The Travel & Leisure Magazine November Edition 2009

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2009 £2

BRAZIL

Carnival times

JAMAICA

Reggae island

SLOPING OFF

FESTIVE TRADITIONS

Family skiing holidays

Europe's Christmas markets November/December 2009

FULL OF EASTERN PROMISE Far East, Australia and world cruises

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T R A V E L

FROM THE EDITOR

BANISH THE GLOOM elcome to the new issue of The Travel & Leisure Magazine. The news and weather may be gloomy, but we hope you will find the pages packed with items to lift your spirits and brighten your horizons.

Getting into the reggae groove, we look at Jamaica, famous for its beaches, all-inclusive resorts and the enduring legacy of Bob Marley. The musical theme continues with a focus on samba nation Brazil, which will welcome the world to Rio for the World Cup and Olympic Games.

For those planning a holiday in the coming weeks and months, we look at breaks taking in traditional Christmas markets across Europe and winter getaways in Scotland’s cities. We also put the spotlight on family skiing holidays with a feature written by ski guru Chris Gill, co-editor of skiers’ bible Where to Ski and Snowboard.

Five copies of the guide’s 2010 edition can be won, while prizes in other competitions include tickets to Destinations: The Holiday and Travel Show.

Our regular cruising feature looks at the Far East and Australia as well as world cruises, while Spain’s ever-popular Costa del Sol is the featured golf destination.

We hope you enjoy the read, and may we wish you a merry Christmas – and happy travels in 2010, wherever they may take you. .

Peter Ellegard

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P&O Cruises

W

GETTING TO KNOW Jamaica

6

ESCAPE TO European Christmas markets

15

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK Brazil

20

ALL ABOARD Far East, Australia & World cruises + News 26 LET’S TRY Family skiing holidays

31

READER OFFER – special offer on Where to Ski and Snowboard 2010

PACK YOUR CLUBS Costa del Sol

37

TRAVEL UPDATE Travel news

43

Estonia Tourist Office

ON YOUR DOORSTEP Winter breaks in Scotland’s cities 45

German National Tourist Board

November/December 2009

Sunvil

SuperClubs

Lerendu Avoriaz/Stephane

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OUT & ABOUT What’s on outside London

Embratur

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LONDON REVIEW London’s ethnic communities + News 52 READER OFFER – special offer on a luxury stay in Dorset 59 COMING NEXT What’s in store in the next issue

von Essen Hotels

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

62

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November/December 2009

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EDITORIAL TEAM Editor Peter Ellegard Writers Peter Ellegard, Keeley Gordon, Julie Stevens, Sara Macefield, Dave Richardson, Chris Gill and Robin McKelvie Design Nick Blaxill Advertising Team Jeannette Cumbers, Beverley Sennett & Elaine Smith Admin/Accounts Wendy Barfoot Production Keeley Gordon, Loretta Prince Publisher Terry Stafford Digital Publisher Peter Lewsey Published bi-monthly by Travel & Leisure Magazines Ltd Suite 421, 1-3 Coventry Road Ilford, Essex IG1 4QR Tel: 020 8518 3937 Email: info@tlmags.com Printed by Wyndeham Heron © Travel & Leisure Magazines Limited 2009 The publishers cannot accept responsibility for errors or omissions.

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Front cover photo: Atout France

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Island of

Marley’s spirit With its lush mountains, waterfalls, stunning beaches, all-inclusive resorts and a history rich in buccaneer mystique, Jamaica is a swashbuckling cut above many Caribbean rivals. Sara Macefield explores the island whose famous son Bob Marley gave the world reggae music et your legs up, up, up”, screamed my Jamaican guide. It wasn’t the usual sort of command you’d expect, but as I was racing along a zip-wire at full pelt towards the landing platform – it seemed a sensible request!

Only a few seconds earlier, I’d stood at the top of the tropical river gorge, knowing I would be skimming across the treetops held up by nothing more than just a cou-

“G

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ple of cables hundreds of feet up in the air.

Having reached the other side in one piece, my trepidation was swiftly replaced by elation and I felt ready to tackle anything.

After all, this is just one of the adrenalinbusting activities designed to tempt holidaymakers off Jamaica’s beautiful beaches and into its rugged, jungle-filled interior.

As the third-largest island in the Caribbean, Jamaica offers much to entrance visitors, from the misty peaks of the Blue Mountains with their beautiful landscapes of rivers and waterfalls, to the rocky cliffs and wide open sandy beaches of the laid-back resort of Negril, the coolest of all chill-out zones.

November/December 2009

getting to KNOW

I Hanging around on a canopy tour

I A taste of Jamaica

Jamaica is where you’ll find historic old plantation houses rubbing shoulders with luxurious hotels and sprawling all-inclusive resorts; where you can hide away in chic boutique hotels tucked into rocky cliffs or on lush mountain slopes.

It is a place of local legends of buccaneering pirates and murderous witches, of romance tinged with royalty and old Hollywood glamour.

But underpinning it all is the raw reggae vibe that dominates this island and envelops its culture, stemming from Jamaica’s most famous son Bob Marley, who planted his distinctive beat across the world.

Tourist areas Most of Jamaica’s tourist resorts are along the north coast, though one or two resorts have sprung up on the lesser-developed south coast. These are the island’s tourist areas: Montego Bay – Jamaica’s second city after the capital, Kingston – which is bigger and busier than the other tourist resorts. The

Jamaica Tourist Board

I At your service – a Sandals butler

Sandals

Jamaica Tourist Board

JAMAICA

hub of the city is Gloucester Avenue, the socalled “Hip Strip” full of restaurants, bars, art galleries and duty-free shops.

Mo Bay, as it is called by the locals, has its own marine park which covers 10 miles of coral reefs. There is also the famous white-sand Doctors Cave Beach and its mineral spring, said to have therapeutic powers. Nearby is the attractive town of Falmouth, noted for its well-preserved Georgian buildings, dating from the 1700s.

Ocho Rios – “Ochi” as it is affectionately called, is more tourist-friendly than Montego Bay with its craft market, duty-free shops, restaurants and cafes and more relaxed atmosphere.

Visitors should aim for the outdoor Island Village shopping

Healing waters Jamaica’s waters have healing powers.

The most famous – and touristy – are at Doctors Cave Beach where the mineral springs are said to be therapeutic.

Then there are the mineral waters of Milk River, said to be the most radioactive in the world with high levels of magnesium, calcium, sulphate and natural chloride.

The baths here date from 1794, but users are warned not to stay in the waters for more than 10 or 20 minutes at a time because of their potency.

Jamaica even has a town called Bath which was founded because of the nearby mineral springs which are high in sulphate.

In the 18th century, Bath was popular with the European elite who flocked here for the healing powers of the scalding hot waters and elegant botanical gardens – the first on the island.

I Frenchman’s Cove

November/December 2009

Image: Jamaica Tourist Board

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SuperClubs Sandals

I Diving off Jamaica

I Canoeing

With more than 600 miles of coastline and over 100 rivers Jamaica offers ample opportunity for water sports fans to make a big splash.

From river tubing and river rafting to diving, sailing and under-sea tours on a semi-sub reef explorer, Jamaica has plenty of watery attractions.

As well as the usual range of water sports and boat trips, there’s the Kool Runnings water park in Negril, which claims to be the largest in the Eastern Caribbean and is packed full of thrilling aqua rides.

Alternatively, sun-worshippers wanting to bare all can choose from a wide selection of naturist spots – Jamaica claims to offer more nude beaches than any other Caribbean island.

Sandals

Water sports

I Sailing a catamaran

centre in the heart of the resort which English-speaking city in the Waterfalls houses the Reggae Xplosion Caribbean. It sits at the head of The island’s scenic beauty and colourful museum that tells the fascione of the world’s biggest history have always helped it to attract nating story of how natural harbours which in legions of visitors, but in recent years Jamaican music has years past was home to Jamaica has turned up the thrill factor to influenced the world. buccaneering pirates offer an adrenaline-pumping alternative to Negril – the sowho based themselves adventure-seekers wanting to explore the called “capital of at nearby Port Royal. stunning rugged interior. The top natural casual” is famous for The old city, described attraction has to be Dunn’s River Falls having the best beach in the 17th century as (www.dunnsriverfallsja.com) near Ocho on Jamaica and the the “wickedest city in the Rios. These 600ft falls were just made for most beautiful sunsets. west”, was destroyed by climbing, and it is great fun to scramble over This is a place to kick off earthquake and now lies huge boulders and plunge into the tempting I Sunset over Jamaica your shoes, sit back and chill underwater in the bay. Kingston pools. out. Some of the hippest boutique Jamaica Tourist Board may have a tough reputation, but its You need to be reasonably agile and you hotels in the Caribbean are tucked into the location on the south of the island means it have to concentrate, especially at some of rocky cliffs behind the beach, offering a real is far removed from the main tourist areas. It the steepest points, but the reward is the laid-back escape. However, more active trav- also has a number of its own visitor great sensation of standing ellers can take advantage of the excellent attractions under one of the many choice of water sports or try out the local South Coast – this is one of waterfalls and gasping restaurants. the most unspoilt parts of for breath from the Port Antonio – set on the north-east coast, the island and one of the sheer power of the this is the romantic heart of Jamaica where most beautiful with its torrent. the Blue Mountains sweep down to the sea. deserted beaches, tiny If you only do Less touristy than the other resorts, this lush fishing villages and tradione thing when retreat is known for its beautiful setting tional towns. This is the you’re in Jamaica – which decades ago attracted film-stars, most place to come crocodiledo this. It’s unique, notably Hollywood swashbuckler Errol spotting on wildlife safaris invigorating and Flynn, who declared it “more beautiful than along the Black River or unforgettable.

Just a few words of any woman I have ever seen”. splash around in the cascading I Romantic bridge warning….try to avoid visiting Kingston – Jamaica’s capital is the largest waters of the 120ft YS Falls.

Jamaica Tourist Board

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November/December 2009

when cruise ships call, otherBob Marley wise the falls are mobbed But it’s the beautiful Blue with cruise passengers.

Mountains that were made for Aim for the mornexploring and hikers; bikers ings too, as these and adventurers can distend to be less cover a rich array of flora busy than afterand fauna. noons.

For serious walkers, For a quieter the seven-mile hike to the alternative, visit summit takes three to four Somerset Falls hours, while near Port Antonio, cyclists can get which are less-known, a lift up one of or the Mayfield Falls the mountains and I The Bob Marley Museum near Negril which are in a enjoy the 18-mile perfect area for cave diving, cliff- Jamaica Tourist Board downhill ride which finishes jumping or simply messing about in the with a refreshing waterfall dip. water.

Wildlife fans can swim with And if you want a true chill-out, try river dolphins at Dolphin Cove rafting on one of the long bamboo rafts that (www.dolphincovejamaica.com) drift lazily down the Rio Grande or the Great near Ocho Rios or at the Half Moon or Martha Brae rivers. resort near Montego Bay Daredevils can visit Mystic Mountain (www.halfmoon.com/dolphin(www.rainforestbobsledjamaica.com), encounters.php). one of the island’s newer attractions near Alternatively they can splash Ocho Rios where they can soar through the around with stingrays at Stingray City treetops on a chairlift, hurtle through the for- (www.stingraycityjamaica.com) on est on a bobsled or swing through the forest James Bond Beach, near the north on a zip-wire. coast village of Oracabessa, a 25-minute

Jamaica Tourist Board

drive from Ocho Rios.

Nearby is Goldeneye, the former hideaway of James Bond author Ian Fleming, and Firefly, the beautifully-located retreat of famous English playwright Noel Coward which has been preserved and is well worth visiting, if only for the views.

Visitors looking for a more local flavour should step out on hikes in Maroon Country in the east of the island where there’s the chance to meet local maroons – descendants of runaway slaves who made their home in the mountains.

But probably the most famous local is Bob Marley. He may have died nearly 30 years ago, but nowhere

I Hedonism III disco and flume tube

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SuperClubs

All-out fun at Jamaica’s all-inclusive resorts

It was almost midnight and I was being given a severe dressing down by the two girls manning the doorway I wanted to enter. So severe, they made me strip down to my underpants before they would let me pass. But then they were virtually as nature intended, save for some tiny scraps of cloth and strategic body painting.

I should have expected nothing less.

After all, it was the official opening night of Jamaica’s adult-only Hedonism III resort and the event I was trying to get into was the late-night disco following the Neptune-themed opening party.

This was clearly not going to be a night for the self-conscious or prudish. A fact underlined by the sight that caught my eye when I stepped up to the bar. As the sea of near-bare flesh gyrated on the dance floor, a naked body suddenly flashed past just above the crowd’s heads in a large, clear plastic tube hung from the ceiling.

The resort’s flume tube goes straight through the disco, and revellers had obviously decided to discard all their clothing to try it out.

It may have been 10 years ago, but the experiences from that visit are etched vividly in my memory. Perhaps none more so than during the golf tournament the

November/December 2009

Sandals

I Pool-side at Sandals Negril

I Water sliding at Hedonism III

next day. Organised by the resort’s parent company, SuperClubs, it featured hospitality tents by the tees of several holes, each hosted by a different resort branch. At the first tee, chefs in white hats cooked up breakfast while uniformed masseuses gave golfers a pre-game massage in the tent hosted by its upmarket Grand Lido Resorts & Spas. A few holes along, the Cuban resorts were serving up lashings of rum while a salsa band laid down infectious rhythms.

Then there was the Hedonism tent, hosted by the new resort and its more established and equally-outrageous sibling, Hedonism II. Outside, two bikini-clad models wearing giant angel wings sat on the edge of a hot tub, while inside another

November/December 2009

popular tourist attractions, drawing thousands of visitors wanting to pay homage to the music legend.

The Bob Marley Museum is located in the superstar’s original recording studio in New Kingston where he recorded many of his songs.

One of his former homes in the Trenchtown area of the capital, called Culture Yard, is also open to the public.

His final resting place is the Bob Marley Mausoleum (www.ninemilejamaica.com) which comprises the tiny house in the village of Nine Mile where he was born.

model had dispensed with her bikini and was being body painted by any golfers who fancied giving her a lick of paint. All very distracting as you tried to hit your ball from the nearby tee.

Back at the resort, things continued in similar vein. A stage show ended with a member of the audience being covered in whipped cream and volunteers sought to remove it without using their hands.

On the way to the beach, I walked I Fern Tree Falls at Half Moon underneath a see-through Jacuzzi – diverting my eyes from the naked German underpants, to the wind. guests whose bodily bits were wobbling in The two Hedonism resorts represent the bubbles.There were actually two one extreme of the all-inclusive scene in beaches: one labelled the Nudes Beach, Jamaica.There are family resorts, such as and the other the Prudes SuperClubs’ Starfish Trelawny Resort & Beach.

Spa or the Beaches resorts Of course there operated by Sandals. Some are were many other romantic escapes popular with activities and honeymooners or couples parts of the getting married, while others resort that did appeal to the sporty and not involve active types.The choice is disrobing. It was yours. just an option if And of course, if you really you had no want to, you can let it all hang inhibitions and out...

I Snorkelling at Hedonism III wanted to throw caution, and your Peter Ellegard

Half Moon

SuperClubs

does his spirit live on more strongly than in Jamaica.

His birthplace and final resting place in the rural district of St Ann near Ocho Rios and the Bob Marley Museum in Kingston (www.bobmarley-foundation.com/ museum.html) are among Jamaica’s most

SuperClubs

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All photos: Jamaica Tourist Board

I Jamaica’s waterfalls are among its top attractions

Where to stay Large family-orientated resorts, chic upmarket retreats, trendy boutique hideaways and small independent hotels – Jamaica has them all.

But it is most famous as the birthplace of the all-inclusive concept which started with the opening of the Jamaican resort, Couples, in the Seventies.

Couples Resort is still open, but it has since been joined by a huge choice of other all-inclusives, namely those owned by the Sandals/Beaches group and SuperClubs – both of which are owned by Jamaican families and have several resorts on Jamaica and other Caribbean islands.

More recently, Spanish hotel chains such as Riu, Iberostar and Barcelo have built a string of modern all-inclusive hotels, but holidaymakers wanting something more unusual should head for the mountains.

Strawberry Hill in the Blue Mountains is an 18th century plantation house that became the hideaway of record mogul Chris Blackwell and the place where Bob Marley recuperated after being shot in the 1970s.

It offers rustic, laid-back luxury along with stunning views over Kingston.

Other one-off gems include Rockhouse, The Caves, Jake’s (described as the chic-est shack in the Caribbean) and Tensing Pen – built into the cliffs overlooking Negril’s stunning white-sand beach.

Well established upmarket alternatives that still hold traditional charm include Jamaica Inn in Ocho Rios, plus Round Hill TL and Half Moon near Montego Bay. Sara Macefield has been writing about the Caribbean for the last 15 years, visiting so many times she has been nicknamed the “Caribbean Queen”. She has been to most islands, but Jamaica is one of her favourite places to relax with a rum punch.

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I Rafting on the Martha Brae

Jamaica facts When to go The best weather is from December to April, which is the high season. July and August are also popular, but are in the hurricane season which runs from June to September/October.

Visa UK passport holders do not need a visa for stays of up to 90 days.

Getting there British Airways (www.ba.com) flies from Gatwick to Kingston and Montego Bay and Virgin Atlantic (www.virginatlantic.com) operates from Gatwick to Kingston and Montego Bay.There are also charter flights with Thomsonfly (www.thomsonfly.com) and Thomas Cook Airlines (www.thomascookairlines.co.uk). Flight time is around 10 hours.

Tour operators UK operators featuring Jamaica include British Airways Holidays (www.ba.com),Thomas Cook Holidays (www.thomascook.com),Thomson (www.thomson.co.uk),Virgin Holidays (www.virginholidays.co.uk), First Choice Holidays (www.firstchoice.co.uk), ITC Classics (www.itcclassics.co.uk), Kuoni (www.kuoni.co.uk), Hayes & Jarvis (www.hayesandjarvis.co.uk) and Harlequin Holidays (www.harlequinholidays.com).

Getting around Choose from domestic flights between Kingston and Montego Bay, local buses, JUTA tourist buses (www.jutc.com), taxis or hire cars.Travelling around can be an adventure, but it gives visitors a great flavour of the island. Make sure you travel only on licensed buses and taxis. Jamaica has a good network of roads but they may not always be in the best condition, plus other drivers tend to drive fast and furiously – so be warned!

Tourist information Jamaica Tourist Office: call 020 7225 9090 or visit www.visitjamaica.com

November/December 2009

ESCAPE to…

CHRISTMAS MARKETS

In the market for

Chr stmas

■ Christmas in Augsburg Bavaria Tourism

Traditional Christmas markets in towns and cities throughout the Continent and farther afield are now hugely popular for festive get-away breaks.

Dave Richardson explores their attraction onsidering that I’m not much of a shopper, my first experience of a traditional Christmas market came as a revelation. It was nearly 20 years ago in the

C

November/December 2009

ancient Polish city of Krakow, and the temperature was 20ºC below freezing.

Yet more snow dusted Krakow’s many spires

■ Children with toffee apples in Lemgo

German National Tourist Board

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Prague Christmas market

Leger Holidays

Leonardo Mediabank

Cologne's market and cathedral

Rostock market

Dertour

German National Tourist Board

Bruges at Christmas

as darkness fell in mid afternoon, creating a true Christmas card scene. I followed the crowds to the vast Market Square – said to be the largest in Europe – and made straight for a stall selling hot mulled wine.

Everyone around me seemed happy and soon I forgot about the cold as I wolfed down sausage and fried cheese, before buying some woollen slippers and wooden toys at bargain prices. I went away feeling warm and also the warmth of humanity, and ever since I try to visit a European Christmas market far from the blandness and rip-off prices in Britain.

I’m not alone in wanting to flee these shores as Christmas approaches, despite the increasing number of festive markets in this country. According to research by Leger Holidays, nearly one person in four is planning a festive break and a key reason is wanting to escape the over-commercialisation of Christmas.

Krakow is actually a fairly unusual choice, as the most popular traditional markets are in Germany. The website Christmasmarkets.com offers information on over 400 markets in 22 countries,

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although many of these are not traditional and as far away as Japan, Canada and the USA. Germany and France both have about 80 listings, with Austria having 29 and Belgium 16.

In Germany – as in Krakow, no doubt – this year’s markets will have an extra reason to celebrate. November marked 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Communism in Europe, which led to the revival of many traditions including a festive Christmas. Glühwein (a warm mulled wine) and eierpunsch (an alcoholic drink with eggs) can be found everywhere.

“Nearly one person in four is planning a festive break” Christmas markets started around 1400 in the German-speaking part of Europe, with Dresden (1434) being one of the first and now attracting two million visitors a year.

Opening of the markets in early December or late November coincides with the Advent religious festival, and some are called Christkindel Markt (Christ child market) with a child playing the role of the boy

■ Christmas in Liege

Jesus. This is the case at Nuremberg, one of the best markets, also home of gingerbread which is one of the favourite festive foods.

The market at Munich, held on the Marienplatz in front of the guildhall, is one of the most impressive with over 120 stalls.

Many stalls still concentrate on traditional toys and festive fare, although inevitably they have been infiltrated by modern gadgets and clothing.

Look for regional variations, such as a Christmas pastry at Frankfurt’s Christmas market. Bethmännchen is made from marzipan with almonds and sugar, and young men used to send it as a token of their love. If a girl kept it they could remain hopeful – if not, they had to look elsewhere.

Cologne is another highly popular German market, being held near the immense cathedral which is one of the world’s largest. Many of the most charming traditional markets are in smaller places, such as Trier, Mainz, Koblenz, Kaiserslautern, Speyer and Worms – which call themselves the Romantic Cities of Germany. Historic Highlights of Germany, a group of 14 cities, has four recommended routes taking in the markets.

November/December 2009

Estonia Tourist Office

■ Tallinn Christmas market

Belgian Tourist Office

Out of the Ordinary

German National Tourist Board

■ The Christmas angel at Nuremberg

Many visitors gravitate towards larger cities as there is so much more to do, especially during the long evenings at the darkest time of the year. Another reason some cities are very popular is ease of access from the UK , which is why Belgian and French markets come into their own.

Liege holds one of the oldest and largest

November/December 2009

Christmas markets in Belgium, in its central square and adjacent Place du Marché. In the Flanders part of Belgium you will find markets in every city, including Bruges (a great city break destination in itself) and – just across the Channel – Ostend. The snow and ice sculptures in Bruges are an added attraction from November 20-January 10, while in the Belgian capital Brussels, a large ice rink can be enjoyed as well as the market.

You can reach Brussels in less than two hours by Eurostar train from London, while the journey to Lille in northern France is even faster at 80 minutes. Lille’s market is one of the best in France, a highlight being when Father Christmas descends an 80metre-high belfry on December 19.

If you prefer to fly then there are more countries to choose from, where you can combine a Christmas market with a historical city or even some skiing. Markets are held in most Austrian cities including Vienna (a very cultural choice in the run-up to Christmas), Salzburg and Innsbruck.

Vienna’s market is in front of City Hall, where children can create their own presents at Santa’s Workshop, and dispatch them

Here are a few more ideas for a Christmas market break with a difference: Tallinn, capital of the tiny Baltic country of Estonia, has revived a festive market which was popular long ago but abolished during Soviet rule.The 64 wooden stalls are set out in the medieval Town Hall Square around a huge Christmas tree, as Father Christmas and his elves – Scribble and Scrabble – work the crowd. Choirs, dance groups, poets and musicians keep you entertained.The market runs from November 29-January 7.

Just across the Baltic from Tallinn is Helsinki, capital of Finland, a country which claims Santa Claus for its own (as does Greenland, among others).The Ladies Christmas Market runs from December 2-6 with handicrafts made by Finnish women, followed by the main market in Esplanade Park.

The Hungarian capital of Budapest is another ex-Eastern bloc city to revive its Christmas traditions.The venue is Vörösmarty Square, which is decorated with a huge Christmas tree and an advent calendar.

■ Traditional Christmas tree decorations

German National Tourist Board

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■ Salzburg Christmas market Salzburg Tourist Office

Dave Richardson got fed up with Christmas shopping in Britain at a very early age, when he had to queue for an hour to meet Santa at a department store in Liverpool. In over 30 years of travelling he has visited nearly every country in Europe, and has a particular interest in Central Europe including the former Communist countries.

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Christmas market facts

Getting there You can fly from main UK airports to major German cities including Munich and Frankfurt, and Frankfurt airport has an inter-city rail terminal for trains all over the country. Brussels and Prague also have good UK air connections, but remember that low-cost airlines have strict limits on baggage with big supplements to pay if you stock up on Christmas goodies.This makes rail a good option, including Eurostar to Lille and Brussels, with easy connections in Brussels to Cologne and other German cities.Also consider coach tours, or drive yourself using Eurotunnel or ferries. Fred Olsen is one of the cruise lines with a Christmas Markets theme departure.

German National Tourist Board

When to go Christmas markets take place from late November or early December. Many close just before Christmas but some continue until New Year’s Eve and even into January.

Tour operators include Shearings (0844 824 6352, www.shearings.com), Dertour (020 7290 1105, www.dertour.co.uk or www.christmasmarkets.co.uk), Leger Holidays (0845 408 07 69, www.legerbreaks.info),Travelsphere (0800 567 7372, www.travelsphere.co.uk), Newmarket Holidays (0845 226 7756, www.newmarket.travel), Short Breaks Ltd (0844 482 2940, www.short-breaks.com),Titan HiTours (0800 988 5823, www.titanhitours.co.uk), Great Rail Journeys (01904 521 936, www.greatrail.com) Sample prices Dertour’s huge choice in Germany and other countries includes a two-night break to Nuremberg by air costing from £339 and extra nights from £53.

Leger Holidays’ two-night break to Brussels and Bruges, by coach, costs from £149.

Great Rail Journeys features a three-night trip to Cologne for £445, including first-class travel by Eurostar and a Rhine cruise to Rudesheim market.

More information The website www.christmasmarkets.com has a comprehensive listing, with hotel and travel offers.

German National Tourist Office: 020 7317 0908, www.germany-tourism.co.uk and www.germany-christmas-market.org.uk Historic Highlights of Germany: www.historicgermany.com Romantic Cities of Germany: www.romantic-cities.com Austrian markets: www.christkindlmarkt.co.at and www.weihnachtsmarkt-salzburg.at Bruges: www.winterinbrugge.be Tallinn Christmas Market: www.christmas.ee

German National Tourist Board

from a special post office without the possibility of postal strikes! Musical programmes with choirs and pastoral plays are performed on the steps of Salzburg Cathedral, while in Innsbruck, a daily attraction at 5.30pm is the Turmbläser, a brass band which plays Christmas songs from the city tower.

Innsbruck’s main market is in the medieval Old Town by the 14th century balcony known as the Golden Roof, with dozens of stalls decked out with Christmas decorations, locally-crafted wood and glassware, and typical Tyrolean clothing.

Prague has several Christmas markets, the most important being in Old Town Square and Wenceslas Square. Brightly-decorated wooden huts sell traditional Czech products from handicrafts to corn on the cob, sausages and other local specialties, and in Old Town Square children can stroke sheep, goats and even a llama – although what connection a llama has with Christmas, or the Czech Republic, is not clear. As with most markets, however, it has a Bethlehem crib scene depicting Mary, Joseph, baby Jesus and the Three Kings.

Whether the Three Kings arrive on camels or even llamas, you can be sure of a lot more atmosphere when visiting a European market than if you stay in Britain – despite the best efforts of home-grown Christmas markets such as York, Lincoln or Bath. They operate throughout December and fares are usually low at this time of year – especially midweek. Most cities’ other main attractions are a lot less crowded than in the summer.

Maybe, like me, you’ll find that visiting Christmas markets becomes the habit of a lifetime. You certainly won’t be pining for Britain’s dreary shopping malls, with a glass of steaming glühwein in one hand and a sizzling bratwurst sausage in the other!

TL

November/December 2009

Sunvil

Samba party

■ A carnival dancer

With the Olympic Games heading to Rio in 2016 and the World Cup there two years earlier, carnival-mad Brazil will be partying like never before as it welcomes the world.

Dave Richardson gets into the samba spirit to discover what makes the country so special

hen a traffic light turns to amber or red, you might get annoyed at the hold-up. But in Marius restaurant, on Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, I turned the “lights” to amber and then red myself. I might as well

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have hoisted the white flag of surrender.

Marius is one of the best churrascaria restaurants in Rio, specialising in barbecued beef, pork and chicken. After helping yourself to a lavish buffet of starters, you lick your lips as waiters cut the meats at your table from long vertical skewers. Keep your “traffic light” card on green and they keep

on coming relentlessly. Turn it to amber and they ease off a bit. Only when you turn it to red does your belly get some respite.

Food is not, of course, the main reason for visiting Rio. We go for the beautiful views, the samba beat, carnival, beach, football and the whole crazy exuberance of Brazilian life, which has attracted runaways from the

off the beaten TRACK BRAZIL

Sunvil

Christian Knepper\Embratur

■ Beach in north-east Brazil

■ New Year fireworks over Rio

John Cleese character Archie Leach (A Fish Called Wanda) to train robber Ronnie Biggs.

Many more people will be heading for Rio soon, as Brazil will be hosting the 2014 World Cup (with some matches in Rio’s famous Maracana stadium) and it will be host city of the 2016 Olympic Games. But there is of course a down side to Rio, as portrayed in films such as the ultra-violent City of God. Within days of Rio being awarded the Olympics, a police helicopter was shot down during another bout of drug gang warfare.

All I can say from personal experience is that a tourist is no more likely to be attacked or robbed in Rio than any other big city, as long as you take the usual precautions. The only machetes I saw being wielded were to behead coconuts on Ipanema beach.

New wonder But I did join a guided favela (slum) tour, to the notorious slum of Rocinha, to find out about life for the vast majority of residents who live in poverty. Call it “voyeur tourism” if you must, but I learned a lot and the tour

cost supports community projects.

Without doubt Rio is a beautiful city, and as it is set around a series of bays divided by mountains it doesn’t seem that big. The best known mountain is of course Corcovado, topped by the statue of Christ the Redeemer which has been declared one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. The ascent is usually by rack railway through the rainforest covering Rio’s mountains, whereas you go by cable car up Sugar Loaf Mountain for even better views.

There’s much more to see in Rio – from ■ Rio de Janeiro Embratur/Angelo Cavalli

Kuoni

■ Carnivals are the high point of the year

Embratur/Secretario de Turismo do Recife

■ Rio's carnival is regarded the world’s best

Carnivals

Embratur/Rudy Huhold

■ The Rio Sambadrome

22 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

because of the different vantage points.

Crossing the border is simple if you book a tour, with the views from the Argentine side being more panoramic.

Iguacu consists of 275 individual falls stretching for nearly two miles with the

largest, the Devil’s Throat, having the highest volume of water per second of any waterfall in the world.

Amazon

Sunvil

museums and a wonderful Botanic Garden to chic districts such as Santa Teresa – while the nearby coast also has some charming resorts, such as colonial Paraty.You could easily spend a week around here, but the fifth largest country in the world is awaiting you…..

Sao Paulo – the biggest city but not the capital, which is Brasilia – offers little by comparison, but this is the main international gateway and hub for internal flights. From Sao Paulo the whole of Brazil is accessible, and it covers nearly half of South America including 4,600 miles of coast.

A “must see” is Iguacu (or Iguassu) Falls, reached by flights to Foz do Iguacu which is 90 minutes from Sao Paulo or three hours from Rio. Here you get two or even three countries for the price of one, as Iguacu is on the border with Argentina and Paraguay.

Viewing the falls from both the Brazilian and Argentine sides is highly recommended,

■ The Amazon

Brazil’s hedonistic lifestyle is why many people want to visit, and carnivals are the high point of the year not only in Rio but in many other cities. It’s said that when people aren’t actually at a carnival, they are preparing for it – with samba schools competing all year round.

The Rio carnival (February 13-16, 2010, and March 5-8, 2011) is generally considered to be the world’s best, but you need to book early and air fares and hotel rates are sky-high.The Sambadrome is the heart of the action, where 65,000 people pack in to watch samba schools perform and countless parades.You can visit a samba school any time – ask your hotel concierge.

Salvador, on the north-east coast, runs Rio close for sheer indulgence. Here the carnival is very African influenced – not surprising when you look at a world map. Recife and Sao Paulo also hold major events.

You might see iguanas and many species of birds around the falls, but not the jaguars portrayed in tourist literature. Wildlife is also one of the reasons visitors head for the Amazon, although the best wildlife viewing is in the Pantanal wetlands in western Brazil.

I flew to Manaus, the main gateway to the Amazon, which is a flight of three and a half hours from Sao Paulo. Visions of thatched huts and barefoot natives proved to be an illusion as Manaus is a major city, and although it is about 1,000 miles from the Atlantic coast it is reachable by large cruise ships in about two days.

Preparing to land in Manaus is much like arriving at any other tropical island destina-

November/December 2009

Brazil facts When to go Year-round, but July to December are the drier months.There are major climatic variations in such a big country, from the tropical north to temperate south.

Getting there and getting around Direct flights to Sao Paulo and Rio are operated by Brazilian airline TAM (www.tam.com.br) and British Airways (www.ba.com), with only BA operating non-stop to Rio.TAM offers a cost-effective air pass on its internal network, with prices from US$532 for up to four flights. Many internal routes are flown by low-cost airline GOL (www.voegol.com.br). Express coach services are viable over shorter distances and car hire is available.

Wonderful beaches

Dave Richardson first visited Latin America over 30 years ago and has now visited six countries in the region, including several trips to Brazil. He sometimes visits a churrascaria restaurant in his home town of Oxford – but it isn’t quite the same as in Rio...

24 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

Accommodation Major hotels of international standard operate in main cities and resorts, where global chains are present. Resort-style hotels are widely available in beach resorts, and eco-lodges are developing in the Amazon and some other areas. A word of warning: a “motel” in Brazil is where couples go for sex (also called “love hotels”)!

Christian Knepper\Embratur

Was it worth coming all this way for what I saw? It all depends on your priorities, and the same applies to visiting north-east Brazil. British tour operators used to fly direct charters to Salvador, Recife and Natal in only eight hours, but since they were axed you face a three-and-a-half-hour flight back from Sao Paulo, although you can also fly to the north-east via Lisbon.

These are all major cities, but there are many smaller beach resorts such as Porto de Galinhas near Recife, Ponta Negra near Natal, and Praia do Forte near Salavdor. The Costa do Sauipe, 50 miles from Salvador, has large all-inclusive hotels.

The beaches of the north-east are simply wonderful, while Genipabu near Natal has immense dunes where you can go sandboarding and even ride a camel.

Beautiful, vibrant, inspiring, expect-theunexpected Brazil – there aren’t enough days in a lifetime to experience it all. TL

Sunvil

■ Iguacu Falls

Christian Knepper\Embratur

tion as you fly low over lush tropical vegetation, soft white sandy beaches and endless blue sea – except that the water is the Amazon river! It’s about five miles wide here, but during the wet season from December to June the beaches are submerged as the river spreads into the surrounding jungle.

A few miles from Manaus is a natural phenomenon called Meeting of the Waters, which you experience on a boat trip. The Rio Negro and Rio Solimoes, both parts of the Amazon system, are distinct in colour and density because of the minerals they carry.

Where they join, the dark water of the Rio Negro and muddy water of the Solimoes flow side by side for several miles.

Most people spend only a night or two in Manaus before heading deeper into the Amazon on a small cruise ship, or to stay at a jungle lodge. There are about 15 lodges around Manaus, ranging from the simple and rustic to glitzy, air-conditioned hotels.

The activities they offer are much the same – only the ambience is different.

I opted for Salvador Lake Lodge about one hour’s trip across the Rio Negro. A night trip revealed the red eyes of small alligators, but daytime excursions yielded only a single toucan and much rustling in the undergrowth. I plan to return for deeper exploration.

Tour operators Many companies offer packages and tailor-made tours.

For example, Kuoni (01306 747002, www.kuoni.co.uk) offers a seven-night combination of Rio and a Salvador beach resort from £1,565. Sunvil (8568 4499, www.sunvil.co.uk) has a 13-day Diverse Brazil tour for £3,990, including Rio, Iguacu, the Pantanal and Paraty.Travelbag (0871 703 4698 www.travelbag.co.uk) includes three nights in a jungle lodge in its Rio and Amazon Adventure tour (10 days, £1,299).

Tourist information Brazilian Tourist Office (Embratur): www.braziltour.com, 020 7396 5551.

■ Inset pictures show Olinda’s Convent de São Francisco (above right) and Paraipaba beach.

November/December 2009

COMPETITION

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T

November/December 2009

Win one of 10 pairs of Destinations tickets To enter this competition, simply answer the following question: Where is Destinations London held?

To enter, please go to www.choicetravelinfo.com and click on the competition & giveaways button.

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Whether you want to discover an entirely new culture, or whether you are simply after new ways to see your favourite places, at Destinations you can do just that; experience the sights, sounds and flavours of many new places

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Special Reader Offer If you are not lucky enough to win tickets, you can buy them at a discounted rate of £9 for London and £7 for Birmingham when booked in advance on 0871 230 7141* or visit www.DestinationsShow.com and quote DT5A. *Calls cost 10 pence per minute from BT land lines. Calls from mobiles and other networks may vary. Booking fee applies. Box office closes February 3, 2010 for London and March 4, 2010 for Birmingham.

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

25

Orient

Steering

Cruises in exotic Far East and Australasia waters are growing in appeal as more cruise lines send their showboats to China and other Oriental locations. Sara Macefield reports on cruising in the East and looks at another fast-growing sector – world cruises he Far East is a tantalisingly exotic option for passengers wanting to spice up their holidays and cruise off the beaten track. Few places on earth can rival this region’s rich kaleidoscope of colours and experiences; from ancient dynasties and age-old traditions to gleaming skyscrapers and futuristic designs that make up some of the world’s most striking cities.

This is the perfect place to escape the crowds of the Mediterranean and Caribbean and absorb the contrasting countries and cultures of a region that still holds that special appeal.

The beauty of cruising through Asian waters is that you can visit several places in one trip without having to endure arduous overland journeys.

Stay on a ship, soak up the views and relish the chance to truly get away from it all on deserted islands or in tiny villages.

Getting to the Far East may take longer than flying to Europe or the Caribbean, but the huge range of flights to the main cruising departure points of Hong Kong, Singapore and Bangkok has made it much cheaper and easier than it used to be.

And you don’t have to restrict yourself to simply taking a cruise. It’s easy to combine voyages with land-stays as part of a longer holiday across Asia.

Alternatively, why not spend a few nights in

T

26 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

■ Seabourn is among cruise lines with Far East-based ships

Yachts of Seabourn

FAR EAST

■ Many cruises start or end in Sydney

the cities where the cruise starts or ends to really make the most of this exciting destination?

Where can you go?

With more holidaymakers waking up to the appeal of cruising in the Far East, cruise lines have been quick to increase the range of sailings they offer.

The result is that there has never been a bigger choice of cruises through Asia and the surrounding area with companies such as Princess Cruises adding more itineraries and others such as Yachts of Seabourn, Costa Cruises and Royal Caribbean International basing ships there. Asian-based cruise line Star Cruises has five ships offering voyages of two to five nights to Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Hong Kong.

The route between Hong Kong and Singapore is probably the most popular and travellers can choose to sail north from Hong Kong or south from Singapore.

It takes around two weeks to cruise between the two cities and itineraries can vary, but the

most common ones tend to take in the coast of Vietnam – a fascinating area to explore by ship and one of the Asian destinations seen as holding the most potential for cruising.

Alternative routeings between the two cities can include calls at the oil-rich sultanate of Brunei; Sabah, on the tropical island of Borneo; Manila, the bustling capital of the Philippines; the idyllic Thai island of Koh Samui, famous for its beautiful beaches; and the tropical holiday isle of Hainan, known as China’s Hawaii.

Some cruises which start and finish in Hong Kong cover the same territory, but others sail northwards from the city, calling at Taiwan and Japanese cities including Kobe, Yokohama and Nagasaki before finishing in the Chinese powerhouse of Shanghai – which is also a starting point for some cruises.

Other voyages from Singapore offer a different flavour by sailing to Indonesia and calling at exotic islands such as Java, Bali and Komodo, famous for its deadly giant lizards, known as Komodo dragons.

Such sailings can include calls in Malaysia, notably at the capital Kuala Lumpur and the historic Dutch trading port of Malacca.

ASIA, AUSTRALASIA AND BEYOND Cruise passengers keen to venture further afield can take longer cruises through southeast Asia to India, the Middle East or even the Mediterranean.

November/December 2009

all ABOARD FAR EAST, AUSTRALASIA & WORLD CRUISES

■ Star Flyer in Thailand

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines

Cruise tips

■ Fred Olsen’s Balmoral in Shanghai

November/December 2009

● Far East cruises run year-round, but choose your time carefully to avoid monsoons.The best choice of cruises tends to be in winter when more ships sail to the region. ● Remember that some of the must-see sights in Asia involve a lengthy overland journey, and sometimes even require an overnight stay. ● On world cruises, if you only want to do a segment, study the itinerary carefully to ensure you don’t spend too many days at sea – unless you want to, of course! ● Onboard activities are worth considering on world cruises as these will add more variety on the days at sea.The bigger the ship, the more facilities it will have.

Star Clippers/Andy Lovering

Princess Cruises

Another option is to sail from the Far East to Australia and enjoy a completely contrasting range of destinations on lines such as Silversea, Regent Seven Seas Cruises or Princess Cruises.

Such voyages tend to take two weeks, calling at various Asian ports such as Ho Chi Minh City, Singapore and Bali before reaching Australia and stopping at Darwin on the north coast, the gateway to some of the country’s most beautiful, remote Aboriginal lands.

Then it’s simply a case of sailing down Australia’s east coast. Passengers can experience one of nature’s great wonders, the Great Barrier Reef, during stops at Cairns, Port Douglas or Airlie Beach.

From there they may get the chance to witness the beauty of the Whitsunday Islands, and the modern city of Brisbane before ending the cruise in Sydney.

Taking to the sea is an ideal way to explore Australia as its main cities and tourist attractions are on the coast and travelling by cruise ship gives passengers the chance to combine these with the islands of the South Pacific and New Zealand.

Other popular stops in Australia on such sailings include Melbourne and Hobart in Tasmania, while New Zealand ports of call include Christchurch, Dunedin, the Fiordland National Park, Napier, Picton, Tauranga and Auckland.

In Polynesia stops at idyllic outposts such as Bora Bora, the islands of Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa,

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

27

■ P&O’s Aurora in Hong Kong P&O Cruises

and Rarotonga in the Cook Islands also feature.

One-ship cruise line Paul Gauguin Cruises is based in the region all year, offering sailings through several South Pacific islands and calling at New Zealand on longer itineraries.

WORLD CRUISES When it comes to spending time at sea, world cruises are still the ultimate thrill.

Being able to wave goodbye to British shores for two or three months at a time and sail across the globe to some of the world’s most inaccessible places carries a premium cachet.

At one time, such voyages were the pre-

serve of the very rich who had the money, as well as the time, to spend on such adventures.

But not any more! Potential globe-trotters are increasingly realising that a world cruise does not have to be a once-in-a-lifetime occasion.

Nowadays there are more ships and more long voyages than ever before. Being able to choose shorter sectors instead of the whole sailing means passengers can buy into a world cruise even if they can’t afford the whole thing.

A true world cruise is one that circumnavigates the globe, but there are plenty of so-

Far East, Australia & World Cruise facts Sample cruises Yachts of Seabourn (0845 070 0500; www.seabourn.com) is offering a 14night voyage from Hong Kong to Singapore, via Vietnam and Thailand on January 30, 2010. Prices start at £3,399, excluding flights.

A 12-day sailing from Sydney to Auckland is offered by Princess Cruises (0845 3555 800, www.princess.com) on January 28, 2010, from £2,612, including flights.

P&O Cruises (0845 678 0014, www.pocruises.com) is offering a 94-night world cruise on its ship Arcadia, departing Southampton on January 10 for 34 ports in 23 countries. Prices start at £8,406.

Make sure you check out the website of the Passenger Shipping Association, which represents all the main cruise lines, at www.discover-cruises.co.uk

28 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

Mix of destinations

Princess Cruises

Other useful cruise contacts Crystal Cruises (020 7287 9040, www.crystalcruises.co.uk) Cunard Line (0845 678 0013, www.cunard.co.uk) Fred Olsen Cruises (01473 746175, www.fredolsencruises.com) Holland America Line (0845 351 0557, www.hollandamerica.co.uk) Oceania Cruises (0845 858 0827, www.oceaniacruises.co.uk) Orion Expedition Cruises (020 8545 2617, www.orionexpeditions.com) Paul Gauguin Cruises (020 7434 0089, www.pgcruises.co.uk) Regent Seven Seas Cruises (02380 682280, www.rssc.co.uk) Royal Caribbean International (0844 493 4005, www.royalcaribbean.co.uk) Saga Cruises (0800 096 0079, www.saga.co.uk/travel) Spirit of Adventure (0800 015 6984, www.spiritofadventure.co.uk) Star Clippers (0845 200 6145, www.starclippers.co.uk) Star Cruises (0845 201 8913, www.starcruises.com) Silversea Cruises (0844 770 9030, www.silversea.com) Swan Hellenic (0845 246 9700, www.swanhellenic.com) Voyages of Discovery (0845 018 1808, www.voyagesofdiscovery.co.uk)

called “grand voyages” which take a similar amount of time and visit all the places you would expect such as Asia, Latin America, Australasia or Africa – but only cover twothirds or so of the world.

These cruises normally depart in January, returning in March or April.

P&O Cruises and Cunard Line have traditionally offered world cruises from Southampton, but lines such as Fred Olsen and Saga Cruises also offer long voyages from British shores.

P&O has also increased the number of world cruises it offers. Customers can choose from four different sailings between September 2010 and January 2011, while Yachts of Seabourn is offering its first world cruise next year.

Lines such as Crystal Cruises, Princess Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises also offer global voyages.

World cruises and long voyages generally call at around 30 ports, including a mix of tried and tested destinations and offbeat locations – some of which are only accessible by ship.

They tend to last between 80 and 110 days and are split into segments ranging from around 12 nights to 30 nights – the so-called “line” voyages that sail from one point to another. The most popular one is generally Australia or New Zealand.

Some world cruises depart and return to UK ports such as Southampton or Dover while others sail from ports including Miami, Los Angeles, Fort Lauderdale and New York.

Those departing from the UK tend to sail to Australia via the Mediterranean, calling at ports such as Bangkok, Hong Kong and Sydney. An alternative route could be sailing south from Europe to South Africa and returning via Latin America and the Caribbean.

Passengers who book the full voyage often enjoy extra benefits, with lines such as Silversea and Crystal offering free shore-side activities and selected excursions.

Other perks include onboard spending credits and a free hotel stay on the eve of TL departure.

November/December 2009

CRUISE news

■ Down Under cruises added

Far East and Australasia. It now offers more than 75 voyages with Costa Cruises, Princess Cruises, Holland America Line and Yachts of Seabourn.

Fred Olsen Cruise Lines

Green-fingered cruise passengers can join a oneweek Springtime in Norway cruise with Fred Olsen Cruise Lines aboard its ship, Balmoral, during which the celebrity

■ Join Alan Titchmarsh aboard Balmoral

speaker will be celebrity gardener Alan Titchmarsh.

Online travel agency Cruise.co.uk is offering a special package with two talks exclusively arranged for its customers from £599.

Get in tune on a musical sea voyage with Hurtigruten, which is offering onboard concerts and a performance in Oslo’s new opera house as part of a six-night sailing from Tromso to Bergen and Oslo on January 4, costing from £1,230.

November/December 2009

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on your Mickey Mouse ears and take to the high seas because next year Disney is coming to town – or rather Disney Cruises is!

For the first time ever, the company will offer cruises from the UK on one of its ships, Disney Magic, which will be based at Dover.

In total, the ship will spend five months in Europe, from April to August, mainly sailing from Barcelona.

But it will spend most of June and July at Dover from where it will offer four 12-night Northern European Capitals itineraries through the Baltic Sea to St Petersburg, calling at other cities such as Oslo, Copenhagen and Stockholm.

Passengers preferring to cruise the Mediterranean can opt for one of Disney Magic’s 10 and 11-night sailings from Barcelona calling at destinations such as Malta, Tunis and Naples.

Alternatively, they can choose its seven-night Barcelona-Dover cruise in June or eight-night return voyage from Dover to Barcelona in July.

Disney claims its Baltic cruises will combine the region’s rich history, culture and folklore with its own unique family-friendly ambience that will help to bring each destination to life.

The last time a Disney cruise ship sailed in Europe was in 2007 when it offered Mediterranean voyages.

“The response from guests was overwhelmingly positive,” said Disney Cruise Line president Karl Holz.

■ Disney Magic.

Inset: Goofy with young cruisers

Disney

Princess Cruises

Long-haul holiday firm Qantas Holidays has introduced a wide range of cruises to its brochure that can be combined with other travel arrangements in the

Mickey cruises over to Dover

“We are thrilled to bring the ship back and look to make the 2010 season in the Mediterranean even better with new destinations and more one-of-a-kind Disney experiences for our guests.” ● Prices for the Northern Europe Capitals cruise with Disney Cruise (020 8222 2856, www.disneycruise.disney.go.com) start at approximately £2,299 and include dining, entertainment, character experiences and “select” onboard activities.

Island hop Scotch

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uxury Scottish isles cruise ship Hebridean Princess, which the Queen hired for her 80th birthday celebrations, is to offer a new range of themed sailings next year.

Hebridean Island Cruises is known for offering upmarket cruises through the highlands and islands of Scotland and hopes to attract more customers with additional special-interest cruises as well as the line’s first guest speaker, nature expert Tim Earl.

He joins two Hebridean wildlife voyages next summer and will give passengers an invaluable introduction to spot-

Hebridean Island Cruises

CRUISE CLIPS

■ Hebridean Princess

ting seabirds, eagles, different species of fish, wild deer and even orchids, in wildlife sessions on deck or on forays ashore.

Other new additions include sailings along the Firth of Clyde,

through the Argyll lochs and to some lesser-known Hebridean islands, plus a return to Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man and the introduction of a Hebridean Surprise mystery cruise.

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

29

?? ? ?

let’s TRY…

SalzburgerLand Tourist Office

FAMILY SKIING HOLIDAYS

Slope off ■ Toboganning at Obertauern, near Salzburg

with the family

Skiing offers a rare chance for families to enjoy an active holiday together. But where do you go? Ski expert Chris Gill, a long-time family skier, gives the low-down on the best peaks to choose

November/December 2009

e were only a year into our child-rearing project when my wife Val and I realised that we were going to have to start doing family skiing holidays, even before we had a family capable of skiing.

We had left our precious one-year-old in the care of his nanny, and taken off for a week in Norway. By day three, we were

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desperate to get back to him (and to a supply of affordable wine, I confess).

Nine months after, we spent a jolly Christmas in an Esprit Ski chalet in Montchavin. About nine years later, when both Alex and sister Laura could get around the mountain with us, we came to realise what an excellent family holiday skiing makes. It has its drawbacks – notably the cost. But to be able to share an exciting, vaguely healthy outdoor activity with the

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

31

Mark Warner

Learning to ski

■ Break time at a Mark Warner ski school

First, will your kids be up to it? They need a degree of determination and resilience to overcome the inevitable setbacks – the falling over, for a start. Our kids got to this point at about age six. At age four, it didn’t work.

Then, how should they be taught? If you’re competent, you could do it yourself.

Our kids got a mix of lessons and parental coaching at the start, then a year or two of proper lessons – but once off the nursery slope there was no way to persuade either of them to take more lessons.

A good compromise is classes in the morning, and skiing together in the afternoon. In many resorts school classes are mornings only – but your tour operator may offer afternoon supervision/amusement if you want to carry on skiing without hindrance.

Of course, you’ll want to identify a good school. Where to Ski and Snowboard can help you there (see facts panel).

TVB Innsbruck/Klaus Kranebitter

TVB St Anton am Arlberg/Wolfgang Ehn

■ Young skiers in St Anton

■ Morning lessons leave time free for family skiing

whole family is a rare thing. And it whisks you from the depressing, grey British winter to a fairytale setting of snowclad forests and mountains, with a good chance of blue skies; unbeatable.

Photopress

■ Family fun in Adelboden, Switzerland

32 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

■ Ski kindergarten in Avoriaz

How to go Most British skiers take package holidays, even though doing your own thing is pretty simple, thanks to an ever-wider range of budget flights and internet booking of hotels and apartments.

For families, packages have particular merits – especially families attracted to the uniquely British form of ski holiday, the catered chalet. Strictly speaking, a chalet is a small Alpine house, though for chalet-holiday purposes it may be an apartment. Your tour operator staffs a chalet with young Brits, and offers either the whole place or rooms within it, packaging half-board with flights or other transport. No-choice meals are taken at a communal table, with (a key feature, this) wine included.

Unless you take over a very small place, there will

November/December 2009

● One or more jolly, safe, dedicated kids’

nursery slopes (or “snow gardens”). ● Gentle main nursery slopes, free of

through-traffic. ● Longer, gentle runs (classified green in

France) to progress to. ● A combination of sun and good snow on

all these runs (beware resorts that get no sun in midwinter, and resorts where snow at village level routinely turns to ice). ● Opportunities to have fun on the snow without skiing – tobogganing and/or tubing, in particular. ● Things to do in the evening or on stormy days when skiing is limited – swimming, bowling and skating. ● A well-run ski school.

Top resorts – country by country Below are resorts to consider in the four main Alpine skiing countries. There are alternatives, but I don’t recommend them. If money is no object and you think the kids can deal with the jet lag, consider North America: the tuition and the childcare doesn’t get much better – but it is seriously expensive. Bear in mind that the highest resorts present a risk of altitude sickness.

Avoriaz/Stephane Lerendu

Austria

be other families to provide distractions for yours; in a chalet-hotel (a larger variant, run along similar lines) you are almost sure of finding compatible playmates. But the killer feature is that most chalet operators organise childcare in some chalets, and some operators do it in all their chalets.

Practically every resort has one or more public nurseries/ski kindergartens, and some hotels have their own private nurseries. Like many British parents, we always opted for the more predictable tour operator childcare.

Most people take flights to the mountains, followed by a coach transfer taking one to three hours, occasionally more. It can be less hassle to drive, especially if you have a lot of baby kit to handle, and a capacious motor. Rail travel is enjoying a revival of interest. There are weekly direct services from London to stations close to several major French resorts, and services to Paris

November/December 2009

“For families, packages have particular merits” open up many other indirect possibilities all over the Alps. Quite a few resorts are on the rail network.

For many years the favourite destination of British beginners, and still very appealing. + lively, beer-fuelled apres-ski starting midafternoon; appreciably cheaper than France; plenty of small, cute, family-friendly resorts.

– few of its big resorts are natural family places; many of the most appealing resorts are at low altitudes where snow conditions are unreliable.

Big-name favourites: Lech (www.lech-zuers.at) – near-perfect seclusion up the hill at Oberlech.

St Anton (www.stantonamarlberg.com) – excellent nursery slope at quiet Nasserein.

Smaller favourites: Alpbach (www.alpbach.at ) – cute, quiet village with central nursery slope.

Ellmau (www.wilderkaiser.info) – acres of gentle nursery slopes.

The ideal family resort There is no such thing, of course: what suits one parent and his four-year-old will not suit another parent and her 10-year-old. But here is a list of desirable ingredients: ● Easy access, without excessively long transfers from airports, or excessively winding access roads. ● Compact, convenient, safe layout (carfree ideally), so that getting the kids from A to B is hassle-free.

France Now the dominant destination for Brits, particularly for chalet and apartment holidays. + lots of huge, high, snow-sure ski areas; many family-oriented resorts with a lot of very convenient accommodation right on the slopes; huge choice of catered chalet holidays.

– high prices, especially in the top resorts; huge influx of French families during the

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33

■ Choose a familyfriendly resort

Atout France/Chantal Bourreau

Package holidays Lots of tour operators offer childcare in certain resorts, so you don’t need to confine your search to the firms listed here. But these are operators that do childcare throughout their programmes: Esprit Ski (www.espritski.com),The Family Ski Company (www.familyski.co.uk), Ski Famille (www.skifamille.co.uk), Mark ■ Italy has well-equipped resorts Warner (www.markwarner.co.uk), Snowbizz (www.snowbizz.co.uk), Ski Amis (www.skiamis.com), Ski2 (www.ski-2.com), Premiere Neige (www.premiere-neige.com) and Mountain Heaven (www.mountainheaven.co.uk).

February school holidays (which include British half-term weeks) Big-name favourites: Avoriaz (www.avoriaz.com) – car-free, ski from the door resort.

Les Menuires (www.lesmenuires.com) – good choice of slopeside family chalets.

Smaller favourites: Les Gets (www.lesgets.com) – pretty village at foot of gentle slopes.

La Rosiere (www.larosiere.net) – good range of family chalets in a sunny setting.

Sample package prices Esprit has five chalets in Les Gets. Prices range from £600 in mid-January to £1280 at half-term; there’s a complex scheme of free and discounted places for kids.The Family Ski Company has two chalets in Les Menuires. Prices range from £420 to £1250; again, children pay less.

Chris Gill is editor of leading annual guide Where to Ski and Snowboard and has written about ski resorts for 25 years.With two children now of student age, he has long and intimate experience of the pain and pleasure of family skiing holidays.

34 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

Other costs Lift passes: the lifts on some nursery slopes are free. In other resorts, you pay for each ride, or buy a special beginner’s lift pass (perhaps costing £15/£20 a day). But in some resorts the nursery slopes are at midmountain and you must buy a full pass costing as much as £200 for a week. Children pay less, and go free under a certain age. Many resorts offer family passes, at a special price.

Ski school classes: expect to pay something like £100 for six half-days, between £150 and £200 for six full days, if available.

■ Ice castle, Les Menuires Equipment hire: expect to pay £75 to £150 per week per adult for skis and boots, half that per child.

More information on resorts Austria: www.austria.info/uk France: www.francetourism.com Italy: www.italiantouristboard.co.uk Switzerland: www.myswitzerland.com/en/home.html

SPECIAL OFFER: Where to Ski and Snowboard To maximise the chances of a good holiday, get hold of this, “the skier’s bible” – Britain’s only annual ski resort guidebook, now in its 14th edition. Readers of The Travel & Leisure Magazine can buy the book online from www.wheretoski.co.uk/tlm for the cover price of the first edition, published in 1994 – £14.99, with p&p free (it is £18.99 in shops).

The most important information about the top resorts is available on the book’s main website (www.wtss.co.uk). Special features include links to the other sites mentioned in this article. ● To win one of five free copies of Where to Ski and Snowboard 2010, see page 36.

Photopress/Alexandra Wey

Switzerland Where we Brits invented recreational downhill skiing, though now a bit of a niche market. + some exceptionally cute, family-friendly villages in spectacularly scenic settings – high prices, especially in top resorts.

Big-name favourite: Wengen (www.myjungfrau.ch) – car-free, traditional village, reached by train.

Smaller favourite: Adelboden (www.adelboden.ch) – several toboggan runs and other amusements. TL

OT Les Menuires/P Royer

Italy In the past sold on price but now offers well-equipped resorts competing with Austria. + the Italians love kids, and kids love pasta.

– few resorts are ideally arranged; there are few UK tour operators doing childcare; resort childcare is not well established.

Big-name favourite: Cervinia (www.montecervino.it) – limitless gentle slopes starting right beside the village.

Smaller favourite: Selva (www.valgardena.it) – great snowsure nursery slope with lodgings beside it.

ENIT

Family skiing facts

■ Snowli kids’ race, Adelboden

November/December 2009

COMPETITIONS

WIN one of 10 CEWE Photobooks worth £100 each ow often do you take lots of great digital photos and then forget to do anything with them?

Well, no more – because CEWE Photobook has teamed up with the The Travel & Leisure Magazine to offer 10 lucky visitors the chance to each win a free photopaper photo book worth £100.

Your photos are printed as a book and you can design your own high-quality books in as little as three minutes! The assistant can help you or you can use the award-winning software to be as creative as you dare.

CEWE Photobooks are great for recording memories of everything from holidays and weddings to baby’s first year and parties.

H

Download the free software from www.cewe-photobook.co.uk

How to Enter For your chance to win a CEWE Photobook, answer the following question: Question: How quickly can you create your CEWE Photobook?

To enter, please go to www.choicetravelinfo.com and click on the competition & giveaways button. See the website for terms & conditions.

Closing date is December 11, 2009. The first correct entry drawn will win.

WIN one of 5

for each major resort in the Alps and North America based on a survey of the cost of eating and drinking.

Whether a beginner or a powder-snow expert, or a night-owl looking for lively après-ski, you’ll find a clear assessment of each resort. And if the choice seems bewildering, you can start with the book’s 21 ready-made shortlists of resorts, or a comprehensive comparative chart containing 10 star ratings for 120 major resorts.

copies of the skiers’ bible – Where to Ski and Snowboard ritain’s only annual guidebook to winter sports resorts, Where to Ski and Snowboard, has been completely revised for its 2010 edition.

Compiled by ski experts Chris Gill and Dave Watts, the guide highlights the 1,000 best winter sports resorts in the world.

Over 600 pages are devoted to detailed descriptions and evaluations of resorts in the Alps, North America, the Pyrenees, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Japan and Scotland.

This year, Germany is covered for the first time and there are new chapters on resorts in

How to Enter For your chance to win one of five copies of Where to Ski and Snowboard, simply answer the following question:

B

36 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

Question: Which country is featured in Where to Ski and Snowboard for the first time this year?

Austria, Italy, Switzerland and Canada.

Star ratings for major resorts have been widened to cover terrain parks, ski schools, après-ski and family-friendliness as well as snow reliability, lift queues and the suitability for different abilities. The guide also includes a unique Resort Price Index (RPI)

To enter the competition, please go to www.choicetravelinfo.com and click on the competition & giveaways button. See the website for terms & conditions.

Closing date is December 11, 2009. The first correct entry drawn will win.

November/December 2009

pack your CLUBS COSTA DEL SOL, SPAIN

Costa del Golf Spain’s top holiday spot is also favourite with holidaying golfers and its top-notch facilities include one of Europe’s very best, as Peter Ellegard discovered here are some holes in golf that make your heart race in anticipation well before you reach them. They are the ones that create edge-of-theseat drama for TV viewers.

Often they are the penultimate hole. The 17th at St Andrews – the infamous Road Hole where the lurking bunker derailed David Duval’s Open Championship hopes when battling Tiger Woods in 2000 – is one famous example. The par-3 17th at Sawgrass in Florida, with its notorious island green and baying crowd, another.

In the 1997 Ryder Cup, it was Valderrama’s par-5 17th that gripped the attention of the golfing world. Several tempted to take on a long approach shot over the guarding lake to the pin had their joy at hitting the green cut short when the ball spun back on the wicked slope and disappeared into the water. Tiger Woods even managed to putt his ball into the lake. All of which earned it the nickname “Valderdrama”.

The slope has since been softened and the green extended slightly, to make it a fairer challenge. But the hole is still a daunting prospect, and one that prayed on my mind for the entire round until I reached it when I finally got the chance to play the course in June.

It was during a competition for international media. Teams comprised four players from each nation. I was captain of England and my partner (actually an Aussie!) and I were pitted against two Germans.

Conditions could not have been better.

Gorgeous blue skies were matched by fairways so perfectly groomed it seemed a

■ Valderrama

November/December 2009

Peter Ellegard

T

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

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Starwood Hotels

■ The hill-top village of Casares

Off course attractions Regional capital Malaga’s old quarter contains remnants of its Moorish heritage as well as a Roman theatre and later edifices such as its cathedral, built over an ancient mosque.

Malaga was home to artist Pablo Picasso and his house is preserved as a monument, while the Picasso Museum contains works from throughout his life.

In Mijas, donkey taxis take visitors on tours of the town, which has a square bullring.

They once transported marble and lime from hillside quarries to the coast.

Cosmopolitan Marbella has a colourful old town while nearby Puerto Banus has many bars and restaurants by its ritzy marina.The narrow streets of inland village Istan echo to the sound of water flowing from numerous fountains fed by natural springs.

Ronda is one of the region’s hill-top Pueblos Blancos, or white villages – named for the white-washed walls of their traditional Andalucian architecture. A deep gorge spanned by an ancient bridge divides Ronda’s historic and new quarters, with buildings precariously perched atop sheer cliffs.

The ancient white village of Casares, the construction of which was ordered by Julius Caesar, has a preserved Arab castle and offers views of the Straits of Gibraltar.

shame to spoil them with divots and greens smooth enough for a snooker match.

The match was a close affair right up until the 17th, with us just ahead. My drive found the wide fairway. Deciding against going for glory, I laid up in front of the lake, then hit the green with my third shot while the others all found trouble. I was left with a tricky 25-foot putt, and had visions of emulating Tiger’s putt into the lake. Instead, my ball agonisingly lipped out just as it seemed I would get an unlikely birdie. However, the par was good enough for us to win the match and secure fourth place for the team.

Back in Marbella that evening, we helped the victorious Irish celebrate their deserved overall win with much alcohol.

Investment Valderrama is one of nine courses designed

by Robert Trent Jones senior along the Costa del Sol. This 100-mile-long coastal

strip of Spain’s southernmost region, this year, it highlights how serious Andalucia Andalucia, tempts golfers with more than is at maintaining its position – not only with 60 courses, many by top architects. golfers but also with holidaymakers in genUnsurprisingly, it proclaims itself as the eral.

Huge investment is underway in its infraCosta del Golf on roadside signs.

And it is no idle boast. This is the structure, with a new terminal and second Mediterranean’s top golf holiday area, runway opening in 2010 at Malaga Airport, a new high-speed train now conunderlined by Andulucia being necting Malaga with Madrid, named Europe’s Established and new motorways.

Golf Destination of the New golf facilities Year for 2009 in the continue to open, too.

IAGTO Awards, the Finca Cortesin golf industry’s opened to great Oscars. The gala acclaim near awards ceremony Estepona in 2007 came during the and is now the International Golf home of the Travel Market, golf’s renamed Volvo World main business forum, M a t c h p l a y in Marbella last year.

Championship, taking With provincial capital over from Wentworth.

Malaga the host of IGTM ■ La Cala La Cala Resort

38 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

November/December 2009

Golf Antequarra

■ Antequera

England’s Ross Fisher won the inaugural event there at the beginning of November.

One of the longest courses in Europe, at 7,438 yards, the course was designed by Cabell Robinson – who was on RTJ senior’s design team for Valderrama – and takes golfers on a rollercoaster ride with sweeping views from several tees.

Sotogrande estate, which includes expensive houses and several other top-drawer courses set among cork oak trees.

Royal history

“This is the Mediterranean’s top golf holiday area”

Golf first arrived here in 1925 with the opening of the Golf Parador Malaga by the Spanish royal family. But the Costa golf boom didn’t begin until the 1960s and 1970s, taking off in the 1980s.

Valderrama is the undoubted star of the area, although strictly speaking it is not part of the Costa del Sol as it lies just across the border from Malaga province in Cadiz.

Named Europe’s third-best course in the recent Top 100 survey by Golf World magazine, it is in the exclusive, 5,000-acre

Tee times are limited for non-members, and green fees are high. But the experience is magical and well worthwhile. It may not currently host a PGA Tour event – it was host course for the Volvo Masters until the event’s final staging in 2008 – but it oozes quality and refinement. You also feel close to nature. A certified Audubon Co-operative Sanctuary, Valderrama has 40 acres of wildlife sanctuaries.

Of Sotogrande’s other golfing gems, the San Roque Club boasts the San Roque Old

November/December 2009

Peter Ellegard

■ Spectacular view of Gibraltar from Alcaidesa's Links course

Peter Ellegard

■ San Roque II

course by Dave Thomas and Tony Jacklin and the more recent San Roque New, designed by Perry Dye and Seve Ballesteros. Its evocative clubhouse exudes an old Spanish hacienda feel, while that of the 27-hole Almenara Golf Club has an elevated terrace where golfers can relax after a game and take in the sweeping vista to the sea. The Cabell Robinsondesigned La Reserva, which opened in 2003, is already regarded a classic.

Largest complex Gibraltar is close to Sotogrande, and the Rock is framed by several holes of Alcaidesa’s picturesque Links course, perched above a sweeping beach at the western end of the Costa del Sol. Spain’s largest golf complex, La Cala, is set in a 1,000-acre leisure and residential estate east of Marbella. Its longest layout, the 6,766-yard, par-73 America course, is complemented by the tight Asia course and

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

39

■ Finca Cortesin hosted the recent Volvo World Matchplay event

Costa del Sol GOLF facts

Weather The Costa del Sol has a perfect year-round golfing climate, with an average 321 sunny days per year.

Peter Ellegard

Tourist information Visit the Costa del Sol Tourist Office website at www.visitacostadelsol.com or the Spanish National Tourist Office site, www.spain.info

■ Valderrama

Getting there Malaga is well-served by direct flights from several UK airports.Among airlines, Monarch (www.monarch.co.uk) operates from airports including Gatwick and Luton with fares, including taxes, starting from £46.50 one way and £76.99 return. Seats can be pre-booked at £7.50 each way, with extra-legroom seats available for £20.

the newest of the trio, the exhilarating Europa course. I only managed to play a few holes before unseasonal rain forced an early retirement in June, but I am returning to La Cala this winter.

The resort also boasts a David Leadbetter teaching academy, a six-hole par-3 practice course and an on-site, five-star spa resort hotel. All three courses are Cabell Robinson designs, as is the nearby Santana Golf & Country Club course, built on a former avocado plantation.

Besides Valderrama, Trent Jones Sr was also responsible for other courses including Las Brisas and the Los Lagos and Los Olivos layouts at Mijas Golf International, just inland from lively Fuengirola.

Just along the coast, near Benalmadena, is former Spanish Open venue Torrequebrada.

This hilly course has wonderful panoramic sea views and is the home course of Spanish Ryder Cup star Miguel Angel Jimenez.

Another hilly layout is the Seve-designed Alhaurin, which has an adjacent hotel.

Cluster From Mijas to Marbella, a cluster of courses includes two 1960s creations still popular today – Golf Rio Real and Santa Maria Golf & Country Club – and the newer, parklandstyle Santa Clara course.

The so-called “Golf Valley”, near Marbella, has some of the Costa del Sol’s highest concentration of golf facilities.

Among them are La Quinta, which has 27

November/December 2009

Golf packages Tour operators offering Costa del Sol golf packages include Premier Iberian (0845 600 3391, www.premieriberian.com). It offers three nights’ bed and breakfast at the NH Sotogrande hotel with two rounds of golf at Almenara from £155. Seven nights’ B&B at La Cala with four rounds on its courses costs from £433 between December 1 and January 31, 2010, including a 25% early booking discount for bookings at least 30 days in advance. Flights are not included. Other operators include Your Golf Travel (0800 043 6644, www.yourgolftravel.com), Golf Breaks (0800 279 7988, www.golfbreaks.com), Driveline Golf (0870 330 1056, www.drivelinegolf.com), Golf Amigos (0141 644 0999, www.golfamigos.co.uk), and Leisure Link Golf Holidays (01277 247520, www.leisurelinkgolf.com).

Peter Ellegard

Finca Cortesin

Green fees Late winter and early spring are peak season. Green fees start from as low as €30 and average €85. In summer, prices can be reduced by as much as 50%.

Courses La Cala Resort www.lacala.com

Valderrama www.valderrama.com

Finca Cortesin Golf Resort www.fincacortesin.com

La Reserva www.sotogrande.com

La Quinta Golf & Country Club www.laquintagolf.com

San Roque Club www.sanroqueclub.com

Hotels La Cala Resort www.lacala.com

Westin La Quinta www.westinlaquinta.com

NH Almenara www.hotelalmenara.com

Golf Parador Malaga www.parador.es

holes laid out on undulating terrain alongside the five-star Westin La Quinta hotel, and another RTJ layout, Los Naranjos.

Monte Mayor’s challenging layout is set among trees high on slopes between Marbella and Estepona and is one of the area’s most spectacular. Also west of

Marbella are courses including the Flamingos Golf & Resort complex, the original course now augmented by the much longer, par-73 Gran Flamingo course. Gary Player’s tranquil El Paraiso is nearby.

But wherever you stay on the Costa del TL Sol you are close to great golf.

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TRAVEL update

Taxing times for air passengers

F

■ Los Angeles and Cairo are in the same air tax band

Anthony Arendt Photography/DDR.net

lying has become more expensive following the introduction of controversial new Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax rises in November.

The increases affect all passengers, with further rises due in November 2010.

The tax is levied on distance, so passengers travelling farther afield are being hit harder, with the biggest increase for those flying premium classes.

APD now falls into four bands. Passengers are charged according to how far they fly, calculated as the distance between London and the destination’s capital city. A family of four flying economy to Thailand, South Africa or Kenya will pay £300 in APD in November 2010 November and (against £160 prewill increase November 2009 by £2 more and £200 now). next year.

Egyption State Tourist Office The duty on shortHowever, haul flights (under 2,000 miles) Egypt – now a popular destinawent up by just £1 in tion – lies just beyond the 2,000

mile limit, so a family of four travelling there in economy this time next year will pay £120 in APD, compared with £80 before November.

Yet the tax levied on flights to Los Angeles (5,439 miles from

London) and Boston (3,255 miles) is the same, as the US band is applied to capital city Washington DC, on the east coast.

Critics say the anomalies show the new system is purely revenue-generating, dismissing Government claims that it is an environmental tax.

Having already doubled two years ago, the new APD levels make air travel from the UK the most heavily-taxed in the world, and travel industry leaders fear the new increases will hit travel.

A recent survey by leading travel industry exhibition World Travel Market found that 13% of holidaymakers would not take a holiday next year and that more than half would reduce their flying because of the tax increases.

Full details of APD charges can be found on the HM Revenue & Customs website (www.hmrc.gov.uk). A petition has been launched calling on the Prime Minister to reconsider the APD increases, at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/APDIncrease

Turkey gives Christmas at home the bird

Don’t bag a fine

M

Ever travelled abroad and been tempted by that fake Rolex or bargain-basement Prada handbag?

You are not alone – up to a third of us are tempted by luxury fake goods, despite the fact that holidaymakers can face fines of up to €300,000 in several European countries.

A recent survey by Holiday Extras (www.holidayextras.com) reveals that 11% of customers have bought them in the past, with 18% admitting that they would pay the right price for authentic-looking fakes. However an honest 52% said they would avoid counterfeit goods, with 19% opposed on legal or ethical grounds.

November/December 2009

■ Antalya yacht harbour: Turkey is set to be a Christmas hit

Starwood Hotels and Resorts

ore families are heading for sunnier climes this Christmas rather than spending on presents and staying at home with their nearest and dearest, new research suggests.

Holidays to the sun have increased by 52% this Christmas, with two in three people surveyed by new family holiday online website Familyholidays.co.uk (www.familyholidays.co.uk) admitting that the cost of celebrating at home with all the family would be a struggle.

Of those choosing to spend Christmas overseas, 39% have never travelled abroad over the festive season before. They are foregoing the traditional turkey and trimmings to spend their savings on a holiday in the sun instead.

New price comparison travel website hotelly.com (www.hotelly.com) also reports a big increase in the number of users searching for pre-Christmas beach holidays and predicts the trend will continue into the New Year.

Bookings for winter sun destinations such as Egypt, the Canary Islands and Turkey are proving particularly popular.

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

43

TRAVEL update

Ensure you insure T

■ Cruise passengers need dedicated insurance Holland America Line

ravel insurance may seem like an unnecessary holiday expense but with the average medical insurance claim being around £2,500, the cost of a basic policy – as little as £20 – is a small price for peace of mind.

A recent survey shows that up to one in 10 do not take out travel insurance, leaving them at risk of being seriously out of pocket in the event of an illness or incident while abroad.

Commissioned by travel advisory company Check Safety First, the survey found that women (66%) and people aged 35-44 (26%) were the worst culprits for forgetting to take out insurance.

Travel insurance provider P J Hayman says the number failing to buy protection when they go abroad is far higher. It says more

than one in four UK travellers – a staggering 28% – do not do so.

The type of insurance required needs to be considered carefully, too, according to insurance provider AllClear. It claims just one-third of cruise passengers take out cruise-specific policies and says many do not understand the importance of having the right policy when going on a cruise, relying on the basic medical provision

onboard cruise ships instead.

It also points out that cruisespecific policies cover those with pre-existing health conditions and elements such as cancelled shore excursions or ports missed through bad weather or changed itineraries, whereas standard policies do not.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) offer tips and information on travel insurance on its website (www.fsa.gov.uk).

Border events isitors heading to Scotland’s Borders region can enjoy a number of events over the festive period and during spring.

Historic Selkirk, where William Wallace (Braveheart) was declared Guardian of Scotland, holds a traditional New Year line dance in the 1930s Lindean Village Hall on New Year’s Day, while fireworks, bubbly and traditional Ceilidh dancing will be on

offer at the Borders’ Hogmanay Celebration in Melrose.

As spring blossoms, Scotland’s largest inhabited castle, Floors Castle in Kelso, will give visitors the chance to join workshops by its head gardener covering seed-sowing in March and how to get the best from greenhouses and house plants in mid-April. For more information on these events and more, visit www.backtotheborders.com

Follow the Ashes clashes E

ngland begin their defence of the Ashes at the famous Gabba stadium in Brisbane in November 2010 and you could be there, or maybe spend Christmas in Melbourne and New Year’s Eve in Sydney during the five-Test 3 mobile Ashes Series.

Gullivers Sports Travel has been appointed as an Official Licensed Travel Operator and packages will be on sale from the end of November this year.

For more information go to www.gulliverstravel.co.uk

44 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

■ England celebrate winning the 2009 Ashes

Getty Images

V

Mini cruise For a short break before the end of the year, take a DFDS Seaways mini cruise to Esbjerg from Harwich with a special two for one offer costing from £85 for two people.

Cruise overnight in an en-suite cabin before enjoying the pretty Danish harbour town’s sights during the day. Sailings are twice a week. For details, visit www.dfds.co.uk/241

Channel hop and shop Boulogne’s town centre is opening up many of its unique food and wine stores on the two Sundays prior to Christmas, December 13 and 20, for shoppers wanting to hop across the Channel for some festive shopping.

Meanwhile, the Old Town’s Christmas Market, on December 12 and 13, combines shopping for local produce and crafts with entertainment and tastings.

Four daily return sailings from Dover are operated by LD Lines. Short-break returns start from £28 for a car and five passengers, with foot passenger day returns from just £18. For more information on Boulogne, go to www.boulogneshopping.com and for ferry information, go to www.ldlines.com or call 0844 576 8836.

November/December 2009

on your DOORSTEP SCOTLAND’S CITIES t was probably when I had been hugged by a stranger for around the 100th time, with my body warmed by whisky that made Edinburgh’s remarkable castle manage to shine even brighter in its snow-kissed beauty, that I decided there was no better place in the world to be for Hogmanay.

As a native Scot, I have tried festive breaks in Australia, America and across on the continent, but nothing beats Scotland’s cities for a break over the festive season and on into the New Year.

Hogmanay for many Scots is even more important than Christmas. This New Year’s Eve fiesta swirls in pagan traditions. On the Isle of Skye the hide from a beast killed during the day used to be burned, with every guest having to sniff the smoke to ward off evil spirits. Young boys covered themselves with the hide of the bull, with the horns and hoofs still attached.

Less gruesome traditions continue to this day.

It used to be considered good luck for the “first footer” of the year to step into your house to be a dark-haired male stranger carrying a lump of coal, symbolising warmth and fuel. The

P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

For Scotsman Robin McKelvie, there’s no place like back home in Scotland to celebrate Hogmanay, but he says its welcoming cities make a great escape any time in winter

■ Main pic: Glasgow on Ice – St George Square.

Inset: Ceilidh revellers

November/December 2009

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau

I

45

“first foot” spirit of friendliness is still alive in all of Scotland’s cities with visitors from all over the world welcome to join the party, a party that these days often starts in early December and runs right into the New Year.

von Essen Hotels

Plan early

■ Dalhousie Castle

Beyond Scotland’s cities

■ The Inn & Bistro at Strathyre

46 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

Peter Ellegard

Peter Ellegard

The countryside surrounding Scotland’s cities offers plenty to see and do off-season.

An easy trip from Glasgow and Stirling lies The Trossachs, an area of gentle rolling hills, lofty mountains, forests, lochs and rivers I first discovered on a camping trip nearly 35 years ago. In 2002, the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park became Scotland’s first national park, encompassing 720 square miles.

There are many inns and guesthouses to escape the cities for a night or two, and when I returned in late March this year I chose the friendly Inn & Bistro at Strathyre (www.innatstrathyre.com), owned and run by Jill and Stephen Nixon. A tasty drop of one of the local brews washed down my favourite Scottish fare – haggis, neeps and tatties – left me refreshed after the long drive north from Essex and ready to explore.

Year-round activities include hill walking, horse riding, cycling (the Sustrans National Cycle Route Seven is on its doorstep) and golf, with great-value green fees at five nearby courses through the National Park Golf Pass.

The venerable Sir Walter Scott steam ship, which cruises Loch Katrine from early spring, is named after the author who popularised the region with his poems and novel Rob Roy 200 years ago.That romanticised the exploits of a local outlaw now celebrated as a Scottish folk hero.The Rob Roy & Trossachs Visitor Centre in Callander showcases his life and the region.

Among endearing local sights are shaggy-coated and long-horned Highland cattle, and one has become a star.You can see Hamish in his pen at the Trossachs Woollen Mill in Kilmahog.

Wildlife abounds here and in other areas near the cities.The Trossachs Bird of Prey Trail (www.birdofpreytrail.com) takes in buzzards, ospreys and Scotland’s only red kite feeding station, at Argaty, which is open throughout the winter.

I watched nesting ospreys from a hide at the beautiful Loch of the Lowes reserve in Perthshire, where they visit from March or April until August. Cute red squirrels gallivanted just yards away. Pine martens and even otters can also be seen here.

At the historic Dalhousie Castle hotel near Edinburgh, the Dalhousie Castle Falconry (www.dalhousiecastle.co.uk/falconry.asp) offers first-hand experience of birds of prey with a five-day falconry course as well as displaying hawks, falcons, eagles and owls.

Peter Ellegard

■ A red squirrel at the Loch of the Lowes

You will need to plan early if you want to enjoy a festive break up north. Edinburgh gets totally booked, while Glasgow can follow suit and Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness all get busy. The national tourist office, Visit Scotland, has a website (www.visitscotland.com) that has links to all sorts of accommodation and a handy tip is to look at the suburbs too.

Edinburgh is at the heart of the festive action. One of Europe’s most scenic cities, it is just made for strolling around. My favourite walk is starting at the landmark castle and then easing down the cobbles of the Royal Mile (which Daniel Defoe thought was the “finest street in the world”), taking in the swathes of history, not to mention bars, cafes and restaurants, en route to the Queen’s base when she is in town, the grand Palace of Holyrood.

Edinburgh is a city that is constantly evolving and newer attractions include Our Dynamic Earth, a hands-on multimedia trip through the earth’s history that is ideal for families. For grown-ups, Edinburgh now boasts four Michelin star restaurants, with perhaps the finest The Kitchin (www.thekitchin.com), with award-winning TV chef Tom Kitchin at the helm. Anyone who harbours any anachronistic images of Scotland as all tartan and shortbread will enjoy the branch of Harvey Nichols and central Edinburgh’s newest street, Multrees Walk, which is replete with Armani, Firetrap and Louis Vuitton.

Aside from Hogmanay, Edinburgh’s Christmas (www.edinburghschristmas.com) from November 28 to January 4 makes the capital surely the most festive city in the UK. A Ferris wheel burls visitors around the skyline, while below the bountiful stalls of a Christmas market and an ice rink in the shadow of the castle help add to the seasonal mood.

Street party Less than an hour by train from Edinburgh is Glasgow, Scotland’s largest city and currently one of Europe’s hippest city-break destinations. Their Hogmanay street party is a rival for Edinburgh these days and the city’s new image as “Scotland with Style” is not just a tourist slogan. Glasgow 2009-style has reinvented its lavish Georgian centre with myriad chic designer shops, slick bars and quality restaurants.

The Glaswegian action flows around cen-

November/December 2009

tral George Square, a plaza as impressive as any in the UK, which is the centrepiece in mid-November when the city’s Christmas lights are switched on and Winterfest follows suit.

From here, a flurry of world-class galleries and museums are within easy reach, including the Kelvingrove, the most-visited museum in the UK outside London, and the locals’ choice, the thrillingly-unique Burrell Collection – an eclectic art collection reclining in woodland in the city’s leafy suburbs.

I reckon Glasgow also offers the best shopping in the UK outside London. The main thoroughfare of Buchanan Street is pedestrianised and there are covered malls for when the weather sweeps in, such as Buchanan Galleries, with all the usual high street stores, and Princes Square, an oasis of designer names that would not be out of place in Milan.

Scotland’s newest city, Stirling, is as deeply historic as Edinburgh. The old town reminds me of Edinburgh’s Royal Mile with-

November/December 2009

VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

■ The Glasgow School of Art

■ The Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow

VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

■ Stirling Castle after a snowfall

out the tourists, especially at this time of year, while most Scots prefer the castle here to Edinburgh’s. The hallowed names of William “Braveheart” Wallace and Robert the Bruce echo around the ramparts, while the striking Wallace Monument strides out amongst a panorama of mighty mountains. Stirling also boasts a pedestrianised shopping district and easy access into the hilly Trossachs.

Underrated

■ Traditional Music in the Royal Mile Tavern, Edinburgh P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

Europe’s oil capital, Aberdeen, is for me a criminally-underrated city, even amongst Scots. Its core is a riot of granite – hence its nickname, the “Granite City” – and the city has also won innumerable awards for its famous flower displays, which brighten up all that mighty grey granite. It boasts sweeping sandy beaches that are ideal for bracing winter strolls, a flurry of museums and chic restaurants that are geared up to all that oil wealth.

Scotland’s other two cities also tempt at

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

47

Hogmanay events Edinburgh: Edinburgh’s Hogmanay 2010 Action-packed 5 day programme with Madness and the Noisettes performing at the Concert in the Gardens on Hogmanay. www.edinburghshogmanay.org Glasgow: Glasgow Hogmanay Celebrations Enjoy Scotland’s hottest acts, including Tommy Reilly, on the Big Stage and then marvel at the impressive fireworks display on George Square. www.winterfestglasgow.com Stirling: Stirling’s Hogmanay: Party at the Castle Massed pipes and drums, Sandi Thom, X Factor stars the Macdonald Brothers, and Stars in their Eyes winner for his Freddie Mercury impersonation, Gary Mullen, plus fireworks. www.stirlinghogmanay.co.uk Aberdeen: Aberdeen’s Winter Festival Hogmanay Final details still to be announced. www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/hogmanay Inverness: Inverness Hogmanay – Red Hot Highland Fling Bringing the Inverness Winter Festival to a close in Northern Meeting Park Arena with the effervescent Red Hot Chilli Pipers, the Blazin’ Fiddles and the Peatbog Faeries. www.invernessfestivals.com Dundee: No official events yet announced, but always a party night in a city dense with bars and clubs.

48 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

■ View of Edinburgh from Carlton Hill

In Scotland these days, though, there are another five buzzing cities that all make serious efforts to conjure up the festive spirit, hold wildly-fun Hogmanay parties and make for an ideal city break over the festive period and in to the cosy winter months beyond. TL

Robin McKelvie is a travel writer based in his native Scotland who has had his fair share of rather merry whisky-fuelled New Year parties around the world, but who knows that there is only one Hogmanay.

Scotland’s cities facts Getting there Numerous airlines fly to Scottish cities including British Airways (www.ba.com), Flybe (www.flybe.com), Ryanair (www.Ryanair.com) and Easyjet (www.easyjet.com).The fastest way of getting to the Scottish cities by train is usually with National ■ Edinburgh Express East Coast (www.nationalexpresseastcoast.com).

Accommodation Hotels span a wide range of price brackets. Here are some options, from luxury to more affordable: Edinburgh:The Howard (www.townhousecompany.com/the_howard), Mercure Point Hotel (www.mercure.com).

Glasgow: The newly-opened, luxury Blythswood Square (www.blythswoodsquare.com), Malmaison (www.malmaison-glasgow.com).

Stirling: Adamo Hotel (www.adamohotels.com), Park Lodge Hotel (www.parklodge.net).

Aberdeen: Marcliffe (www.marcliffe.com), Simpson’s (www.simpsonshotel.co.uk).

Dundee: Apex Hotel (www.apexhotels.co.uk), Queen’s Hotel (www.queenshotel-dundee.com) Inverness: Rocpool (www.rocpool.com), Heath Mountain Hotel (www.heathmounthotel.com).

P.Tomkins/VisitScotland/Scottish Viewpoint

this time of year. Dundee has bracing beaches of its own, a pedestrianised shopping precinct, the striking RRS Discovery (the ship that once took Captain Scott to the Antarctic) and the scenic Angus Glens on its doorstep. Inverness, meanwhile, is the “Capital of the Highlands” with a good chance of snow. Its famous monster-haunted loch lies nearby and its namesake River Ness also eases through the city, adding charm, with a fairytale castle nestling high above and some impressively-stylish restaurants on hand in Scotland’s fastest growing city.

As a native of Edinburgh I have to stand by my city as being number one for a festive break, home to the world’s finest New Year party and the nation’s number one city break.

Top attractions Edinburgh: Edinburgh Castle (www.edinburghcastle.gov.uk), National Museum (www.nms.ac.uk).

Glasgow: Kelvingrove Gallery (www.glasgowmuseums.com), Burrell Collection (www.glasgowmuseums.com).

Stirling: Stirling Castle (www.historic-scotland.gov.uk), Old Town Jail (www.oldtownjail.com).

Aberdeen: Aberdeen Art Gallery (www.aagm.co.uk), Aberdeen Maritime Museum (www.aagm.co.uk).

Dundee: Discovery Point (www.rrsdiscovery.com), Dundee Contemporary Arts (www.dca.org.uk).

Inverness: Inverness Castle (www.castleuk.net), Culloden Battlefield (www.nts.org.uk/culloden).

More information Visit Scotland: www.visitscotland.com/whiteinvite

November/December 2009

Out about

&

What’s on... and where

Steam off on a Santa Special

E

Kent & East Sussex Railway

■ The Kent & East Sussex Railway

Walk off the extra pounds with a festive walk in the outdoors. Here are two walks to join over Christmas and the New Year: Post Christmas Walk followed by mulled wine and mince pies at Ashridge Estate, Hertfordshire.

Sun Dec 27, 10am-2pm Adult £5; Child £3 booking required.

Five miles from Tring Station, parking free.

01442 851227 www.nationaltrust.org.uk New Year’s Day four-mile leisurely walk in Burnham Beeches, East Berkshire.

Fri Jan 1, 10.30am Start point: car park, Lord Mayor’s Drive 01494 522404 www.eastberksramblers.org

50 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

groups of friends, families and work colleagues.

Dates and prices of the “Santa Specials” are: December 12 & 13, 19 & 20, 22 & 23 – Standard class: £16; First Class: £19.50.

December 24 – Standard Class: £17; First Class: £20.50.

Earlybird Special: December 5 & 6 – Standard Class: £11.50; First Class: £14.50.

Pre-School Day: December 11 – £10.50.

For more details, call 01580 765155 or visit www.kesr.org.uk

Get festive down on Old MacDonald’s Farm

O

ld MacDonald’s Farm is an awardwinning petting farm for the whole family just minutes from the M25 near Brentwood, Essex. The farm offers visitors the chance to see animals from goats, pigs and chickens to the lovable stars of TV advertisements, nature programmes and a documentary movie – meerkats. It also has rides and attractions, outdoor activity play areas, indoor soft play areas and animated educational shows.

From November 28, not only can your chil-

Old MacDonald's Farm

Festive walks

njoy a Magical Christmas journey on the Kent & East Sussex Railway.

The journey begins at Tenterden Town Station, where families are greeted by a traditional pipe organ before boarding the decorated steam train for their one-hour return journey to Wittersham Road.

Festive refreshments will be served by Santa’s pixie helpers and each child will receive a lovely present from Santa Claus himself.

Vintage saloons can also be hired for a private trip, ideal for

■ Head to Essex for some festive farm fun

dren see and feed animals, enjoy the rides and have fun in the play areas but they can also meet Santa in his grotto. And if you book in advance online before November 21 you will receive a 20% discount on your entry fee.

You can visit Santa on

November 28 & 29, December 5 & 6, and from December 13-23.

Discounted price: adult £8.40; child £7.60 (includes VIP appointment to see Santa and free gift). Normal price: adult £10.50; child £9.50.

01277 375177; www.omdfarm.co.uk

November/December 2009

out & ABOUT Relive a Victorian Get your skates on Christmas in Portsmouth Budding Torville and Deans can try out their ice skating skills at several ice rinks in London this winter. Here’s where you can go slip-sliding away:

■ Turning back the clock

crier, suffragettes, chimney sweeps and cheeky scamps. Enjoy roasted chestnuts, mulled wine

and the largest Christmas market on the South Coast. www.christmasfestival.co.uk

Chocks away for Bluewater shoppers f Christmas shopping gets you down, how about this to lift your spirits and give you a high?

Now at Bluewater shopping centre in Kent, an iPilot flight simulator similar to those used to train future pilots allows you to take control of an aircraft, with guidance from qualified pilot instructors.

The simulator gives you a choice of 500 different airports to fly from

iPilot

I

■ Ready for take-off

and to – allowing you to try and land at some of the trickiest airports and taking in panoramic views of some of the most beautiful cities in the world. iPilot offers a range of flight package options,

Mad about Maps?

I

f you love the outdoors, then you will love the OS Select made-toorder map service that allows you to choose where in Great Britain you want the centre of the map to be, whether it’s your house, town, a favourite walk or cycling trail. You can personalise your map with its own title and choose from a selection

from a 20-minute Flight Experience costing £69 to the top-of-the-range 90-minute Champagne Flight Experience at £399.

To book a package or for further information go to www.ipilot.me or call 01322 381 886.

There are no age restrictions to experience iPilot and all “pilots” get a signed certificate from the instructor after completing their flight.

of 21 cover images – a perfect present for yourself or friends and family.

The maps are available to order online, via telephone or from a number of OS Mapping and Data Centres around the country. Two sizes are available, starting at £15.99, and there is 20% off all OS Select maps ordered online until December 18, 2009.

To order a map visit: http://leisure.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/osselect or call 08454 560420.

Hampton Court Palace (both pictures)

et into the festive spirit at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard this month. Celebrating its 10th Anniversary, the Victorian Festival of Christmas, which runs from November 27-29, will whisk you away to a bygone era of snowy white streets, festive fairground rides and seasonal carols.

Visitors will be met by a host of colourful characters including the town

Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

G

■ Skating at Hampton Court

Hampton Court Palace River Thames, Surrey Nov 28-Jan 10 Train: Hampton Court The real-ice rink is set against the backdrop of Henry VIII’s historic Tudor palace and offers lessons, ice guides and group skating packages.

Price: Adult from £10, Child from £7.50 Book tickets online at: www.hamptoncourtpalaceicerink.com Wembley Stadium Ice Rink – ICExperience Train/Tube: Wembley Park (Jubilee & Metropolitan Lines),Wembley Stadium (Chiltern), Wembley Central (Bakerloo Line & Silverlink) Dec 6-Jan 4 Enjoy 350 metres of ice-skating – Britain’s longestever ice rink.

Price: Adult from £11.50, Child from £9 www.wembleyice.com/skating 0871 230 2200 Tower of London Ice Rink Tower Hill Tube: Tower Hill (District & Circle Lines) Nov 21-Jan 10 An unforgettable backdrop for your festive skating.

Price: Adult from £10, Child from £7.50. www.toweroflondonicerink.com 0844 482 7777

■ Skating at the Tower of London News Team International

November/December 2009

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

51

■ A participant wearing Brazilian costume at Notting Hill Carnival

A world

in a city

visitlondonimages/britainonview/Pawel Libera

■ Dining al fresco at a Middle Eastern restaurant

visitlondonimages/britainonview/Jon Spaull

Explore the world in London’s diverse ethnic communities Events The Hellenic Centre 16-18 Paddington Street, Marylebone W1 Tube: Baker Street (Bakerloo, Circle, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan lines) Originally founded as a charity with the aim of providing a focus for the Greek community in London, it continues to organise a range of cultural and social events with anything from film screenings to cheese and wine parties.

Tel: 020 7487 5060 www.helleniccentre.org

Rich Mix Bar 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, E1 Tube: Old Street (Northern Line) In partnership with jazz and hip hop artist Soweto Kinch, a selection of guest artists and performers, including Femi Temowo and Shabaka Hutchings, take residence in the Rich Mix Bar to create laid-back sessions that are fast making Rich Mix the place to be on a Sunday afternoon.

Every Sunday 2-5pm, free entry.

Tel: 020 7613 7498 www.richmix.org.uk

52 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

ulticultural London continues to grow and brings with it a colourful mix of events, culinary delights and religious customs.

From the first Japanese visitors in the 16th and 17th centuries, to the Caribbean Windrush arrivals in 1948, London has been home to a diverse range of inhabitants and today it has communities from more than 90 countries all over the world, speaking over 300 different languages.

You can get a true flavour of the rest of the world in London from large ethnic areas to small pockets of the City filled with the sound and smells of far away places.

M

Dalston and Hackney are two of the most multicultural areas of London, with sizeable African communities. The famous Hackney Empire offers a range of comedy and theatre reflecting the area’s diversity.

London’s Asian community is scattered between Brick Lane in E1 (the heart of “Banglatown” and the capital’s curry house centre), Tooting, Wembley, Kingsbury, Kenton, Harrow, Southall and the bustling Green Street in E13 where you can find everything from glittery fabrics to 24-carat gold jewellery. The London Mela event in Gunnersbury Park each August

November/December 2009

LONDON Review ETHNIC LONDON

■ Dome of the Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha temple

of London with its many restaurants, supermarkets and cultural events in streets bedecked with traditional lanterns, stone lions, Chinese pagoda and arch.

London also has a sizeable Latin American population, notably Brazilians from Notting Hill to Putney, Colombians and Ecuadorians in Elephant & Castle and Colombians in Finsbury Park. Seven Sisters market is said to be Britain’s largest Latin American market in Britain, with Saturdays good to experience Latin culture and food.

For further information visit www.visitlondon.com/maps/ multicultural_london/

Restaurants & Pubs Gay Hussar 2 Greek Street, Soho W1 Tube: Tottenham Court Road (Central and Northern lines)

Bevis Marks Synagogue 4 Heneagle Lane, Bevis Marks EC3A 5DQ Tube: Aldgate (Circle and Metropolitan lines) Bevis Marks is a hauntinglybeautiful synagogue built in 1701 inside a courtyard, at a time when synagogues were not permitted on public streets. It is still in use and open for visits.

Tel: 020 7626 1274 www.bevismarks.org.uk

Serving the finest Hungarian specialities and wines for over 50 years.

Tel: 020 7437 0973 www.gayhussar.co.uk

visitlondonimages/britainonview/Pawel Libera

visitlondonimages/britainonview/Ingrid Rasmussen

attracts over 100,000 people with live music, dance, fashion, funfair and stalls.

Many European communities are spread around all corners of the city. For a Portuguese flavour, head south to Stockwell Road and South Lambeth Road, where bars and restaurants have a great atmosphere and crowds spill out onto the pavements.

In Soho, Italian delis and coffee bars sit side by side with French patisseries, and South Kensington is home to the French Institut and Ciné Lumière. For Spanish spice, Portobello Road is a firm feature of London’s continental culinary scene.

One of London’s most popular tourist areas is Chinatown. The original Chinatown was located in Limehouse around the East End’s docks and catered to Chinese seamen. It became established in its present location, Soho, in the late 1960s and is now an integral part

visitlondonimages/britainonview/Ingrid Rasmussen

Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha 2-8 Park Avenue, Southall, UB1 3AG Rail: Southall Gurdwara Sri Guru Singh Sabha is a recently-built Sikh temple and the largest outside India.The stunning landmark has a gilded dome and granite exterior.

Tel: 020 8574 8901 www.sgsss.org

The Auld Shillelagh 105 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 Rail: Stoke Newington Probably the best Guinness in North London with free Irish stew and bacon and cabbage on St Patrick’s Day. Live music on Fridays.

Tel: 020 7249 5951 www.theauldshillelagh.com

Shopping R Garcia and Sons 248-250 Portobello Road, W11 Tube: Ladbroke Grove (Hammersmith & City Line) Established in 1958, this Spanish grocer and delicatessen sells every conceivable Spanish favourite,

Things to do La Escuela de Baile Haverstock School, 24 Haverstock Hill, Camden NW3 Tube: Chalk Farm (Northern Line) Learn to dance and improve your fitness levels at London’s biggest flamenco school.They offer classes in different flamenco disciplines (including guitar lessons) for all ages and abilities.

Tel: 020 8905 4554 www.la-escuela-de-baile.co.uk

November/December 2009

Himalaya Palace 14 South Road, Southall UB1 Rail: Southall Three large screens showing not only the latest Hindi movies, but also ones in other languages such as Urdu, Gujarati,Tamil and Telugu. Special prices Monday-Thursday £4 any show.

Tel: 020 8813 8844 www.himalayapalacecinema.co.uk

Did you know? ● Food expert Egon Ronay arrived in the UK after fleeing Hungary in 1956 and is now the country’s most famous food critic. ● There are perhaps as many as 10,000 words derived from Arabic in common use in the English language, including admiral, alcohol, banana, lemon and magazine. ● Novelist Natsume Soseki (1867-1916) is the only Japanese person to have an English Heritage blue plaque dedicated to them.You can see it at 81 The Chase, Clapham, SW4. ● There are many bars where you can enjoy a Latin America salsa experience, including Bar Lorca in Brixton Road, SW9, Salsa! in Charing Cross Road,WC2, and The Clockhouse in Pentonville Road, N1.

including Morcilla (a type of Spanish black pudding) and hard-to-find tinned goodies. Open all week 10am-6pm.

Tel: 020 7221 6119 www.cafegarcia.co.uk

visitlondonimages/britainonview/Ingrid Rasmussen

Places to worship

Turkish Food Centre 89 Ridley Road, E8 Rail: Dalston Kingsland Open 24 hours a day, selling imported fruit and vegetables, including voluptuous black figs, dandelion leaves, and fresh green almonds. Groceries are also available, ranging from short-grained baldo rice, to sour cherry juice.

Tel: 020 7254 6754 ■ Inset pictures show: Polish cakes; Paella, Covent Garden; Bangles, Southall

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

53

LONDON Review NEWS & WHAT'S ON

Set sail for the Boat Show

B

E

njoy The Dorchester’s renowned afternoon tea with a Christmas twist from November 21 to December 4. The Festive Afternoon Tea (£45 per person), includes a glass of champagne, a selection of delicious finger sandwiches, festive pastries and mince pies. At the weekend, A Christmas Carol Tea (£55 per person), will be served when diners can enjoy carols sung by a children’s choir or duo. Both will be served in The

dren go free with each paying adult. Discounted tickets can be purchased in advance from £13 by visiting the Show’s website at www.londonboatshow.com or calling the ticket hotline on 0844 209 0333. ● We have got five pairs of

tickets to the Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show to give away. To enter, go to www.choicetravelinfo.com and click on competitions & giveaways. Terms & conditions apply. Closing date is December 11, 2009.

Promenade at The Dorchester, Mayfair at two sittings, 2.30pm and 4.45pm.

020 7629 8888 www.thedorchester.com

the pulse and personality of the Docklands and surrounding areas.

There are two age groups: under 16s and 16s and over.

One winner from each group will win a digital camera from Olympus to take their photography skills to the next level.

Photos taken on cameras or mobile phones can be submitted on www.dlr.co.uk/dlrviews up to December 31, 2009.

Train your eye – and snap up a prize

D

ocklands Light Railway has teamed up with Snapfish and Olympus, to encourage budding photographers to get out and about to capture the sights and scenes of the DLR network, with the Discover London’s Real Views photographic competition.

Entries should capture London’s “real views” as seen from DLR trains and stations, and will be judged on how they encapsulate

54 The Travel & Leisure Magazine

■ Get rail views of London

It’s Panto time – oh, yes it is!

For some traditional – and alternative – festive fun, catch these London pantomimes: Aladdin New Wimbledon Theatre,The Broadway,Wimbledon SW19 1QG Tube: Wimbledon (District Line).

Starring: Ruby Wax (pictured), Pamela Anderson, Paul O’Grady Dec 4-Jan 10 Tickets:£15-27. 0844 871 7646 www.ambassadortickets.com /wimbledon Sinderfella (alternative panto, strictly for adults) Leicester Square Theatre, Leicester Square WC2H 7BX Tube: Leicester Square (Northern Line & Piccadilly Line) Starring: Ex-Big Brother housemate Kat (BB8) and drag queen Bette Rinse Dec 4-30 Tickets: from £15. 0844 847 2475 www.leicestersquaretheatre.com

Docklands Light Railway. Inset: Olympus

Tea and bubbly

■ Hitting the London sails

The Dorchester

■ Tea for two

Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show

eat the January blues with a visit to the 10-day Tullett Prebon London International Boat Show. Taking place from January 8-17 at London’s ExCel, it will make a great day out for families as well as keen boaters.

The show will have plenty to interest everyone from regular visitors to first-timers – whether you’re considering a summer sailing holiday and looking for inspiration, planning to invest in a boat or just fancy browsing the thousands of products on display.

Challenge family and friends to a model yacht race in the Deck Games zone, hear inspirational stories of achievement and courage from Britain’s Boating Heroes and marvel at the spectacular dance display, Rock the Boat, on the show stage.

For added value, two chil-

Ne w on st age

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Richmond Theatre, Richmond TW9 1QJ Tube: Richmond (District Line) Starring: Jane Asher,Tim Vine, Sapphire Elia Dec 4-Jan 10 Tickets: from £24-29. 020 8939 9260 www.ambassadortickets.com/ Richmond-Theatre

November/December 2009

■ Kings Restaurant

Bellevue Marketing

Reader OFFER

■ The Kings Hotel, Christchurch

Bellevue Marketing

Bellevue Marketing

■ The Gold Room

Enjoy a luxury stay in Dorset he Kings Hotel is a classically elegant boutique property, with an excellent restaurant, ideally set near the harbour in the beautiful market town of Christchurch, Dorset, and now you could enjoy a luxury stay there and save 20% on normal rates with our special offer.

You will pay just £115* per couple per night for sumptuous accommodation in a Bronze Room, full English breakfast and a three-course dinner in the Kings Restaurant, with a box of Belgian chocolates in your room on arrival.

Our great offer also includes complimentary use of the superb spa, swimming pool and gym at the sister Christchurch Harbour Hotel & Spa in nearby Mudeford and free local area bus travel during your stay.

The landmark Kings Hotel, located opposite the quintessential Kings Arms bowling green and historic sites of Christchurch Castle ruins, Norman Hall and the Priory, is perfect for relaxation, whether you want to just chill out or experience the area’s many attractions.

November/December 2009

■ The lounge bar

The 16 en-suite bedrooms provide 21st century comforts with the highest quality bed linen and duvets, bathroom toiletries, flat screen TV and DVD/CD player, iPod docking station and tea/coffee-making facilities and there is a complimentary room service breakfast for an indulgent lie-in.

The Kings Restaurant on the ground floor

Bellevue Marketing

T

provides the ultimate relaxed dining experience, where guests can select from delicious dishes of the finest locally-sourced produce.

And the sophisticated bar combines fantastic views with an unrivalled cocktail menu and extensive wine list, just the setting for a pre-dinner drink or a final nightcap.

The hotel is perfectly placed for exploring the magnificent Dorset World Heritage Coast and the tranquil New Forest National Park and Bournemouth International Centre (BIC), Bournemouth town centre and Bournemouth Airport are just ten minutes away.

For more details or to book please call 01202-483434, quoting The Travel & Leisure Magazine.

For hotel information, please visit: www.thekings-christchurch.co.uk TL * Offer (based on two sharing a Bronze room) valid until March 31, 2010, excluding December 24-31, 2009, inclusive and February 14, 2010, and subject to the availability of allocated rooms. Details of upgrade and single supplements available on request. Treatment charges apply at the Christchurch Harbour Hotel spa.

The Travel & Leisure Magazine

59

Coming NEXT

Peter Ellegard

Don’t miss out on the March 2010 issue of

GET TO KNOW – LAKES AND MOUNTAINS

LET’S TRY European canal and river holidays

Europe’s peaks and lakes in focus SalzburgerLand Tourism/Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse

European Waterways/David Moores

ON YOUR DOORSTEP

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK

Maritime Kent

Explore Atlantic island group the Azores

Peter Ellegard

Sunvil

ALL ABOARD

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Out February 2010 November/December 2009