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A great restaurant chain for tapas and larger raciones. They don't do just ham, as the name might suggest, but all sorts of food. Calamares, Tortilla and gambas al ajillo are excellent. Prices are very reasonable. You can eat at the counter or in the salon (waiter service is a little dearer). They have restaurants in Puerta del Sol and on the Gran Via. They also do excellent three-course menu for under 10 Euro.
La Puerta Del Sol
or La Gran Via
It is a little chip van that provides quality frites with mayonnaise. Just what is needed for a truly Belgian experience!
Vridajmarkt, near the massive socialist style building with a large window and clock.
Google map: tinyurl.com/ko8erz
These are two first-class galleries, across the road from one another, in Belford Road, some 15 minutes' walk from the city centre. The collections are diverse, of very high quality, and contain a comprehensive display of painting and sculpture from 1900 to the present time.
Only a portion of the entire holding can be shown at any one time. Accordingly a selection is rotated periodically, with special exhibitions mounted in the Dean Gallery, where there is, in addition, a permanent show of the work of Eduardo Paolozzi - a local hero with an international reputation.
Entry is free. The galleries have shops, selling scholarly material as well as postcards and gifts, and the Cafe Newton in the Dean Gallery is particularly attractive, with good food at sensible prices. The staff at both galleries are welcoming and helpful.
Belford Road, Dean Village, Edinburgh. Number 13 bus, or the National Galleries of Scotland free bus service, which runs a return journey, every 45 minutes, from the National Gallery complex in the city centre and visits each of the five national galleries.
www.nationalgalleries.org
Fabulous array of fresh food of every kind, also wine and other drinks, something for everyone. Definitely the place to shop if self catering, but some very good cheap vegetarian hot food outlets associated with the market. On a budget, or want to treat yourself, this is the place! The place buzzes, and is particularly atmospheric after dark. A little art nouveau as well! Open till 8.30pm, closed Sundays.
La Rambla 91 Nearest metro: Liceu
Cycling is a great way to see Hong Kong in the autumn sunshine, and this film shows you how to pack in rural scenery, temples, local food and even a day at the beach.
If you have broadband, download the high-res version by following the link below; otherwise you can watch it low-res in eight episodes on youTube by searching for HK cycling bend.
Barcelona can be pretty expensive for tourists, so when you go there I can give you a good tip: buy a discount card; it saves you a lot of money! I bought one, named the Go and Connect discount card, which was only 12 euros. With this card I was able to go out for almost nothing. I got discounts in a lot of shops, restaurants, clubs, transport rentals and more!
If you are interested you can check out their site to see where you can get the card and where you can get discounts - I think it is a must in an expensive but amazing city like Barcelona.
So-called restaurant in Placa Reial. Rude service, hardly any Spanish staff or proper food, below-average food quality (pork undercooked, veg swimming in grease), not worth the minimum 40-minute wait. Such a shame as a great location. Avoid this place if you want service with a smile and decent Spanish/Catalan food. Never before not left a tip anywhere. Here was a very sad first, but well-deserved.
6 Placa Reial, Barri Gotic
Forget those designer boutiques and get on the metro to head to the Place d'Aligre for a fascinating market full of clothes, antiques and world goods (particularly great for African crafts).
There really is something more enjoyable about grabbing a bargain at the market than flashing the credit card down the Champs Elysees!
It's a two hour hike to this little bit of Thai splendour a couple of hours from Melbourne. A forested swamp meets the sea in a golden crescent of sand hemmed in by mountains. Granite headlands keep the warm, clear waters nice and calm; continue on to Refuge Cove (2hrs) for a more exclusive swim before a long walk out.
wilson's prom national park
Want to enjoy the sport of kings but not pay a king's ransom? Then head to Paris on the first Sunday in October where you'll experience a sporting extravaganza, with a difference.
Racing reaches its pinnacle at Longchamp where the focus is the richest prize in Europe, the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe. But Arc day is much more than a day at the races. The Paris fashionistas compete as fiercely as the horses. So what would you expect to pay to rub shoulders with racing's elite in the world's style capital? How about £5 and that includes your racecard!
In May, they hold Nuit des Musées - where the museums are open late into the evening and are free. So whilst everyone is eating you can go and see your favourites and with the entrance fees you have saved have a delicious meal.
If you are under 26, you can visit the Louvre for free on Friday evenings. In an expensive city, this is more than just helpful euro-pinching.
You can arrive as the setting sun catches the top of the glass pyramid (making for the perfect ‘I heart Paris’ portrait) then dash to all the best bits while everyone is making their way out.
As you stand tête-à-tête with the Mona Lisa, you might finally realise what all the fuss is about.
Forget the queues and the disappointments at Wimbledon, head to Roland Garros, home of the French Open. It's on the outskirts of Paris, easily accessible using the Metro, and with less competition for tickets, you can book a seat on Philippe Chatrier Court and a day return on Eurostar for the price of a Centre Court ticket (and a few glasses of Pimm's) at Wimbledon.
Worth it for the change in atmosphere (and lack of braying Brits on Henman Hill).
For discounted Chloe, go to a little un-named shop on the south side of Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud between Rue Amelot and Blvd Voltaire in the Marais. Great selection at prices more than 50% off retail.
Most Berlin districts have open air cinemas showing old, classic and new films, some are formally organised in parks and venues, others happen in courtyards of cultural centres and nightclubs. Entrance is about five euros and most cinemas have deckchairs and blankets for customers.
Look in Tip or Zitty for "Freiluft Kino"
The open air cinema season normally starts mid May through to September
Fotoautomat booths are old school passport photo booths. For two euros you get four black and white passport size photos on a strip.
These are not modern digital prints, but real photographs. It's the best fun you can have in Berlin for two euros!
There is one opposite the Circus Hostel on Rosenthaler Platz and one at the top of Kastanienallee.
A stunning location overlooking the loch. The hostel is recently refurbished to full 'green' standards with both wind and solar power and recycling. Well located for exploring the hills around Rannoch Moor - the best way to arrive is by train to Corrour Station and then walk the 1km to the hostel.
A must for scenic beauty in a remote location.
Loch Ossian YH, Corrour, Fort William, Inverness-shire.
0870 004 1139
www.syha.org.uk/SYHA/Web/Site/Hostels/txt_LochOssian.asp
This youth hostel is widely regarded as one of the best in France. The shared rooms with bunk beds allow you to get to know other guests really well. The breakfast is good and the park around the hostel is good for recreational activities. Quiet despite the busy main road to the A31 motorway directly in front of the hostel.
1 allée de Metz Plage
Take bus no 3 or 11 from Metz train station and ask for the Pontiffroy stop.
The city centre is a 15 min walk away (pleasant once you get off the busy main road outside the hostel)
This modern and safe hostel has all the accreditations from the French youth hostel association. The rooms are clean and adequate with comfortable beds. The staff are exceptionally helpful, kind and informative. There is a self-service restaurant with breakfast included, and there is internet and a laundry service. Game, TV and recreation rooms allow you to meet loads of people.
Chausée Bocquaine
10 min walk from the cathedral.
20 min walk from Reims train station
Take buses B,N,H or K and ask for the 'Comedie' stop if you don't want to walk.
This is a comfortable hostel with great facilities. The rooms are kept in immaculate condition and the hostel is in a great setting with shops and restaurants barely a minute away. The park named after the famous playwright Garcia Lorca is right opposite the building.
The kind and jolly owner will help you with anything - in fact, he helped me to settle into the Spanish way of life and to find a flat to share while I was studying in Granada. Without a doubt, the best and most memorable hostel I've ever stayed in.
C/Infanta Beatriz, 3
18412 Granada
The hostel is on the western side of Granada on the ring road.
Take a taxi or take bus no 10 from Granada's bus station. Count 10 stops (including the first one) and get off at the 5th one (Glorieta Arabial). Walk 50m from the stop and on your right you'll see the Caja Granada bank. Cross over the Camino de Ronda (Granada's ring road) and make a right turn down the first street on your right. This is C/Infanta Beatriz. Look out for a palm tree and this hostel is in the corner of building no3.
The Granada RENFE train station is a 15-20 min walk away.
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