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Food is not Lisbon's strongpoint, but savour the glorious custard cream pies at the cafe Antiga Confeitara de Belém.
Rua de Belém 84-92;
tel: 21 363 7423
If you're a shopaholic, this is the store for you. Reputed to be the largest department store in Europe, KaDeWe has six floors stocked with everything you could want. Don’t miss the 6th floor, which is a gourmet heaven: you name it, they've got it - all types of food and drink of the finest quality from all over the world. An absolute must.
Tauentzienstraße 21-24, Berlin-Schöneberg;
Nearest underground: Wittenbergplatz (Lines U1, U2 and U3). Walking distance from Bahnhof Zoo railway station or the well-known street Kurfürstendamm;
www.kadewe-berlin.de/index2_engl.php
It's like nowhere else in London. Some might say sanitised and boring, but I'd disagree. If you're tired of the hustle and bustle of central London hop on the Jubilee line, or, even better, the DLR, and come over. Great waterside eating and drinking (dimsum at Royal China is fantastic, and not too costly), super tall buildings, and expensive subterreanean shops. Whilst it is certainly not the weekend ghost town of earlier years, it still feels much calmer than London proper on a Saturday or Sunday.
In the summer especially there are often good free events in the small parks that are dotted around, such as concerts on Friday evenings, and films sometimes on Saturdays.
If you're coming with children then combine your visit with Mudchute City Farm down in the Isle of Dogs. It has cows, goats and guinea pigs, plus a riding school.
www.mycanarywharf.com/whatson/calendar.html;
Royal China: tel - 0207 719 0888;
www.royalchinagroup.co.uk
The combination of an eye-catching wine list, friendly service and great food makes this place your home away from home in Riga.
As you walk through the glass entrance that provides the only natural light to the restaurant, you enter a warm world of wood, stone and glass. The potential unfriendliness of bare brick and rough plastered walls is successfully offset by exposed wooden beams, ventilation running through polished wooden conduits, and locally hand crafted stained glass lampshades.
A carved wooden partition separates the smoking and non-smoking areas and provides some intimacy for those who end up with tables in the center of the restaurant. The overall effect is of a warm and comfortable environment.
10, Aldaru Street. The restaurant is located in the very heart of Vecriga (Old Riga) in the medieval warehouse building next to the only remaining bit of the city wall and one of the main tourist attractions - Swedish Gates.
Meander through this peaceful public park with its huge green spaces and shady trees to a fabulous beer garden where you can choose food and beverages from different booths: sausages, fish and chips and beers or if in recovery mode, tea and huge sugary doughnuts.
U-Bahn lines 3 and 6, alighting at Universitat or Giselastrabe
It's the second-largest Chinatown outside of China, and perfectly authentic. It's a living, breathing cultural artefact. Go in the daytime, as everything shuts at six pm, unless it's a Friday or Saturday; the street market is on then in the summer.
See the Sun Yat-Sen garden and park, the Chinese Cultural Centre, and Pender Street between Carrall and Gore. Keefer Street is also Chinatown, between Columbia and Gore, and in the summer (late May-September) on Friday and Saturday nights it's closed to host the street market. This features entertainment, games, children's rides (dinky ones, but fun) and lots of bargains along the cheap bag/sunglasses/clothing line.
Good restaurants include Goldstone on Keefer (closes early), Hon's on Keefer, and Gain Wah on Keefer, which is open late. Great groceries are to be had at many of the local stores, or the local Asian supermarket, T&T, on Keefer near the Stadium Skytrain station.
After the street market (which runs till nine or so) walk over to La Casa Gelato on Venables and get one of their 200+ flavours of ice cream: rocky road, yes, but also durian, basil and pernod, or gorgonzola.
East Pender street between Carrall and Gore, Keefer Street between Columbia and Gore, East Georgia Street between Main and Gore. North-south axis is Main Street.
This restaurant is on the market square, and compared to everywhere else you eat in Krakow, is pretty extortionately priced.
However, this place served the best meal of my life, taking in everything from the food, the service, the ambience, the environment. Everything about it was just 5 star.
They offer a 4 course traditional Polish menu (which ends up being 5 courses with an additional one brought "compliments of the chef") which is just outstanding, from fantastic pierogi to a broth full of flavour and tender beef fillet. Dessert is magnificent and comes with a large glass of cherry vodka to help it down.
Despite this being the most expensive restaurant in Krakow, 5 courses for two plus two bottles of wine and vodka came to £66 in total.
For service better than any michelin starred restaurant in London and quarter of the price, you must come here and experience it. They are so friendly and unpretentious that you could walk in in your jeans and trainers and you wouldn't get a second look from anyone. Definitely worth paying the extra just to experience this place.
Market Square
A great invention which you should always look for when you're getting hungry is 'dagens lunch' (literally lunch of the day) which is always good value and normally includes salad, a hot main course, bread, coffee and drinks for about 60-150kr depending on where you go. Usually served between 12-3pm.
Even if a restaurant seem to have pricey dinner/a la carte offerings there should be reasonable lunch options available. Worth it, definitely in the more posh places such as Operakällaren.
This is a really lovely Turkish restaurant with a very convenient location - next to the Globe on the south bank.
Food is Anatolian, and you get an awful lot for your money. Tas Pide is part of a chain, but to my mind it's only this branch which has such a relaxed and friendly atmosphere and such great food - possibly because everything is cooked in the big wood-fired oven.
As you sit down waiters bring over a free dish of soup, warm bread and a dip. They'll keep refilling the bread, but try not to eat too much as portions are very generous. Hot starters are fantastic, but I think that the star of the show is the main of slowcooked shoulder of lamb - lamb incik. Pide - turkish pizza - is okay, but meat and fish better. Service is friendly, and the food and drink is ridiculously cheap for the location. I think we spent £35-40 last time for way too much food and drink for the two of us. In the evenings you might want to book, and they have live, but not intrusive, music then too.
20-22 New Globe Walk SE1 9DR
020 7928 3300
www.tasrestaurant.com
A brilliant out-of-the way restaurant with cheap, huge plates of schnitzel. Much better than some of the tourist traps in the centre of town.
Neubaugassse, 52, 7th district; Volkstheater or Neubaugasse underground stop
A nice cold beer, a dish of Greek delicacies, the Parthenon above, the Ancient Agora below, crowds strolling by, lazy dogs and cats sleeping under the sun waiting for a treat, maybe a frappe afterwards. Dioscuri, a traditional outdoor café on the street that leads to the Acropolis has them all, and at minimal cost.
Dioscuron 13 Street, Plaka, Athens tel: 210 3219607
Metro: Monastiraki Station
Go to eat in Chinatown, but instead of being persuaded into one of the main restaurants by a tout, get off the main street and find one of the places where you sit at outside tables on the street and the chef cooks everything in a huge wok right in front of you. The food is fantastic and so much cheaper than you'll pay in the other restaraunts.
Athens has a number of important and interesting museums. The Museum of Musical instruments in Plaka may not be on the top of the list, but it is a very pleasant small museum, where you can examine beautifully handcrafted traditional musical instruments, listen to recordings of their sounds and meet the ancestors of the famous bouzouki. The location is tranquil and on the little square next to it (Platanos Square), you will find excellent traditional food (Taverna Platanos), and Rere's cafe, one of the few remaining hangouts for the locals of Plaka, where you can relax over a decent cup of Greek coffee made the way it should be. This is not hip Athens, it is Athens old style.
In Plaka, next to the 'Tower of the Winds' and the ruins of the old Madressa of Athens (one of the few surviving Ottoman landmarks), just of 'Platanos' Square;
Metro: Monastiraki
The neighbourhood in the port area from which Boca Juniors derive their name was the point of arrival for the countless numbers of immigrants who came to Argentina, particularly Italians. There is an artists fair as well as Italian cantinas to relax in. Go for the beautiful coloured houses and because this is where Maradona grew up.
Barrio La Boca
Very swish tapas bar and restaurant. You can eat at the restaurant at the back or at the bar as I did. Wonderful fresh ingredients and simple yet delightful dishes. The staff very friendly and helpful too.
Pl Sant Josep Oriol, 9;
www.tallerdetapas.com
This gorgeous riverside restaurant compares favourably to any of Scotland's popular upmarket restaurants. Although it may seem pricey compared to some places in Inverness, the food is worth every penny and considerably cheaper than what you'd pay for similar quality in Edinburgh or Glasgow.
16 Fraser Street, Inverness
Fabulous Italian restaurant, specialising in seafood and Neapolitain cuisine. A wee bit of heaven on Dalry Road, with a warm welcome from chef Rosario. Hard to beat, and getting well known these days, so booking ahead is a good idea. A la carte is available but it's hard to see past the specials.
Dalry Road - three minutes walk from Haymarket Station
Lovely area of beaches, quaint towns and in particular, wineries. Most serve excellent lunches and generally you can walk round the vines in a beautiful landscape.
About 1 hours drive south of the city centre.
The central square of Marrakech. It is fantastic, especially in the evening. Smoke rises up from the dozens of food stalls which all offer beautiful piles of vegetables, merguez sausages, kebabs, tagines and more. The cooks will call to you as you walk by, but take your time as you're protected by the watchful eye of the tourist police. When you've chosen, sit down and watch as they theatrically pour out mint tea for you. Bread and sauces are provided. Point out what you want cooked, and then prepare to be defeated. About £5 for much more than two people can eat.
In the daytime fresh juices are on offer. Orange for about 10p, mandarin/clementine for 20p.
The medina offers everything, from dried rose petals to the thuya wood ornaments, and sweets,but was the only place where I was groped and pestered.
And down the road from Djemaa el Fna (the Koutobia Mosque side) is a lovely hammam. Segregated times (so men go in the morning, and women in the afternoon). From Koutobia cross the main road as if you are going to Djemaa el Fna. Take the narrow side road, and follow it down. About 500m down on your left is the hammam. A very cheap, very interesting and relaxing experience.
The centre of Marrakech - you can't miss it.
Go here for some of the finest curry outside India. On the steps outside, men with business cards might haggle with each other for your custom, but most of the restaurants inside the Chungking labyrinth are well worth checking out. Go in large groups so you can share as many dishes as possible.
The prices are excellent too: You should be able to feed five people for no more than £30 (under 500 HKD).
Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui
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