I expected many things of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s sprawling capital, but I didn’t expect it to be quite so grand. It’s a city of epic public buildings, grand mansions, wide boulevards and generous public squares. Perhaps I’d been put off the scent by all the economic traumas, dictatorships, persecutions and politically-motivated murders that Argentina has…
Tag: Markets
Cologne and its Christmas markets
Nobody does Christmas or Christmas markets quite like Germany. So when I asked my friend and expert Nicky for tips on where to find the best, I wasn’t surprised when she recommended Cologne. The largest city in North-Rhine Westphalia may be best known for its imposing Gothic cathedral but, having spent a December weekend there,…
Cordoba: A palace, patios and tapas
Visiting Cordoba is like visiting an old friend. It’s a recognisably Andalusian city with its cobbled alleys and white-washed terraces highlighted in reds and ochres. Like Seville and Jerez, Cordoba has an historic heart with obvious Roman foundations and a street plan that reflects the medinas of Arab cities. There’s an atmospheric Jewish district of…
Art and history in Nantes
Tomatoes of all shapes and sizes bulging and bursting with flavour, heads of broccoli larger than any I’ve seen and oysters from all points along the French coast. This can’t be a British supermarket… In fact it’s the Marche de Talensac, one of Nantes’ oldest and biggest markets on a typical Saturday morning. Browsing the…
Mallorca: Palma’s foodie scene
Mallorca’s capital Palma has a well-deserved reputation when it comes to food and the star of the show is the San Juan Gastronomic Market in the north of the city. Once a slaughterhouse, it opened in 2015 and houses up to 20 stalls that offer local treats and international dishes, small plates and full-on meals….
The drama of Old Delhi
The New Delhi of British architects Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker is green and orderly, with wide boulevards, Raj-era government buildings and substantial colonial bungalows. It couldn’t be more different to historic Old Delhi. Situated just a few miles north of the showpiece architecture of the Raj, Old Delhi was built on the orders of…
Zagreb at Christmas
Mist hung around the hills and valleys north of Zagreb as we flew into the city’s modest but modern airport. The sun was shining, the temperature crisp. We were in town for a December weekend break, to visit the award-winning Christmas markets and experience one of Europe’s lesser-known capitals. We found a city much influenced…
Cardiff’s castle and shopping arcades
Cardiff lacks tourist attractions. At the top of the minimal list is the much-restored castle, just a few minutes’ walk from our hotel. But it was raining, and raining heavily, so whatever we were going to do on such a drab day was going to involve umbrellas and getting wet. No wonder the streets were…
Brussels and its bonkers Atomium
We could see the Atomium from our hotel room, far out to the north in the Brussels suburbs. Its stainless steel globes sparkled in the May sunshine, much as they have done since this bizarre symbol of the 1958 World’s Fair first opened. My late grandparents owned a souvenir model of one of Belgium’s more…
Oktoberfest’s little sister and other Munich treats
So who knew that Oktoberfest had a junior sibling? Not me, that’s for sure. But with great good fortune we discovered its existence coincided with our May weekend break in Munich. However, with the beer cruelly not being served until 4pm we needed to find something to do to keep us occupied on what was…
Dusseldorf: A visit to Schloss Benrath
Dusseldorf isn’t blessed with palaces and historic houses but it does have Schloss Benrath, a summer retreat built for royalty in the late 18th century. It was our principal destination on a cold and misty December Saturday. Near our city centre hotel, the Hofgarten park looked fresh and inviting, its leaf-less trees throwing long shadows…
Toronto: Historic homes and a cider festival
After a day of rain, we woke in Toronto to sunshine ready to visit some great houses and explore the city’s history. But late-night revellers and the sirens of a city weekend had meant for a broken night of sleep so it wasn’t easy dragging ourselves away from the duvet to grand Casa Loma. Still,…
Toronto: A museum, a distillery and a market
There was no mistaking that we were staying slap bang in the middle of Toronto’s Entertainment district. Throughout our first night we were woken by police sirens and Friday night drunks shouting their way home from the bars and clubs. I somehow managed to get some sleep despite the racket but a disturbed night and…
Berlin: Prenzlauer Berg and Friedrichshain
In the district of Prenzlauer Berg, in what was once Communist East Berlin, is the undistinguished open space of Mauerpark. But it comes into its own on a Sunday when it hosts a famous flea market. It gave us the chance to explore a Berlin beyond the historic centre and the popular tourist attractions we’d…
Japan: Kyoto with a bad back
What a way to spend a birthday. I woke in our Kyoto hotel with dreadful back pain, aching legs and dodgy guts. Poor Graham – his big day and I was going to be no fun at all. I somehow managed to get to breakfast, ate lightly and swallowed ibuprofen. Outside it looked gloomy and rain…