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A real Bostonian restaurant, opposite the fake Cheers, in every sense. Supposedly famed for the surliness of the waiting staff, but they were perfectly civil when I was there. It's popular, crowded, and you will probably have to queue to get in. Once inside, expect to be seated at a large table wherever there's a space. It may not be ideal if you're shy and retiring, but it's a great way to meet people if you're not. Good old-fashioned food like Yankee pot roast, cornbread and, of course, Boston baked beans.
340 Faneuil Hall Market Place, Boston; Tel: (617) 227-2038; www.durgin-park.com
It is a scintillating assault on the senses. Sight, sound smell and taste. Phones buzzing and and impossibly quick turnaround in the tiny pizza oven at the back.
32 Spring St (bet Mott & Mulberry) 10012
Ice cream cafe and art gallery. Marvellous organic ice cream from Devon. Run by lovely ex-pat Galina and Kirstin. Easy, friendly ambience in centre of Bohemian East Berlin. Art works change every month. Great to sit and chill out. B&B possible too, with English-speaking flat owner.
Zionskirchstrasse 75, Berlin 10119; Nearest metro: Senefelderplatz; Tel: (004930) 44038577
www.cafe-am-teutoburger-platz.com
A hip New York restaurant serving delicious Asian-Latin fusion food. The dishes are made for sharing, which allows you to try a few things. The staff are brilliant and are happy to make suggestions that will suit your dietary requirements, etc. Finally, the decor is great and the atmosphere electric.
Morgan's Hotel, 237 Madison Avenue, New York; chinagrillmanagement.com/adecNY/index.htm
this is a cafe in the hippy sodermalm district, which is like stepping back to 1969. Everything is junk shop finds, and all of it is for sale, from the seat the sit on, to the cup you drink from. Try the muffins, they are fantastic!
Nytorgsgatan 38 116 40 Stockholm www.cafestring.com
Fab restaurant, with a slight North African influence as well as all the typical French bistro classics, but really well done. Also very reasonable.
81, rue des Martyrs 18eme
Appealing little bistro on the Place des Carmes, a pretty little tree-lined square.
Almost impossibly French, with red checked tablecloths, candles in wine bottles and a traditional, (inexpensive) French menu.
Gets busy with locals and tourists alike, especially at weeknds, so worth booking a table.
Madame is friendly and will try out her English if translation is needed.
Place des Carmes, Avignon.
Tel: 04.90.82.46.90.
Map: tinyurl.com/2f7gyh
There are three Tin Drum bars in Brighton and all of them are handily spaced out around the city. One in Hove just off Church Road (the smallest), with another in Kemptown, on St James' St, and the third on Dyke Road in Seven Dials. Decent food (not especially cheap but a cut above the usual pub grub) and a chilled out thirtyish-something crowd.
Church Road (Hove), St James St (Kemptown) and Dyke Road (Seven Dials);
www.tindrum.co.uk
As far as I know, the only Indian restaurant in the city. Not the type of Indian you find in Britain, more like what it should be like! (I am biased... it is my home town). So if you're missing curry...
34, Place des Lices (02.99.30.18.37)
Very studenty, full of bars and restaurants, great place to watch people go by. Market on Saturday mornings, very good (towards Place des Lices).
Rue and Place St Michel can be accessed easily from the metro station Ste Anne.
Cool but friendly bar with a buzzy atmosphere which sells a huge range of beers (what else?). The food (anything from pasta to steak to salads) is freshly prepared and good value. Friendly enough to go in on your own but also good fun in a group. Open till 2am and if you have a late night here, it also does a good breakfast! It's easy to find, just off the trendy Rue de Boniface (the area is worth exploring too, there are lots of other eateries and bars nearby).
Rue de Boniface 14; Metro Porte-Namur
A very nice restaurant with reasonable prices and one of the best chocolate desserts ever, the Fondant au Chocolat!
On Rue St George, by the Brittany Parliament
This is a great street market, held in Place Chatelain, just off Rue de Bailli, on Wednesdays. You can pick up some delicious speciality foods here, from cheeses, to fish to wine. But the atmosphere's wonderful, so even if you don't want to buy anything, it's well worth wandering around the stalls (lots of tempting goodies to snack on if you're hungry, or try the champagne/wine stall). The market goes on into the evening as well, and the busiest time is around 6 to 7pm, when people come after work. Place Chatelain has some great restaurants and lots of atmospheric little bars too but be prepared to fight for a table!
Place Chatelain, off Rue de Bailli, Ixelles.
The orgasm scene from "When Harry Met Sally" put this place on the map, but a feature spot in a movie with one of the best punch lines in years is not a prerequisite to this deli's fame. Katz's Deli has the goods! An army of staff slice cold cuts - the sandwiches are best described as "filling with a little bread", so jam-packed are they with one's chosen meat. The cheesecake is justifiably renowned. Once refreshments have been taken, the walls beckon. Photos of Clinton, Depp, Ed Harris, Stephanopoulos, to mention but a few, hang as proof of famous clientele, the proprietor in every one like a real-life Wally from "Where's Wally?" fame. If you want to sit where Meg Ryan ahhh'ed and table-slapped her way through her famous fake "buzz", it's marked with an arrow! (Francesca, Crete)
205 E Houston Street, (at Ludlow Street), New York City, NY 10002-1017
Another discrete restaurant and place to stay, although I've never done the latter. It's a great place for lunch in all seasons and off the beaten tourist track. Good food and service if perhaps a little pricey.
Fondamenta di Borgo 1147 - 30100 Venice Croos the Accedemia Bridge and work your way for 5 minutes along the canals southwards. Unassuming but a great find.
It's worth noting that before you leave the customs hall there is an HSBC ATM which accepts foreign cards, and at the custom hall's exit is a rack with transport info leaflets. The easiest way into town, but probably not fastest because of town centre traffic jams, is Shuttle Bus 5 to People's Square and Shanghai (main) Railway Station. The bus departs from the ground floor ("1st Floor" or "Level 1" in China) outside exit door 8. Pay on the bus.
The quickest way into town MAY be the Maglev train (upstairs, across a long bridge) which goes to Long Yang Rd tube (on metro Line 2, the green line) but the MAGLEV ONLY RUNS 08.30-17.30!
Cheaper and reasonably fast (and closer to Arrivals!) is Shuttle Bus No.3, also to Long Yang Road tube. This bus departs from outside exit door 7. Pay on the bus. Long Yang Rd tube will normally be the FIRST stop, after about 30 minutes, so make sure you don't miss it.
The Shanghai metro is a bit of a luxury for UK visitors to China, as it's bilingual Chinese/English (well, all signs/announcements - can't vouch for the staff...) Look for a little chart by the ticket machines which graphically indicates price according to destination - likely to need 4 or 5 one-yuan coins to go into the centre. If you have no change queue for the ticket office. If in doubt as to cost I think 5 yuan is the highest fare (June 2005) and that's still only about 30p. You're issued with a plastic 'ticket'. Make sure you take the train in the direction of Zhong Shan Park.
If you want Shanghai Railway Station change at People's Square and follow the long wide curving passage to Line 1 (the red line) and take the train towards Gong Fu Xin Cun. If you want to catch an overground train that departs from Meilong station, take the tube to Jin Jiang Park on Line 1. Then it's about 150 yards walk, including a very high footbridge, but no shortage of eager 'porters'. Meilong is one stop after Shanghai South station which is closed for reconstruction, hence the schlepp (so I heard...).
Airport Shuttle Bus 3 also goes to Xu Jia Hui. If this is by the metro station, this could be an easier way to get to Meilong station via metro Line 1 as it's only 4 stops from Jin Jiang Park.
Shanghai tube maps: while displayed everywhere in the tube system, I could not find one in printed form. The one at urbanrail.net is therefore very useful. If your final destination is not Shanghai but not too far, eg Hangzhou, consider getting a bus from the airport's long distance bus station. This may be less hassle than getting a train. Go out at the ground floor and look for the little old ticket office to the very right of the numerous bus stands. Whether train or bus, having your destination clearly written in chinese characters will help greatly!
Taxis: one I took TO the airport from a southern outer suburb of Shanghai (so it was closer) cost me 100 RMB. Always only use a metered taxi, no tip expected, and never accept a touting taxi that already has a passenger in - it will cost you double, not half! Taxis for short distances in China are cheap, and normally have a fixed charge for the first 2km.
Food at the airport: if you don't want the limited and very expensive (for China) 'tourist' food on the airport mezzanine level there's a 'normal' restaurant just outside in the middle of the bus area. One of the upstairs bridges towards the Maglev train has a lift/steps down to it. I haven't used it yet. Menus likely to be only be in Chinese.
www.shairport.com/en/index.jsp
www.urbanrail.net/as/shan/shanghai-map.gif
www.chinatt.org/
This place has definitely the best coffee in town and the breakfast is fantastic. They also do delicious lunch and dinner, with a daily changing menu, that never disappoints. There is a great welcoming unpretentious atmosphere and it is somewhere to just lounge for a few hours (using their free wireless internet), or book a table for dinner and cocktails.
Stargarder Strasse 3, Ubahn Schoenhauser Allee www.fellas-berlin.de
Fantastic restaurant, where we had our best, and possibly priciest, meal ever. The highlight was the Sea Urchin Mille Feuille. Lovely, comfortable rooms with attentive but not intrusive staff. We booked by e-mail from the UK.
42 East 20th Street www.gramercytavern.com (212)477-0777
It's a gorgeous hotel with a roof-top pool and the most beautiful rooms. Go into town to Jagat Niwas for dinner, then stop off on the way back at the Lakeshore Hotel for drinks.
Devonport is on Auckland's North Shore and is well worth a visit if you don't have time to go to Rangitoto or Waiheke. As well as having a very pleasant main street with cafes (and a good fish and chip shop), there's a good beach and children's playground and there are walks up to the two extinct volcanoes behind the town which offer great views of Auckland and have historical interest provided by 19th century military defences. The ferry ticket also provides free use of the buses for the day.
Ferries to Devonport leave from the main ferry terminal on the waterfront near the Viaduct Harbour (Americas Cup Village area) and Britomart Transport Interchange. Ask for an AucklandPass, which is the same cost as a return but allows free use of Stagecoach buses too.
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