Europe Travel Blog

Zermatt in Switzerland is renowned for being rather posh, and tends to summon up images of well-dressed people in casinos, rather than casually-dressed people enjoying a young, upbeat nightlife – but, rest assured, the trendy night spots, where you can get a good conversation, and spot beautiful people are there. You just have to know where to go.

If you are into music, then try the North Wall bar for some good live bands. They have been known to hold the occasional whacky costume party too.

Another good place in Zermatt is the Broken Bar disco, which is in a cellar under the Hotel Post. What is it about cellars that means that they lend themselves so well to a good atmosphere for nightlife? Well, it certainly works here, especially after some of their excellent lager. The wine barrels make great furniture, and you can just about touch the ceiling with your hands. The place lends itself to a good time, even if the music sometimes borders a little on the cheesy.

If you happen to find yourself in Saas Fee, also in Switzerland, another good place, which also happens to be in a hotel, is Popcorn. Popcorn has some fascinating old juke boxes, and is a good place to get a game of pool. You’ll find it in the Hotel Dom, which is reputedly a good place to stay, and would mean that it would not take you long to get back to your room after a good night out.

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If you find yourself in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in June 2008, you might be tempted by a night at the opera – especially so if that night is held at Northern Ireland’s most prestigious five-star hotel.

Standing high on the wooded slopes of the Holywood hills, overlooking Belfast Lough and the County Antrim coastline, is the magnificent Culloden Estate & Spa, originally built as an official palace for the Bishops of Down. The Culloden stands in twelve acres of beautiful secluded gardens and woodland, and is only five miles from Belfast city centre.

This is the fourth year that the hotel has teamed up with Co-Opera Ireland, to present three evenings of the finest opera and cuisine, and the result is a winning combination.

Co-opera Ireland aims to bring opera to as wide an audience as possible, and following on from performances of Rigoletto and Tosca in previous years, this year they will perform Pietro Mascagni’s masterpiece Cavalleria Rusticana, which tells the dramatic tale of a young man returning to his Sicilian village after military service, to find that his fiancée has married someone else.

The opera will be performed at the Culloden from Monday 16th June to Wednesday 18th June, with a champagne reception beforehand on the Cumberland Terrace, from where you can enjoy beautiful views of Belfast Lough.

As for the opera itself, instead of the guests being seated formally in rows, in true cabaret style, they will be at tables of ten, and director Michael Hunt ensures that the performers will be making full use of the stage and auditorium during this exciting production. Prepare to be thrilled.

After the performance, it’s time to dine, with an excellent choice of dishes from Chef Paul McKnight’s famous Culloden Estate Buffet, with fine wines of course.

Overall, this night would make an excellent celebration, or evening of corporate entertainment guaranteed to impress.

For further enquiries visit www.hastingshotels.com.

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If you are into skiing, snowboarding and the like, then no doubt you will also enjoy the après-ski scene, and it is important to know where the good places are. The slopes of France are ever popular in winter, and so here are a few après-ski recommendations that have come to my attention recently:

The Jam Bar, in Tignes Le Lac, is a small place with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere that provides the ideal opportunity to chill out. If you don’t feel like energetic socialising, then you can just sit and read the English newspapers. If you fancy a snack, they serve some good burgers. As well as all the usual drinks, they even serve lemon curd whiskey! Now that should keep the chills away.

Then over in the more fashionable Val d’Isere, you will find Dick’s Tea Bar, which opened in the late seventies, and is considered to be one of the best bars in the Alps for meeting the love of your life, or whatever. It has some good bands playing, and DJ nights too. It tends to be packed out until around four in the morning just about every night of the week. This may well have something to do with the reasonably priced beer.

If you happen to find yourself in Meribel, then you could try out the Rond Point. Located on the piste close to the mid-station of the Rhodos lift, it has a huge terrace, with a fabulous view, where you will find the live bands and an outdoor bar. It tends to be full of people who enjoy the “down in one” sort of drinking games. It is rumoured that here you can get toffee vodka.

If you are skiing in Les Deux Alpes, then a good place to chill out afterwards is Smithy’s, a two storey place, which stays open till two in the morning. They do band nights, live DJ’s, parties, and have a huge vodka and shot bar, and guest ales. They have a huge panoramic sun terrace where you can enjoy a fabulous range of food from the chargrill restaurant.

With such great venues, you can’t fail to have a good time after a day on the slopes.

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If you do happen to visit Bradford, mentioned in my previous post, then you might also be interested in taking a look at the pretty village of Haworth, which is within the Bradford district, and ten miles to the west of the city.

Surrounded by the moors, Haworth is a popular tourist destination due to the fact that it was home to the famous Brontë sisters, daughters of an Irish vicar, three of whom wrote critically claimed works, which are now considered to be major novels in the canon of English literature. Emily Brontë wrote Wuthering Heights, Charlotte Brontë wrote Jane Eyre, Shirley and Villette, and Anne Brontë wrote Agnes Grey and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. As well as Emily, Charlotte and Anne being published writers, their father, the Reverend Patrick Brontë, and brother Branwell also saw their own works in print, making the family one of the most prolific literary families ever.

If you are a fan of the novels of the Brontës, then you mustn’t miss a visit to the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth. A beautiful rural stone-built vicarage, here you will see the rooms where the sisters lived and worked, much of the original furniture and artefacts, as well as special exhibitions.

Haworth itself is a wonderful village to just walk around as well, with its cobbled streets, stone cottages, elegant gift shops, and cafes where you can rest while you enjoy tea and cakes.

And if you are feeling really energetic, you can set off across the moors and visit the famous Brontë Bridge.

In fact, with Valentine’s Day coming up, Haworth makes an ideal romantic location – just think of Catherine and Heathcliff!

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With its National Media Museum, elegant Victorian civic buildings set alongside old mills built from local sandstone, and some of the finest Indian food in the UK, Bradford in Yorkshire, England, is a wonderful city for a great day out.

Long a centre for the woollen industry and textiles, Bradford became prosperous during the Industrial Revolution, with textile mills turning out worsted cloth and other fabrics. Like many of the traditional industries of the UK, the heydey of the textile industry in Bradford is now passed, but the city is hopefully in the process of regeneration, and the textile industry leaves its own particular legacy.

Use of colour and dyeing was important in the development of the textile industry, and the educational Bradford Colour Museum is unique in the UK, and is run by the Society of Dyers and Colourists.

The National Media Museum is one of the most visited museums in Britain outside of London, and has three cinemas, including a gigantic Imax screen. In the museum there are displays of photography and cameras, including a fabulous camera obscura which gives you an image of the street outside the museum. You can also see old televisions, and learn something of the technology that makes them work. You can also see old television commercials, and programmes, as well as see a few typical sets for the shooting of programmes. You can even see some of the figures used in Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit animations. There are many different types of lenses and mirrors, including the old “hall of mirrors” favourites, where distorting mirrors give you versions of yourself fat and thin. This museum is definitely of particular interest if you have an interest in optics, which forms part of most physics courses – but it gives you the fun stuff as well. And talking of fun, don’t forget the museum gift shop where you can buy some pretty wonderful toys – for yourself, not just the kids.

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Just off the coast of Normandy, France, Jersey is one of the Channel Islands. Although it is a British Crown dependency, it is not actually part of the UK, nor a member of the EU.

With its lush valleys, rolling green fields, pretty Norman style farmhouses, narrow winding lanes, its unspoilt coastline of majestic cliffs and rocks, beautiful bays, and sandy beaches, Jersey makes a wonderful destination for a holiday or short break.

Jersey is an interesting fusion of English and French culture, which is reflected in its street names being in both languages, and its old language Jèrriais which is closely related to French. Jèrriais is taught in Jersey schools, and is still spoken in some parts of the countryside.

Jersey’s capital, St Helier, is trendy and cosmopolitan, with a strong business district, plenty of shops, lovely beaches and a buzzing nightlife. Needlesss to say, St Helier has a very good range of restaurants, and a distinctive cuisine that combines the best of both French cooking, with the English love of roast dinners and fresh vegetables.

On the waterfront of St Helier is The Royal Yacht Hotel, which has four restaurants, three bars and beautiful spa. Also in St Helier, by the attractive marina, is the newly opened Radisson SAS Waterfront Hotel

Overall, Jersey has a terrific range of accommodation, from five star hotels, through to some very good bed and breakfasts, to self-catering apartments and camping. Whether it’s luxury and haute cuisine that is to your taste, or life under canvas, there is something to please everyone.

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If you still feel like getting away for some skiing, and don’t fancy the steepness of St Moritz, then Snowline are offering “Chocolate box chalets at sensible prices”. Snowline is a small company with over twenty years experience, and thirty five catered chalets in premier French resorts.

The chalets vary from chic contemporary apartments to detached properties built in traditional Savoyard style of the area. Some of them are even ski-in-ski-out, so you don’t have to trek off to where the slopes are. Most of the chalets have hot tubs, which are great for relaxing in after a day on the slopes, and most of the bedrooms are conveniently ensuite. There are even DVD libraries and board games provided for your cosy evenings in by the fire, which is wonderful for families.

Snowline cover the beautiful Val d’Isère, Méribel, which has plenty of slopes for those of an intermediate level, the modern resort of La Tania, La Plagne which is excellent for novices and intermediate skiers, and Morzine which is close to Portes du Soleil, which is claimed to be the largest linked ski area in the world. Needless to say, the après ski in all these resorts is brilliant …

Included in the brochure price is return air travel between Gatwick/Heathrow and Geneva, coach transfers, airport and resort taxes, accommodation, breakfast, afternoon tea and a three course evening meals. It even includes canapés on first and last evenings! Not included is insurance, lift pass, ski equipment hire, ski lessons.

One of the special offers available at the moment is £499 per person for seven nights in La Plagne. A ski pass is around £150 for the week.

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Apparently, around now is one of the most depressing times of year. Christmas and the festive season are but memories, and there is still plenty of winter to get through before we catch sight of any sunny weather. We’re all back at work, and there are no holidays in sight. However, if you do manage to get a bit of time off, (you could tell the boss you’ve got a cold), you might consider a break in St Moritz, which is guaranteed to blow the cobwebs away. You can either go skiing, or just enjoy the sheer ambience of the place.

Although St Moritz is by no means cheap, this is exactly the time of year to pick up the bargains, and also you soon have the Gourmet Festival, running from January 28th to February 2nd, a cornucopia of food which is guaranteed to delight your senses.

If you are heading there from the UK, EasyJet do some bargains - Luton-Zurich is only about £60 return, and then it’s just a train ride to St Moritz.

A recommended hotel is the Hotel Randolins, where the simple rooms rooms cost as little as £40 per night for bed and breakfast.

But if you really want to do St Moritz in style, then the fabulous five-star Carlton St Moritz is probably for you, having just reopened after an eighteen month refurbishment, which has turned it into an all-suite hotel, with elegantly decorated rooms, each with a view of the lake. An impressive white palace set on a hill, it was originally built for Tsar Nicholas II as a summer home, back in the days before the Russian Revolution, but was turned into a hotel in 1913.

The main dining room, Restaurant Romanoff, serves breakfast and dinner, and a great variety of good Italian wine. Then there is the slightly less formal Tchini, where you can enjoy some Asian fusion food.

The starting price for a double room is around £400 per day based on two sharing, including breakfast, taxes, internet access, minibar, entry to the Carlton Spa and transfers to the train station or local airport, but check out their website for special deals.

So, whichever you choose, have a good time in St Moritz.

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If you visit Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, prepare to be amazed the minute you walk in the door. The first thing to greet your eye is the fantastic, perspective warping work by Patrick Hughes, where the painting actually appears to move as you do, and you can look down three painting lined corridors simultaneously. Even as you alter your position, the corridors seem to shift so that you can still see down all of them. Hughes was born in Birmingham, and is the creator of a technique known as “reverspective”, which is used to create an optical illusion on a three dimensional surface. If you want to see how the painting actually works, then I suggest that you view it from the side – the truth will amaze you even more.

Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery has been on the go for 120 years, and has built up a magnificent collection of art and artefacts, from Renaissance masterpieces to 9,000-year-old Middle-Eastern treasures, bronze Buddhas and Egyptian mummies. The museum is particularly famed for its Pre-Raphaelite paintings and drawings, which is probably the largest collection in the world.

All this art viewing is thirsty work, so don’t forget to try the wonderful Edwardian Tea Room, which, as well as tea and coffe, also serves the most delicious cakes. I had the summer fruits mascarpone - which made the whole trip very worthwhile, and goes down very well with coffee.

In the museum shop you can buy a wide variety of items from books to semi-precious stones, from novelty erasers to rose and violet chocolates.

There is a year-round programme of activities and temporary exhibitions, and the museum is very child friendly. Recent events include family storytelling and a puppet-making workshop.

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It seemed that for many years St Pancras, the grand old brick-built Gothic revival railway station next door to King’s Cross (also a railway station for those of you not familiar with London), was a bit forlorn and forgotten, compared to its busy neighbour. But now, as I reported a while back, the station is now St Pancras International, home of the Eurostar, with trains going all the way to Paris, Lille and Brussels, via the Channel Tunnel. In keeping with this turn of events, the station itself has now undergone a multi-million pound renovation, and has become a fantastic up-to-the-minute shopping centre worth visiting in its own right, with shops and eateries in abundance, as well as being just a short hop away from mainland Europe.

Beneath the beautiful red-brick arches of this Victorian building you can find The Arcade, with an array of beautiful boutiques selling jewellry, clothing, gifts and books. There is the famous toy shop Hamley’s, and Foyles bookshop. There are patisseries, creperies and bakeries.

And when you have done all your shopping, you can enjoy a wonderfully refreshing glass of bubbly at the world’s longest champagne bar, or have a traditional pint of ale at the Betjeman Arms. All the favourite coffee houses are here, Starbucks, Cafe Nero, Costa Coffee, as well the chic sandwich shop Pret a Manger. If you feel like munching some sushi, then look no further than YO! Sushi, where you can get fresh sushi, sashimi, nori rolls and even ramen. If you feel like some delicious pasta or pizza, then how about Carluccio’s for traditional Italian food?

All this glitz is overlooked by Paul Day’s magnificent nine metre high statue depicting intertwined lovers, right beneath the famous St Pancras clock.

St Pancras International looks set to become a popular meeting place and shopping venue, as well as a link to other European capitals.

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