Mini Travel Guides

Vienna is filled with historical sights and modern masterpieces; it is a perfect blend of old and new, offering visitors a full cultural, historical and visual experience. Beautiful St Stephan’s Cathedral is a Gothic masterpiece
and is the number one attraction in Vienna with three million visitors a year. Read more about Vienna, Austria’s Treasure.

Photo by Bill Fogarty for EuropeUpClose.com

 

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It is always tricky to know where to eat in Venice. While Italy has a wonderful culinary reputation, Venice is generally not known for fine restaurants. In my Venice travels, I’ve found the best strategy is to walk away from the crowds and get into out of the way neighborhoods where you will find authentic Venetian eateries. Snag a table with the locals and you will be virtually assured of finding good food, a friendly atmosphere, and an over-all positive experience that will be worth the extra effort.

Venice is so full of alleyways, bridges, and squares to explore that it can sometimes be easy to forget to eat. But then, depending on the time of day, predictable aromas will begin to fill the air. In the morning, it’s the smell of strong coffee and fresh pastries. Around lunchtime it’s fresh pizza, grilled fish, and garlic. By night, more classic Italian ingredients are thrown at the senses: tomatoes, fresh chopped parsley, simple simmering soups.

Where to eat and drink in Venice

Out of the Way Places:

La Zucca
I first discovered La Zucca when staying in a nearby apartment rental. Although I was cooking in most nights with fresh fish and produce from the market, every time I walked by this teeny restaurant, it would be packed full of gesticulating Italians. I tried it and couldn’t forget it. When I returned to Venice a year later, this restaurant was first on my list. Located near San Giacomo Square in the quiet Santa Croce neighborhood, this restaurant sits on a picturesque canal right next to a small bridge. During warm weather there are a handful of outdoor tables. The menu is incredibly fresh, with an emphasis on vegetables. Don’t miss the pastas and braised meats. Linger over your meal as a local Italian would and be sure to order many different courses.

Paradiso Perduto
While La Zucca is the kind of small, intimate place that’s perfect for a date, Paradiso Perduto is a raucous food-hall-type-restaurant where you will sit at communal tables amongst groups of boisterous – mostly young – Italians. Tucked away from any major attractions in the Cannaregio neighborhood, this restaurant is as well known for live jazz performances and affordable drinks as it is for the food. Whatever the daily special, order it. From delicious fish soups to pastas, the menu here is simple but hearty. If your Italian is rusty (or non-existant) one perk of the communal dining is the ability to point to what your neighbor is having, indicating you would like to try it too.
Fondamenta della Misericordia, 2640
Cannaregio.

Orange
I’ve heard people say that Venice lacks a nightlife; that after the daytrippers go home the streets are silent and there’s nothing to do. This simply isn’t true – there are a number of nightlife centers throughout the city that you need to seek out. One of them is Campo Santa Margarita in the Dorsoduro neighborhood. Around midnight on weekends this square will fill with mingling people roaming from bar to bar while sipping on the a local drink, such as the spritz. Orange is one of the top bars in the square – featuring a DJ, back garden, and rooftop dance party. And Orange is not alone, there are many bars with a great after-dark buzz that cater to the young and those who want to be young.

Nico
As you would expect, there are numerous gelato outlets throughout Venice, each calling hungry visitors with their enticing, bright colored, creamy textured delights. While just about any scoop of gelato will taste amazingly great on a sunny day in Venice, one of the best places to fullfill your decadent snack need is Nico. It is located in the Dorsoduro neighborhood right on the edge of the Giudecca Canal. You can grab a scoop or two of straciatella or bacio to go, or take a table overlooking the water and order up a big ice cream sundae, topped-off with a coffee. Venice after all, is all about taking things slow.

Harry’s Bar
In order to avoid the hoards of tourists at the iconic  Harry’s Bar, consider getting your party started early and visit Harry’s in mid-afternoon. This centrally located bar is famous for being home of the Bellini. Skip the tables and take a seat right at the bar in order to watch the bartender mix your Bellini to order. Yes, it’s a splurge, but the engaging bartenders and historic atmosphere will be worth the expense. Smile at the bartender and you might receive a complimentary ‘top up’ on your Bellini.

These restaurants and bars are spread throughout the many different neighborhoods of Venice. And while you could take the vaporetto to get there, walking will help you discover some of your own out of the way places in this stunning, but sinking, city. For another take on Venice food read Mattie’s Finding an Authentic Venetian Restaurant

 Written by Jessica Colley for EuropeUpClose.com

 

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The Inca Trail is one of the most famous treks of Latin America and takes you in 4 breathtaking days to the amazing Inca ruins of Machu Picchu, in Peru. Unfortunately many people who visit Peru miss the opportunity to do this trek, because the booking rules are a bit complicated. Not anymore for you [...]

Tags: Best Spots for Adventure Sports!, Travel Tips

To get to Alba’s Truffle Festival I needed to take a detour, leaving the shores of the Adriatic for the first time since the groggy-eyed beginning of this travelogue in Dubrovnik. Having a few extra days’ time, I decided to visit Italy’s Lake Como area and learn about the traditional foods of northern Lombardy. Lombardy’s cuisine is famous for saffron, Gorgonzola, bresaola, and butter (olive oil is not a traditional cooking ingredient here). Would the traditional foods of Lake Como, an area that also draws influence from nearby Switzerland, be the same traditional foods of Milan?

Even in November, Lake Como was magical. Each morning and each night, heavy fog rolled over the colorful rowboats tied to the docks, and the steep hillsides rose straight from the lake into the clouds. My girlfriend and I decided to stay in Lecco, a medium-size city on the southeastern shore; it was easy to access by train, and buses and ferries ran everywhere we wanted to visit. The room in our hotel came with a view of the lake, and a path wound along the shore and into Lecco’s city center. Lecco is a modern city, with a good selection of restaurants.

One unique aspect to Lake Como culture is eating early, so we went out for dinner at 8pm. Most restaurant menus focused on fish from the lake, and we’d arrived during porcini mushroom and truffle season. We settled on the menu at Ristorante Pontile Orestino. I immediately liked the place. The woman behind the counter looked as though she’d grown up in the restaurant, and the dining room reminded me of a run-down café in New York’s Little Italy during the 1950s. The tables were completely unadorned other than plastic red and white checked tablecloths and the furniture was as minimalist as could be. There could be no other reason why people came here other than the food.

The other customers chatted at their tables, but the volume rose several notches when an elderly man wheeled a large stainless steel cart out of the kitchen. He wheeled it up to a table, opened the lid, and began withdrawing huge pieces of boiled meat, each more unidentifiable than the last. The customers pointed to the meats they wanted and he filled their plates one by one.

My girlfriend and I began with a half bottle of local red wine known as Inferno, which was made with the nebbiolo grape (the same grape as Barolo). It originates in the town of Valtellina, as does the famous cured meat, bresaola. I tasted red fruit followed by rich chocolate, and it paired very well with the white truffle gnocchi with white truffle cream sauce that I had. Each gnocchi was so tender that it melted like butter in my mouth, and the truffle flavor was intoxicating. For eight euros, this was one of the best deals I’d found the entire trip. For the price, I knew the truffles couldn’t be fresh, but the illusion of fresh white truffle was impenetrable. For secondo, I ordered osso buco, another specialty of Lombardy. The plate arrived with a piece of bone in the middle of the plate surrounded by rotund pieces of meat. There was a piece of baked polenta on the side that looked as though it’d been sliced from a loaf. The marrow inside the bone tasted like the richest, thickest, most perfect beef broth imaginable, and I resorted to sucking the bone in local fashion when it looked as though the marrow was almost gone. The braised shank meat was tender and moistened with some of the sauce of the marrow. The braising liquid had not included tomato, fyi.

The town of Como is the most popular destination on Lake Como, but plenty of smaller, more picturesque towns dot the lake’s shore and serve as good bases for exploring the area. Some of the most popular are Bellagio, Menaggio, and Varenna, all located near the middle of Lake Como. During the high season, which runs April-October, the best way to get around Lake Como is by ferry. However, I arrived just in time for the winter schedule to take effect, and I found that buses and trains, which ran more often, were a less expensive and totally reliable method of getting around Lake Como. From Bellagio, I did take a high-speed ferry to the town of Como. The high-speed ferry is not designed for tourists because it hurries you to you next destination and charges you extra for it. The summertime’s slow ferries serve wine and provide you with a chance to just sit back and enjoy the lake.

Hotel NH Pontevecchio – $$
Just a five-minute walk from the town center, this hotel comes at a great value, providing clean, modern rooms with views of Lake Como and its estuary for less than 100 euro/night (peak season rates may be more). Billed as a four-star hotel, the service and “American” breakfast live up to the stars, but the rooms are a bit small. A terrace is open to all hotel guests and serves as a great place to tan or eat a picnic lunch while gazing over the lake. Thirty minutes free WiFi is available in the lounge. If you run out of time, just ask for a new code.
Via A. Visconti, 84

Ristorante Pontile Orestino – $$
You can get a great bowl of homemade pasta here for 7-8 euros, and the secondo range between 11-16 euros. The atmosphere is tacky, but the restaurant ultimately makes you feel like a local. This is traditional food at a great value.
Lungolario Cesare Battisti, 4

In my next travelogue post, I’ll visit the culinary mecca of Alba and share the sights and aromas of the annual White Truffle Festival. Stay hungry my friends.

Written by Mattie Bamman for EuropeUpClose.com

 

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I’ll be visiting Portugal for the first time at the end of March 2012. I was spurned into finally getting to Portugal when I spotted a £38 ticket on the easyJet Edinburgh to Lisbon route.

Museum of the Discoveries in Lisbon by Jeremy Branham

I decided to split my seven days between Lisbon and Faro. I found a Ryanair flight from Faro back to Edinburgh for around £40.

Faro by mickpix

Mary Goudie of Your Lisbon Guide has very kindly offered to pick me up at Lisbon airport to take me on a tour of Lisbon on my day of arrival. The following day she will take me to Tomar, where we’ll visit the Convent of Christ.

I’ll be staying at one of the Heritage boutique hotels in Lisbon.

We already have some posts for what to do in Portugal and a collation of the best of Lisbon travel tips on Europe a la Carte. If you have travel tips for the destinations I’ll visit, please leave a comment.

 

Tips for My First Trip to Portugal

Tips on the what to do in Europe. Copyrighted content published on Europe a la Carte.

Tags: Portugal, Travel Tips

Although Machu Picchu is the main attraction of Cusco and probably, of Peru, there are so many other interesting historical and cultural sights to see! In this blog a short list of some other things to do in Cusco before or after your visit to Machu Picchu. The Cusco City Tour is a must for [...]

Tags: Cusco City Tour, Machu Picchu, Q´enqo, Sacred Valley of the Incas Tour, Sacsayhuamán, Tambomachay, Unforgettable Places!

This summer is the perfect time to visit London for the 2012 Olympic Games. London is an exceptional venue, so along with the Olympic games, you will also want to take time to visit some iconic London attractions and monuments, and to experience the English culture. Here are some tips to make your visit to London easier and more fun.

Book your flights to London Now
As the summer grows closer, the prices  for flights to London will get more expensive and seats will be more difficult to find.

Book your hotel room Now
The earlier you book the more choices you will have. Just remember, the closer you stay to the center of London, the easier it is to get around, but it is also more expensive.

Take advantage of free admission to museums
Most of the more than 300 London museums are free, including the Tate Modern and the British Museum. Here is more information on saving money on your London vacation.

Look into purchasing a London Pass
The London Pass is a sightseeing city card – like a credit card with a computer chip inside – which gives you entry to a choice of over 55 popular tourist attractions throughout the city. The pass has several great advantages:

• Free entry to 55 attractions
• No waiting – skip lines on many attractions
• Free 120+ page guidebook
• Over 30 special offers
• Free public transport*

The pass is sold for durations of  1, 2, 3 or 6 days.
A One-day adult pass is £46.00, a  child pass is £29.00.
A Two-day adult pass is £61.00, child pass is £46.00.
A Three-day adult pass is £74.00, child pass is £61.00.
A Six-day adult pass is £99.00, a child pass is £69.00.

London Pass holders enjoy queue skipping privileges at the following places:

• Tower of London
• St Paul’s Cathedral
• Hampton Court Palace
• Windsor Castle
• London Bridge Experience
• ZSL London Zoo
• Kensington Palace & The Orangery

Take in a play
London is renowned for its fantastic theater scene. While there are several top tier playhouses in the city, there are many more smaller theaters at various price-points. And, if you are looking for bargains, be sure to check out Tkts Liecester Square, the official half-off ticket offfice operated bythe Society of London Theatres. (Note: there are lots of places calling themselves discount dealers, but many are rip-offs.)

 Take a ride on the EDF Energy London Eye
We really enjoyed our ride on the London Eye; it gave us a spectacular view of the city. It is really a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we highly recommend it.

Experience a traditional London Tea Service
One of the great things about traveling is experiencing other cultures and traditions. So, while in London, what could be more memorable than to take part in a traditional English custom: afternoon tea.

 Thinking about going to the 2012 Olympics? This post was sponsored by FlightCentre.com, your source for Cheap London Flights, Holidays and Travel Deals.

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Whoa, you did read that right. Fly to Europe from $470* RT, all-inclusive.
Lufthansa’s Winter airfare sale is on. Here are just a few airfare bargains to whet your appetite. The prices below are round-trip and include all taxes and fees. Certain restrictions apply.

New York to Dublin        from   $470*
New York to Istanbul    from   $672*
Atlanta  to Vienna           from   $850*
Chicago to Barcelona     from  $761*
Chicago to Krakow          from  $722*
Denver to Paris                 from  $880*
LAX  to Istanbul               from  $737*
LAX to Barcelona             from  $770*
Seattle to Zurich               from  $826*
Seattle to Barcelona        from  $775*

* Round-trip including all taxes and fees. Weekend surcharges up to $60. To get these great bargains, read the fine print below, then contact your travel agent or Lufthansa Airlines

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In Quechua, the local language of the Andean people, this name means Young Peak. The peak of Huayna Picchu, or Wayna Picchu, rises approximately 360 meters higher than that of Machu Picchu (Cusco, Peru), known as the lost city of the Incas, and takes approximately an hour to climb. During the time of the Incas, [...]

Tags: Best Spots for Adventure Sports!, Cusco, Huayna Picchu, Inca trail, Inca Trek, Peru, Tourism Highlights and Curiosities!!

The north coast of Northern Ireland has been blessed with a great many natural features of stunning beauty. One of the most dramatic vehicles to experience that beauty is the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which is a suspension bridge that spans a 30-metre high chasm above the ocean.

The rope bridge is located in the far north of County Antrim, which sounds remote and foreboding, but it’s actually only a 2-hour drive from Belfast. The best way to get to County Antrim is to drive along the Coastal Causeway Route, which provides beautiful views of the ocean and the opportunity to stop at other attractions, such as castles and local cafes, which the speedier motorway just doesn’t allow.

Once you arrive at Carrick-a-Rede, a short path along the cliff edge leads to the rope bridge. On the way to the bridge, there are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the scenery. Rolling hills and vivid green pasture land filled with grazing horses border one side of the path, while the open ocean borders the other side. As you approach the rope bridge, steep ocean cliffs and islands become visible. National Trust guides are set up along the cliff to ensure that no one waiting to cross falls into the chasm. There was a waiting queue of visitors when I arrived and that allowed me to consider the dangling bridge, which seemed so insecure against the formidable backdrop of the crashing ocean far below and the rocks rising high above.

The bridge was originally constructed by fishermen in order to reach the tiny island of Carrick, which allowed for salmon fishing. The current bridge was made with the help of local fishermen, although it now belongs to the National Trust and is solely used for tourism. When I visited there was a strong wind blowing off the ocean, as is typical in Northern Ireland. As stated by our guide, the original bridge used by the fishermen was constructed of a single rope hand-rail and wooden boards that often had large, irregular spaces between them. I knew that the modern bridge was made of much sturdier materials; however, the wind caused the bridge to swing forcefully, even with the weight of 8 people crossing together.

Traversing the swinging bridge high above the sea rocks is a breathtaking experience and not as frightening as it may appear. The walk across the bridge is only about 20 metres and is over very quickly. Although you may be tempted to hurry along the bridge, you should also take a moment to enjoy the view and your precarious position high above the ocean. On my visit, the sun was shining brightly and the sky was so clear that Scotland was visible.

After you cross the bridge, you are free to explore Carrick Island. The area is well-known for its unique bird and plant life, as well as the coastal views. Once you’re ready to leave the island, you must cross the rope bridge again, which is significantly less intimidating than the first experience of crossing. You can return to your car on the coastal path or continue to follow it around the cliff for a better view of the bridge. I personally found the views from the coastal path, which was also quite silent and solitary, to be even more beautiful and exceptional than those from Carrick Island.
119a Whitepark Road
Ballintoy, County Antrim
BT54 6LS
Tel: 028 2076 9839

Written by Erin Connelly for EuropeUpClose.com

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