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Home > Ask_Us > Unusual_Cities
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Unusual cities
We’d like some ideas, please, for a city break in Europe that’s a bit different. Over the years we’ve visited – and loved – popular cities like Rome, Paris and Prague. We fancy somewhere a little more unusual. Maria and Jeff. UK |
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 | | | Bob Sopel recommends... | | Posted On 04.04.08 | | | Kyiv (formerly Kiev), the capital of Ukraine, is a beautiful city and compares well with Prague and Budapest: good sightseeing, good restaurants, nice friendly people. There are daily direct flights from Gatwick and Heathrow. Hotels range from the 5 star Hyatt Regency to the very popular and well situated 2/3 star Kozatsky Hotel. Ukraine has no entry visa requirements for EU passport holders for stays of less than 90 days. | |
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 | | | Julie Muldoon recommends... | | Posted On 04.04.08 | | | Madrid has great shopping, fab museums, and lots of really old Tapas bars mixed in with the new. Plaza Mayor, full of outside cafes, is where you watch the world go by, and the park is where everyone goes on a Sunday. Madrid is best avoided in July and August, when it gets really hot. | |
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 | | | Marc Fitchett recommends... | | Posted On 04.04.08 | | Krakow in Poland is a beautiful city, with fantastic architecture, a buzzing main square and numerous cafes to spend an hour or two people-watching. There are plenty of bars and restaurants to satisfy night owls, and the food is excellent.
Wawel Castle, just south of the city, is a must for all history buffs. The experience of visiting Auschwitz and Burkenau can vary incredibly depending on the time you go, and this is an important factor to bear in mind. An afternoon in July, when the museums are packed with visitors from around the world, can seem faintly unreal. However, a snowy winter's morning in February can bring home the ghastly truth of what happened here in a very powerful way.
There are budget flights to Krakow from the UK, accommodation is well priced and it is not expensive to eat or drink.
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 | | | Anne Long recommends... | | Posted On 04.04.08 | | | The pretty Slovakian capital of Bratislava is situated on the Danube at the foot of the dramatic Carpathian Mountains, and has fine restaurants, chic clubs and a cool cosmopolitan atmosphere. There are also famous baroque palaces, manicured gardens, plentiful shops and classical cafes. Highlights include the charming old town and historic Gothic treasures. Bratislava Castle, originally built as a frontier post for the Roman Empire in the first century AD, sits at the heart of the city. The 11th-century Gothic cathedral is the spiritual heart of Slovakia. | |
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 | | | Cathie O’Dea recommends... | | Posted On 04.04.08 | | | Gdansk in Poland is not unlike Amsterdam in some respects, with its pastel coloured, tall, skinny buildings. There are also a lot of redbrick medieval buildings still surviving and a very pleasant walk along the harbour giving the city a lot of character. The main attraction here is the Solidarity museum which reminds us of how much Poland has changed since the fall of the Berlin Wall. There is also a modern shopping mall - and your money goes a long way in Poland. There’s no need to worry about the language, as most Poles speak good English and menus are translated. The nearby seaside resort of Sopot (15 minutes and less than £1 on the train from Gdansk) has many bars and restaurants serving everything from Polish to pizza. | |
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 | | | Julie Mellor recommends... | | Posted On 04.04.08 | | It may not be in Europe, but how about an exotic weekend in Marrakech, Morocco? You can fly direct from London and Manchester and stay in accommodation to suit your taste from traditional riads (small hotels) to 5 star deluxe. It’s great place to visit for a short break with the fascinating ancient Medina as its historical centre. This is full of local shops and market stalls selling pottery, red dye used as lipstick, colourful spices in sacks, brassware, leather goods, jewelled silver boxes, curved Berber swords and a huge array of food from meats to pickles to sweets.
If you fancied venturing further afield, just two and a half hours away is the coastal town of Essaouira, with some lovely small boutique hotels overlooking the large curving beach. Bob Marley and Jimmy Hendrix used to hang out here. It has never become a real tourist trap and still has lots of character. The seafood is wonderful. Or take a half-day trip up into the Atlas Mountains for stunning views, especially on a clear day.
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