies to the
food in the country. At Greens Restaurant, enjoy the hour, and choose from several free GPS tours. west on Grand View Hill, also known as Turtle Hill.
fabulous views of the marina and Golden Gate If climbing the hills becomes too much of a Topped by remnants of dune habitat, it offers
Bridge, along with the exquisite dishes made from strain, take to the air for a bird’s-eye view of the stunning ocean scenery and a panoramic view
organic produce grown on their Green Gulch farm. city with San Francisco Helicopters. Tours range that takes in Golden Gate Park.
Despite the vineyards just across the bay, wine from the 20-minute Vista Tour of the major city Buena Vista Park in Haight-Ashbury is one of
isn’t the only drink in town. Set in a 1907 saloon, landmarks to a half-day tour which heads north the finest city parks for its large, beautiful trees and
the San Francisco Brewing Company is the city’s for a delicious picnic lunch in Napa Valley. winding paths. The steep bits are worth the climb
original brewpub and the only bar from the wild You can also cycle across the Golden Gate for the fine city views framed by lush foliage.
days of the notorious Barbary Coast. Try their fresh, Bridge. A bike path through Presidio National Park Beat the crowds at Coit Tower by walking up
handmade beers brewed by traditional methods takes you along San Francisco Bay and safely across Telegraph Hill. Filbert Street leads to the Filbert
in a copper brew kettle and aged on site. the 1¼-mile (2-km) bridge, allowing for photo Steps and Greenwich Steps, which take you past
stops. Blazing Saddles offers bike rentals, organized lovely old houses and gardens, and under leafy
PRACTICAL INFORMATION tours, self-guided tours, and maps and information passages, opening on to splendid views of the bay.
Ferry Building Marketplace Embarcadero; www.ferrybuildingmarketplace.com on other popular routes throughout the city.
Ferry Plaza Farmers Market Embarcadero; www.ferryplazafarmersmarket.com
PRACTICAL INFORMATION PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory 56 Ross Alley, Jackson St, Chinatown; Buena Vista Park Haight St and Buena Vista Ave East, Haight-Ashbury
tel. +1 415 781 3956 F-line Streetcars 870 Market Street, Suite 803; www.streetcar.org
Greens Restaurant Building A, Fort Mason Center, Marina District; City Segway Tours 505 Beach Street, Suite 50; www.citysegwaytours.com Grand View Hill 14th Avenue at Moraga Street
www.greensrestaurant.com GoCar Tours Fisherman’s Wharf, 2715 Hyde Street; www.gocartours.com Mount Davidson Access at Dalewood Way and Lansdale Avenue
San Francisco Brewing Company155 Columbus Ave, North Beach; San Francisco Helicopters PO Box 280776; tel. 800 400 2404 (toll free); Tank Hill Belgrave Avenue, Clarendon
www.sfbrewing.com www.sfhelicopters.com Telegraph Hill Filbert Steps







US310-311_CIT_SanFrncsco_FO.indd311 311 14/4/09 16:15:28
310-311_CIT_SanFrncsco_FO.indd 311
16/4/09 12:51:08

312


CITIES




FORGET BUDAPEST?


THE BUILD-UP The capital of Hungary, which
boasts grand Baroque architecture and pretty
tree-lined boulevards, is one of Europe’s most
beautiful cities. The majestic Danube River,
which separates historic Buda from modern
Pest, is spectacular at night when each bank is
illuminated by a string of lights. There are
many historic spas around the city.

THE LETDOWN Budapest has the air of having
seen better days. The most popular spas are
often packed with tourists, despite their
crumbling appearance and sulfurous smell.
The city seems to lack nightlife, with the center
all but deserted on a weekend evening. Food
ABOVE The rooftop pool at Thermae Bath Spa, UK and of the sulfurous smell that pervades Hungary’s here is generally hearty but unsophisticated.
baths. It is a monument to luxury, with five floors of GOING ANYWAY? Visit a spa for a unique
Bath pools, steam “pods,” and treatment rooms. Take its cultural experience. It is where locals gather to
rooftop facility: on a cool evening, thick clouds of
discuss the issues of the day and men play chess
vs Budapest steam rise and part to reveal a clear pool dotted on the side of the pool. Head for Buda for its
with swimmers immersed in its warm, mineral-rich
historic streets and a fantastic view of the city
waters. There’s no better way to unwind than
lingering in the gentle Jacuzzis here while surveying from the Fishermen’s Bastion. In winter, don’t
miss the Christmas market on Vörösmarty Tér.
Budapest, with its healing waters, has just met the rooftops of creamy Georgian buildings glowing
its match in the rejuvenated spa city of Bath in the sunset, as pigeons fly past at eye level.
It’s not just thermal waters that make Bath one of
Europe’s great cities. This is a thriving place with fine
NEED TO KNOW
theaters, cinemas, live music, and great restaurants,
LOCATION Bath is about 100 shops, museums, and art galleries. While the Danube
miles (160 km) west of London *OWFSOFTT
"UMBOUJD is undeniably beautiful, this British university town
POPULATION 0DFBO
Around 80,000 (MBTHPX &EJOCVSHI has its own pretty river, the Avon, crossed by the
VISITORS PER YEAR /PSUI charming Pulteney Bridge. Bath is also renowned
4FB
Nearly 4 million day for its splendid Georgian architecture, and has a
visitors to the city .BODIFTUFS
*3&-"/% 6/*5&% thriving pub and club scene to which its Central ABOVE Locals playing chess in a bath in Budapest, Hungary
DAYTIME
,*/(%0.
TEMPERATURES -POEPO European counterpart can only aspire.
Jan: 48°F (9°C); Apr: 57°F (14°C); #"5)
Jul: 72°F (22°C); Oct: 61°F (16°C) MAIN CITY SIGHTS
Roman Baths and Pump Room The original Bath PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Budapest is commonly seen as a kind of nirvana spa is fascinating to visit. Built as a temple and
for spa-lovers. Since the invading Ottoman Turks sanctuary in around AD 70, the ruins are in very Getting There and Around Where to Stay
The nearest airport is just If you’re in Bath for a pampering
introduced communal bathing to Central Europe good condition, with Roman plumbing that still
outside Bristol, 20 miles (32 km) weekend, then choose a luxury
in the 16th century, Hungarians have embraced works. The adjoining 18th-century Pump Room, northwest of Bath, but most hotel to match. The 4-star,
the culture as their own. Such a mythology has once a rest center for the sick, is now a daytime international visitors will come boutique Queensbury Hotel
built up around this city that it’s easy to forget restaurant that offers spa water on the drinks menu. via London Heathrow Airport. (www.thequeensbury.co.uk) is
there are many equally great spa towns found Royal Crescent This sweeping semi-circle of Bath is well served by national in the city center, a short walk
trains and regional buses and is from the Thermae Bath Spa.
around Europe. One example is the city of Bath in elegant Georgian buildings is the architectural
10 miles (16 km) from Junction
the heart of England’s West Country, whose long pride of Bath. Of the 30 houses designated most 18 of the M4 motorway. When to Go
history of bathing dates back almost 2,000 years to historic, the two central buildings are now Any time of year, but avoid the
Where to Eat height of summer, when Bath
when the Romans built the first baths here. The occupied by the luxurious Royal Crescent Hotel. The food scene is well established gets busy. Britain’s weather is
city underwent a revival in the 18th century when Bath Abbey The 15th-century Abbey Church of in Bath, where there are several changeable, but in the Thermae
people flocked to its reputedly healing waters, but Saint Peter, with its 52 stained-glass windows and award-winning restaurants and rooftop spa, it doesn’t matter too
a multitude of independent and
gradually interest waned and in 1978 the baths were magnificent fan-vaulted ceiling, is the West Country’s much what the weather is doing.
chain restaurants serving all kinds
closed due to lack of funding and a health scare. finest example of Gothic Perpendicular architecture. Budget per Day for Two
of cuisine. The Hole in the Wall
Today, the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath Climb the tower’s 212 steps for fantastic city views. (www.theholeinthewall.co.uk) is Around US$500 for your hotel, a
is seeing another revival following the opening of a Pulteney Bridge Built for businessman Sir William a great choice offering modern 2-hour spa session and meals.
There are no travel costs as all
new spa that throws down the gauntlet to Budapest. Pulteney by Robert Adam in 1773 to develop the British cuisine. Some of the sights can be reached on foot.
country’s top chefs trained here,
Thermae Bath Spa, which opened in 2006, draws Avon’s east bank, this is one of only four bridges in
yet it’s remarkably good value, Website
water from the same natural source used by the the world that is lined with shop buildings. Below
with meals for US$45 per head. www.visitbath.co.uk
Romans, though it is cleansed of harmful bacteria – it, the river drops down an attractive weir.




14/4/09 15:59:16
US312-313_cit_bath.indd 312
312-313_cit_bath.indd 312 16/4/09 12:47:25

313








CITIES














ABOVE Mexico City’s enormous Zócalo and the imposing
Catedral Metropolitana
ABOVE Colourful houses in Zacatecas, Mexico
FORGET MEXICO
Zacatecas Zacatecas plays host to innumerable festivals and CITY?
THE BUILD-UP Still a major tourist draw,
events each year. The most vibrant of these is a
vs Mexico City cultural celebration held during Semana Santa Mexico City is a sprawling metropolis and
the country’s cultural, economic, political,
(Holy Week) that is unrivalled across Mexico. The
city also boasts a national folklore festival, an and social heart. It’s been said that Mexico
City has more to offer the visitor in one
The colonial city of Zacatecas beats surging impressive charrería (traditional display of place than the rest of the country combined,
horsemanship), a national fair that doubles as a and its historic center is one of the most
Mexico City in just about every way
drinking contest at night, hot-air balloon festivals, famous destinations in the world.
street theater extravaganzas, reenactments of
NEED TO KNOW ancient battles, and centuries-old religious THE LETDOWN Four words: pollution, touts,
processions that are long-extinct elsewhere. Better crime, and traffic. Mexico City has them all on
LOCATION Zacatecas still, most of these events are free to the public. an ever-increasing scale, and they take a huge
lies in the middle of Mexico, toll on the city’s enjoyment potential. And
392 miles (631 km) northwest 6 4 " The city’s central location makes it an ideal base
of Mexico City for trips to nearby attractions. The Cerro de la Bufa, once you’re outside the renowned city center
POPULATION Around 140,000 – which isn’t all that well preserved to begin
.POUFSSFZ (VMG PG which is located just outside the center behind the
VISITORS PER .FYJDP with – there’s very little of interest to see.
;"$"5&$"4 cathedral, is a beautiful hilltop with its own cable
YEAR Around 1 million
.&9*$0 car – one of the only two cable cars in Mexico –
DAYTIME GOING ANYWAY? If you’re still keen on going,
TEMPERATURES .FYJDP $JUZ and an enormous monument to the revolutionary explore the city on foot and in daylight hours
Jan: 50°F (10°C); Apr: 57°F (14°C); 1 BDJmD "DBQVMDP general, Francisco “Pancho” Villa. The countryside
Jul: 63°F (17°C); Oct: 63°F (17°C) 0 D FBO only. Start early, take in the grand Zócalo
nearby is home to archaeological sites, indigenous (central square) before it’s impassable, and don’t
Huichol communities famed for their imaginative waste your time or money outside the center,
Ask most Mexicans what comes to mind when art, and quaint villages that have remained virtually where the sights are fewer and farther apart.
they think of Zacatecas, and you’ll hear the word unchanged over the centuries. Zacatecas is also
paraíso (paradise) more than any other. This jewel of close enough to both coasts that Mexico’s fabled
a city, which is almost 500 years old and blessed with beaches are only ever a day trip away.
the best climate, finest architecture, lowest crime PRACTICAL INFORMATION
rate, and highest quality of life in the country, is still MAIN CITY SIGHTS
a relatively well-kept secret. If you want gridlock, Cerro de la Bufa Climb or take the cable car to the Getting There and Around here. The hotel, which is built
unimaginable levels of pollution, and are willing to top of this hill for fabulous views of the city. At the Zacatecas is served by major into the ruins of a bullring, has a
and local airlines and also has monastery-like subterranean bar
part with the contents of your wallet (sometimes top you’ll find statues of revolutionary heroes, a
excellent highways from all and boasts five-star luxury.
unknowingly), stick with Mexico City. But if you want chapel, and a museum dedicated to the Revolution. major Mexican cities. The city When to Go
to get to know the real Mexico, head to Zacatecas. Don’t miss the Tomb of the Illustrious Zacatecanos, is best explored on foot. Zacatecas is gorgeous all year
The historic city was the first in Mexico to a marble mausoleum where the remains of several Where to Eat round, although its height above
undergo a rigorous preservation project, and it famous Zacatecanos are enshrined. The city boasts great restaurants, sea level – roughly 8,200 ft
shows. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1993, Cathedral of Zacatecas Even the most jaded with French, Italian and Mexican (2,500 m) – can mean chilly
cuisine predominating. Café evenings. From March to August
the downtown area is a faithfully restored Spanish traveler will be impressed by this soaring spiritual
Nevería Acrópolis (tel. +52 492 the temperatures are comfortable
colonial city like no other. Here you’ll find a richly monument, with its magnificent pink-stone facade. and the days long, sunny, and
922 1284), with its museum-
decorated 18th-century cathedral, which is the Mina El Eden A legacy of the silver mines on which quality art collection and high- free from humidity.
finest example of Mexican Churrigueresque Zacatecas grew rich, this mine is now a museum and, street views, is a perennial Budget per Day for Two
architecture in the world; many ex-convents that rather unexpectedly, a disco at night. A cable car favorite whether you’re after a US$175 a day inclusive of
have been converted into first-rate museums; and runs from here to the top of the Cerro de la Bufa. Mexican or international dish. everything, though many
a famous mint. These museums and the city’s Rafael Coronel Museum In a beautiful converted Where to Stay travelers make do on
There’s no question that the considerably smaller budgets.
countless monuments explore the role Zacatecas convent, this museum exhibits artworks from all
Quinta Real (www.quintareal. Website
played in both the War of Independence (1810–21) over the world, including pottery, masks, and the com/eng/idt/120/) is the leader www.turismozacatecas.gob.mx/
and the early-20th-century Mexican Revolution. largest collection of Miró works outside of Spain.






US312-313_cit_bath.indd 313 14/4/09 16:00:06
312-313_cit_bath.indd 313
16/4/09 12:47:27

314


CITIES Less-Explored
Paris











Lauded for its dizzying array of monuments, museums, sweeping boulevards, and alluring
cafés, the world’s most romantic city still has a few surprises up its perfumed sleeve ABOVE Tourists queuing for a trip up the Eiffel Tower, Paris
FORGET THE PARIS

A stroll through Belleville, one of the city’s most TOURIST TRAIL?
NEED TO KNOW
multicultural and working-class quarters, provides
LOCATION Paris is in 6/*5&% an antidote (if you need it) to seriously stylish Paris, THE BUILD-UP Paris is an urban delight replete
the Île de France region ,*/(%0. -JMMF with world-renowned museums and art galleries,
of north-central France and its eccentric Parc des Buttes-Chaumont is a
1"3*4 4USBTCPVSH elegant churches and iconic monuments. Bustling
POPULATION remarkable reinvention of an old gypsum pit. The
Around 2.2 million bistros and funky bars line market streets teeming
'3"/$& neighboring 10th arrondissement also harbors with mismatched stalls. Belle époque, Art Deco,
VISITORS PER YEAR 48*5;&3-"/% reminders of industrial Paris, with the imposing
Around 28 million #BZ PG Art Nouveau, high-tech, and shabby-chic – this
#JTDBZ -ZPO *5"-: railway stations of Gare de l’Est and Gare du Nord,
DAYTIME city has style and substance galore.
#PSEFBVY
TEMPERATURES .BSTFJMMF and the meandering Canal St-Martin, the banks of
Jan: 39°F (4°C); Apr: 52°F (11°C); which are now home to cool cafés and quirky shops. THE LETDOWN The snaking lines. Visiting the
Jul: 68°F (20°C); Oct: 54°F (12°C) .FEJUFSSBOFBO
41"*/ 4FB As the birthplace of couture, Paris knows a thing city in the peak seasons (Jul–Aug, Christmas
or two about shops – the department store was, and New Year) will test even the most patient of
It’s a long way from the plains of Africa, but Paris after all, a French invention. But before these grand sightseers, so take a tip from the ladies at the
has its own “Big Five”, and everyone who visits the retail dames came the dainty passages couverts – guillotine and bring your knitting! Some small
shops and restaurants are closed in August when
City of Lights morphs into a modern-day big-game glass-covered, iron-columned shopping arcades that
Parisians take time off, and before this, at the
hunter, intent on bagging a glimpse. No trip to the still dazzle with their old-world atmosphere and
end of a long season, staff can get grumpy.
French capital is complete without a safari around eclectic, occasionally designer, tenants. Just as
the mother of all museums, the Louvre, a gallop diverse are the city’s many markets, each of which DOING IT ANYWAY? Buy a Paris Museum
down the aisles of the gloriously Gothic Notre-Dame has a distinct personality and flavor, from vast flea Pass online from www.parisinfo.com, which
and a pause on the terrace of the sculptured cloud markets brimming with glossy antiques promises no lines, repeat visits, and access to
that is Sacré-Cœur. Gustave Eiffel’s masterpiece of and funky bric-a-brac to open-air food markets 60 museums. Be sure to book online for a
19th-century engineering, the Eiffel Tower, with groaning with seasonal goodies. guided tour of the Eiffel Tower (www.tour-
its extraordinary views across the city – and down Roam the city’s serpentine backstreets, bustling eiffel.fr) or get there by 9 am to beat the crowds.
into its magnificent belly – still provokes gasps bridges, quais, and handsome boulevards and you’ll Paris is a city made for walking, so just set out;
of disbelief. And the exultant Arc de Triomphe, chance upon the haunts of artists, writers, poets and there’s always a park or a bench nearby for a rest.
a monument to military might, is famed for its photographers, dusty bookstores, gossipy bars and
commanding view of the elm-lined Champs-Elysées cafés, hidden squares and pretty gardens – the
and the other avenues that radiate from its base. lesser-known side of this legendary metropolis.
All this, however, is just the tip of the iceberg.
The city is made up of 20 arrondissements PRACTICAL INFORMATION
(districts), and many of these are captivating sights
in their own right. The Marais, to the east of the Getting There and Around within strolling distance of Sacré-
center, is as bewitching as the Mona Lisa. Unique Paris is served by two airports: Cœur and Opéra. The chic Hôtel
Charles de Gaulle (CDG), 19 miles Verneuil (www.hotel-verneuil.
boutiques, slick art galleries, gay bars, and Jewish
(30 km) northeast of the city, and com) is located near to galleries,
falafel shops line the streets, while regal mansions- Orly, 11 miles (18 km) south of cafés, and shops, while Le
turned-museums recall the ancient aristocracy’s the city. Trains and shuttle buses Meurice (www.meuricehotel.
penchant for this once-swampy piece of Paris. run from both into the city center. com), a plush hotel overlooking
the Jardin des Tuileries, has a
Where to Eat
The city’s restaurants are reason Michelin-starred restaurant and
enough to visit. Au Bon Accueil the most romantic of all rooms
(tel. +33 1 47 05 46 11) dishes up – the Marco Polo.
tasty bistro fare and Eiffel Tower When to Go
views, while Chez Michel (tel. For lovely weather and shorter
+33 1 44 53 06 20) champions lines, visit in spring or fall.
hearty food from the north. The Budget per Day for Two
classy Table de Joël Robuchon Paris can be very expensive, but if
(www.joel-robuchon.com) serves you stay in a mid-range hotel, eat
modern French food with flair. out once a day and take the Métro,
expect to spend US$250–350.
Where to Stay
The hip Hôtel Arvor Saint Georges Website
(www.arvor-hotel-paris.com) is www.parisinfo.com
ABOVE Tree-lined path on the bank of the Canal St-Martin, Paris






14/4/09 16:00:56
US314-315_cit_offbeat_paris.indd314 314 16/4/09 12:47:32
314-315_cit_offbeat_paris.indd 314

315








CITIES























ABOVE Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in full bloom, Belleville
LEFT Elegant interior of the Passage du Grand Cerf
Belleville


Belleville has long been at odds with the polished,
prosperous Paris of elegant facades and boulevards
forged by Baron Haussmann in the 1800s. Tapering
streets, old factories, and tatty shopfronts proudly
confirm the area’s blue-collar history. Workers flocked
to Belleville in the 1860s, attracted by its factory jobs
and new housing projects, and the area became a
hotbed of opposition to Emperor Napoléon III. This
was the last part of the city to fall to government
troops during the 1871 rule of the Paris Commune.
Stroll along Passage Plantin to glimpse its neat row
of old factory-worker cottages.
By the 1900s, music halls and cabarets had
sprung up in the area, luring the mobs. The urchin-
like singer Édith Piaf was born here in a hospital in
1915, not under a gaslight at 72 Rue de Belleville,
as romantics would like us to believe. But she did
sing for her supper on these streets. Waves of
immigration from Africa, Eastern Europe, Asia, and
North Africa have spiced up the mix – North African,
Chinese, and Vietnamese shops and restaurants now
line Rue de Belleville. Stop at Lao Siam for a Thai-style
duck curry, or for coffee at La Vielleuse, where you
can eavesdrop on the natterings of Armenians,
Laotians, or plain old Parisians. The area has a strong
art vibe too, with contemporary exhibitions at the
Atelier d’Artistes de Belleville. Ironically, Belleville
does owe a debt to Haussmann: he commissioned
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, an old quarry-turned-
verdant-haven with gushing waterfalls, Italian-style
villas, a Greek temple, and lodges at each entrance.



Practical Information
Atelier d’Artistes de Belleville 32 Rue de la Mare; tel. +33 1 46 36 44 09;
www.ateliers-artistes-belleville.org
Lao Siam 49 Rue de Belleville; tel. +33 1 40 40 09 68
La Vielleuse 2 Rue de Belleville; tel. +33 1 43 58 06 38
Parc des Buttes-Chaumont Entrances on Rue Manin and Rue Botzaris







US314-315_cit_offbeat_paris.indd315 315 14/4/09 16:01:16
314-315_cit_offbeat_paris.indd 315
16/4/09 12:47:33

316


CITIES






























Colorful flower stalls at the President Wilson market

Street Markets



The city’s richly colored street markets offer an
unrivaled taste of France. Melons picked in Provence,
geese fattened in the Périgord, ruby-red cherries,
milky cheeses, flour-dappled breads, and earthy
wild mushrooms are hauled to the city, snapped
up, and polished off while still at their peak. Roving
TOP Colorful shopfront with the St-Gervais–St-Protais Church in the background ABOVE Plush interior of the Hôtel Carnavalet marchés volants (street markets) set up twice a week
at cockcrow and disappear by lunchtime, leaving in
Marais Mansions their wake happy customers and satisfied pigeons.
de Retz bears no signs of its patrician-era interiors, The Saxe-Breteuil market, in the shadow of the
which have been replaced by a series of art exhibition Eiffel Tower, attracts a discerning crowd who think
It’s hard to believe that the Marais (which means spaces designed to echo the building’s 19th-century nothing of lining up for 25 minutes to secure the
marsh) started life as a soggy bog. In 1139 the spell as a furniture workshop and sculptor’s studio. most emerald lettuces and the creamiest cheese for
Knights Templar built a fortified free town – a Sunday lunch. Move onto the 16th arrondissement,
haven for tax dodgers – on the drained land here, Practical Information where you’ll find the President Wilson market; the
but nothing of that remains nowadays. Instead, Hôtel Carnavalet 23 Rue de Sévigné; tel. +33 1 44 59 58 58; www.paris.fr/ casually slung Hermès scarves and bags worn by
elegance and wealth loom large. When, in the musees/musee_carnavalet/ the glamorous shoppers here for a food run are
14th century, trendsetter Charles VII moved his court Hôtel Guénégaud 60 Rue des Archives; tel. +33 53 01 92 40; bona fide. Under the gaze of a rampaging statue of
into the Hôtel des Tournelles, which sat on what is www.paris.org/Musees/AN/ George Washington, locals buy sweet carrots and
now Place des Vosges, a host of titled disciples and Hôtel de Retz 9 Rue Charlot; tel. +33 1 48 04 37 99; www.passagederetz.com Cabernet-colored beetroots from the delightful
their magnificent mansions followed. Henri IV is Hôtel de Soubise 60 Rue des Francs-Bourgeois; tel. +33 40 27 60 00; Monsieur Thiébault, whose family has been selling
responsible for the gloriously symmetrical Place www.paris.org/Musees/AN/ vegetables since 1873. Head to the small, pavement-
des Vosges, the city’s first planned square. Hôtel de Sully 62 Rue St-Antoine; tel. +33 1 44 61 20 00 style Port de Vanves on weekends for 1950s jewellery
Just off Place des Vosges is the perfectly restored and vintage glassware. Francophile bookworms
17th-century Hôtel de Sully, home to France’s should browse the weekend book market held under
photographic archives and a dainty French garden. the metal rafters of a former horse slaughterhouse,
The ardent 17th-century letter-writer Madame de now transformed into the pretty Parc Georges
Sévigné lived in the nearby Hôtel Carnavalet, so it’s Brassens, for rare and second-hand tomes.
fitting that this Renaissance gem has been reborn
as a museum devoted to the history of Paris. The
Practical Information
Hôtel de Soubise, with its superlative Rococo
Marché Président-Wilson Ave du Président-Wilson, Chaillot; Métro: Iéna;
interiors and paintings by Boucher and Van Loo,
opening times: Wednesday and Saturday morning
houses the national archives, including letters from
Marché Saxe-Breteuil Ave de Saxe, Invalides & Eiffel Tower; Métro: Ségur;
Joan of Arc, while Hôtel Guénégaud, a superb opening times: Thursday and Saturday morning
mansion built by French architect François Mansart Parc George Brassens Rue de Morillons, Montparnasse; Métro: Convention;
in around 1650, displays stuffed animals and opening times: 9am-6pm Saturday and Sunday
weapons in its Museum of Hunting and Nature. Port de Vanves Ave Georges-Lafenestre & Ave Marc-Sangnier; Métro: Porte
In contrast to the other Marais mansions, the Hôtel ABOVE A grand room in the Hôtel de Soubise de Vanves; opening times: 8am–7pm Saturday and Sunday







14/4/09 16:16:49
US316-317_CityOffbeatParis_FO.in316 316
316-317_CityOffbeatParis_FO.indd316 316 16/4/09 12:51:29
Th R d L T ll d LAYERS PRINTED:

317








CITIES

















A restaurant inside Galérie Véro-Dodat
Les Passages



In 19th-century Paris, the city’s shopping arcades, or
passages couverts, were as much a fashionable
place to show off as they were to shop. The
emerging bourgeoisie was enamored by these
glitzy, glass-roofed galleries, not least because of
their bright lighting, heating, and shelter from the
rain, and careening carriages of the busy streets
outside. They also had cafés and restaurants where
ladies of leisure could linger and people-watch.
One such arcade is Galérie Vivienne, which has
been deftly restored with vaulted arches and
columns, and brims with smart bistros and high-
A couple on a bridge over the Canal St-Martin at dusk end fashion boutiques, such as Jean-Paul Gaultier.
One of the city’s oldest wine stores, the enchanting
Canal St-Martin ethnic vibe. Africa meets Paris on Rue du Château Legrand Filles et Fils, is also found here. Another of
the city’s passages was fitted out in 1826 by two
d’Eau, a strip of beauty shops and barbers touting
and the 10th braids, wigs, dyes, creams, and all manner of Afro- butchers, Véro and Dodat, with gaslights, mirrors,
Carib body magic, while at Passage Brady and Rue
and black-and-white marble floors, and crowned
Cail, Indian and Pakistani restaurants and spice with a glass roof interlaced with painted panels.
If you step away from the grinding traffic of the shops rule. Cool off at the Musée de l’Eventail, Today it’s home to antiques shops, art galleries, and
main boulevards and flurry of commuters at Gare which showcases 800 fans, some centuries old, personalized couture make-up. The Passage du
du Nord and Gare de l’Est, the 10th arrondissement made by the Houguet family, France’s only Grand Cerf, with its three storys and aerial bridges,
is a charmer. Its meandering Canal St-Martin, a remaining fan manufacturer. is the highest Parisian arcade and the place to pick
19th-century waterway bordered by swaying up funky 1950s furniture and pretty pearl necklaces.
chestnut and plane trees and overhung by iron Practical Information One of the oldest remaining arcades, Passage des
footbridges, has become a magnet for picnickers, Antoine & Lili 95 Quai de Valmy; tel. +33 1 48 34 40 93; www.antoineetlili.com Panoramas, was built in 1800 and is the home of the
café-goers, retro-shoppers, and sun-seekers. You Chez Prune 71 Quai de Valmy; tel. +33 1 42 41 30 47 stamp-collecting trade. Peruse old postcards and
might even see a fisherman dangling a line. Hôpital St-Louis 1 Ave Claude Vellefaux; tel. +33 1 42 49 49 49 stamps here, and visit the bijou Théâtre des Variétés.
Mariners can take to the water on one of the cruise Last stop is Passage Jouffroy, known for its waxworks
Musée de l’Eventail 2 Boulevard de Strasbourg; tel. +33 1 42 08 90 20
boats that chart the locks and tunnels up to the museum (Musée Grévin) and historical monument-
Bassin de la Villette, while film buffs can scout cum-budget lodging at the Hôtel Chopin.
the spot where Amélie Poulain skipped stones
in the quirky 2001 French film, Amélie.
Practical Information
Drift along Quai de Valmy for sustenance – a
Galérie Véro-Dodat From 19 Rue Jean Rousseau to 2 Rue du Bouloi,
glass of wine with olive tapenade and taramasalata
Beaubourg and Les Halles; Métro: Louvre or Palais Royal
at supremely laid-back Chez Prune, or snap up a
Galérie Vivienne From 4 Rue des Petits-Champs to 6 Rue Vivienne, Opéra;
piece of colorful kitsch from Antoine & Lili. Follow Métro: Bourse; www.galerie-vivienne.com
Quai Jemmapes to Rue de la Grange aux Belles and
Passage des Panoramas From 10 Rue St Marc to 11 Bd Montmartre, Opéra;
on to the Hôpital St-Louis, which ranks with the Métro: Richelieu-Drouot
buildings on Place des Vosges as one of the city’s Passage du Grand Cerf From 145 Rue St-Denis to 10 Rue Dussoubs, Beaubourg
best examples of brick and stone architecture. and Les Halles; Métro: Étienne Marcel; www.passagedugrandcerf.com
Nearby Place Ste-Marthe boasts atmospheric Passage Jouffroy From 12 Bd Montmartre to 9 Grange Batelière, Opéra;
streets lined with time-worn facades and a chirpy ABOVE The picturesque Canal St-Martin Métro: Richelieu-Drouot







US316-317_CityOffbeatParis_FO.in317 317 14/4/09 16:17:38
316-317_CityOffbeatParis_FO.indd317 317
16/4/09 12:51:33

318


CITIES Less-Explored
Sydney










Images of Sydney’s iconic cityscape and harbor may be imprinted on the mind,
but there are lesser-known – yet no less exciting – sides to this amazing city
ABOVE Sydney Opera House viewed from a harbor cruise
FORGET THE SYDNEY
yellows and oranges in the morning light. On the
NEED TO KNOW
other three sides, national parks rich in astonishing TOURIST TRAIL?
LOCATION Sydney is */%0/&4*" flora and fauna surround the city in a vast green
180 miles (290 km) northeast of
*OEJBO THE BUILD-UP Watch almost any Australian
the Australian capital Canberra 0DFBO %BSXJO wilderness of Australian bush, lush river valleys, and
$PSBM movie and the cinematographer will, at some
POPULATION 4FB magnificent mountains with cascading waterfalls.
4,120,000 The area’s history dates back 40,000 years, and stage, pan across Sydney’s most spectacular
VISITORS PER YEAR "6453"-*" ancient drawings can be seen, carved into sand- sights: Sydney Harbour, the Sydney Harbour
Over 10 million Bridge and the Sydney Opera House. The world
1FSUI 4:%/&: stone outcrops by the indigenous tribes that lived
DAYTIME is also familiar with seeing them illuminated by
TEMPERATURES "EFMBJEF $BOCFSSB here. But there are links within the city itself, and spectacular midnight fireworks at New Year.
Jan: 79°F (26°C); Apr: 72°F (22°C); .FMCPVSOF you can get an insight into the living history of the
Jul: 61°F (16°C); Oct: 72°F (22°C)
Aboriginal peoples by taking a tour with a local THE LETDOWN The key Sydney sights are so
guide. Reminders of Sydney’s colonial past, too – well known and photographed that visitors may
Sydneysiders often claim they live in one of the though centered on tourist-friendly The Rocks (the have a sense of déjà vu upon arrival – you might
most spectacular cities in the world and, especially early settlement area) – are scattered throughout not experience that true traveler’s thrill of
on a sunny afternoon, it is not hard to see why. The the city and beyond. There are places that will give discovery. And comparisons could be odious if
you first get to see them on a dull or rainy day.
city clings to Sydney Harbour, an ancient, drowned you a sense of the tough life and the tough people
river system, which stretches for 12 miles (20 km) that founded this amazing place – you can even
DOING IT ANYWAY? Catching these icons
inland, twisting and curving to create beautiful, camp overnight on a former convict prison island.
from different angles can bring a fresh outlook.
small bays tucked in between imposing headlands. The city’s vibrant multicultural mix is reflected Watch the setting sun silhouette the bridge and
At its narrowest point, the Sydney Harbour in many ways, from authentic ethnic dining to local Opera House from Mrs Macquarie’s Chair in
Bridge connects the northern and southern sides. festivals – it’s possible here to attend a corroboree, the Botanic Gardens, and make sure you stay for
Known familiarly as the “coat hanger,” this single- or parade for St. Patrick’s Day, or dance alongside the floodlights which follow. Or walk across the
arch bridge spans 1,650 ft (503 m) and is 440 ft dragons at Chinese New Year. deck level of the Harbour Bridge to Millers
(134 m) high. Brave visitors can climb the steel arch Sydney’s little neighborhoods and hidden Point before catching a ferry that traverses the
to the top for spectacular views, which include the corners must be explored to discover quiet parks harbor and stops at some of the smaller bays.
dramatic Sydney Opera House. offering spectacular views; gems of modern art and
Poised like a diver on Bennelong Point, the white flamboyant counter-culture; chic restaurants and
“sails” of the Opera House stand in bold contrast to quirky bars; and deserted coves and leafy lanes.
the rich blues and greens of the harbor beyond.
This architectural marvel took over 14 years to build, PRACTICAL INFORMATION
amid great public controversy, but finally opened
in 1973 and is now a beloved symbol of the city. Getting There and Around (www.sydney.park.hyatt.com) is
Sydney’s Kingsford Smith next to the Bridge, with views of
These three icons of the city – Harbor, Bridge,
International Airport is 6 miles the harbor and Opera House.
Opera House – are undoubtedly beautiful and (9 km) from the city center.
unquestionably worth the visit. However, Sydney When to Go
Where to Eat Sydney’s weather can be rather
has much more to offer, too. On its seaward side, Sydney’s multicultural heritage unpredictable. However, in
there are 37 miles (60 km) of white sandy beaches has inspired an exciting fusion of general, the summer (Dec–Feb)
and towering sandstone cliffs that glow brilliant food traditions. Try Cafe Sydney is great for festivals and beaches
(www.cafesydney.com) on the if you don’t mind the holiday
top level of Customs House, relax crowds. Spring and fall are
on the open deck at Catalina cooler, but spring is generally
(www.catalinarosebay.com.au) drier and less humid. There may
in Rose Bay or mingle with local be some cold snaps in winter
beachgoers at Speedo’s (www. (Jun–Aug), but it’s a good time
speedoscafe.com.au) on Bondi.
for indoor cultural events.
Where to Stay
Blue Parrot Backpackers (www. Budget per Day for Two
blueparrot.com.au) is a friendly Allow at least US$170 per day,
hostel located in trendy Potts depending on accommodations,
Point. The Lord Nelson (www. excluding tours and admissions.
lordnelsonbrewery.com) is the Websites
city’s oldest hotel, and is full of www.visitnsw.com
character. The luxury Park Hyatt www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au
ABOVE Striking modern artwork on the Corso at Manly Beach






15/4/09 10:26:44
318-319_cit_offbeat_sydney.indd 318
US318-319_cit_offbeat_sydney.ind318 318 16/4/09 12:35:46