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From the ramparts of this huge prehistoric hill fort, the view opens up to the Somerset Levels below - mile upon mile of fields and hedges, and twelve miles away, the isolated shape of Glastonbury Tor. Whether in golden sunlight or winter mist, this is a magical view. This may or may not be King Arthur's Camelot, but it does sometimes feel as if it's on the frontiers of another world.
Five miles north west of Yeovil
In 1998 the car park was right at the entrance to the museum, very convenient.
The car park is now a long way from the museum entrance (1km or so) and you now have to walk past a shopping centre to get to the entrance. When all the retail units are open this is going to be a nightmare!
The one saving grace is that you can get an electric buggy (at a price) to drive you to the museum entrance.
Fantastic two-bedroom apartment directly behind the Duomo in the centre of Ortigia, a UNESCO world heritage site.
You simply can't be more surrounded by ancient history, yet the apartment itself is full of mod-cons and has a secluded roof terrace. Five minutes' walk from the Lido.
www.italianbreaks.com 020 8666 0407
Much like the magical mystery tour but more intimate and with greater depth. Conducted by the Blue Badge-accredited Phil Hughes, you'll see all the famous Beatles sites in his eight seater mini-bus.
It's a much more personal experience plus there's the added bonus of Phil fitting round your schedule. He's got a great write up in the current Lonely Planet too.
You'll need to book with him in advance. The hostels and tourist information in Liverpool can do that for you, or you can call him yourself on 0151 228 4565.
The island of Torcello, 45 minutes from Venice by Vaporetto, is where Venice began. A perfect antidote to palaces and high renaissance art.
This tiny windswept island in the marshes was the place where the first settlers, fleeing from Attila the Hun, found refuge and laid the foundations for the mighty Venetian republic. Incredibly it once had 20,000 inhabitants before malaria took hold. Now all that's left is a wonderful church with fantastic 11th century mosaics and a bell tower which gives stunning views over allotments, marshes and the distant towers and domes of Venice.
There's also a rather fine restaurant Al Ponte del Diavolo, serving (very) local rabbit and fine pasta with wild fennel sauce (on the day we went). A perfect place for a spring lunch and to reflect on the beginnings and end of the Venetian republic!
Take the Vaporetto (LN route) from Fondamente Nuove stop. Change at Burano for shuttle to Torcello.
Amazing! A totally authentic Irish pub with a difference....built into the back of the pub is a train carriage and engine! Plenty of characters in the pub, not least the owner himself Sean Browne. Plenty of memorabilia on the walls with stories surrounding many of the items.
This was the pub in which a famous political interview took place in 1992 which ultimately caused the (in)famous Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Charles Haughey to resign! The chair in which the interview took place is in the pub signed by the interviewee himself.
I am Irish myself & have travelled all over Ireland and be rest assured you will find it difficult to find somewhere as unique as this! While not in a central location in Ireland it is well worth taking a detour to this place.
Main Street, Castlerea, Co. Roscommmon
www.hellskitchenmuseum.com/index.htm
homepage.eircom.net/~hellskitchen/
You can e-mail him on seanbrowne@eircom.net
Castlerea is about 1.5hrs drive from Galway & the town Castlerea is also on the main Dublin - Westport line.
Prague Jewish quarter is one of the most popular areas of Prague. There are several kosher restaurants, Prague Jewish community, apartments with kosher breakfast and you can also have a very interesting tour of Jewish Prague. Prague Jewish museum is one of the most visited museums in Prague. Probably the most famous places are the Old new synagogue (the Maharal shul) and Old Jewish cemetery with all the known Rabbis from Prague Jewish history.
Jewish Prague
www.kosherprague.com/
www.jewishprague.cz/
www.jewishprague.info/
Josefov, Old town of Prague
nearest metro station: Staromestska
Tel: +420-731-108-744
Email: info@kosherprague.com
I'm staggered by the reader who said there's 'not much to do in Lucca'. Apart from the fact that this has about the most perfect set of medieval walls of any city you'll see in Europe.
The best way to get a feel for the town is to hire a bike (there are big cycle hire places all over the old town) and ride around the walls (a circuit is less than three miles). These are so wide/deep that they have parks and cycle paths. Your wheels are also the best way to get around the narrow streets of the centre, which is now largely free of cars. Arguably Lucchese can be a bit snooty (this very bourgeois town is the only place I've seen fur coats in June) but a lovely little place nonetheless.
A good central hotel is www.ahotelinitaly.com/hotel-details/alla-corte-degli-angeli-maison-de-charme-lucca/#hotelmap. Only five rooms, nice and quiet.
Known locally as the Dead Zoo, the museum itself is a museum piece, with stuffed animals in glass cases, and hunting trophies everywhere and draws upon draws of butterflies and insects. The whole place is exactly like a normal Victorian museum. But without sideburned attendants.
Merrion Square West
www.museum.ie/naturalhistory/
An iconic building in downtown.
From the ramparts of this huge prehistoric hill fort, the view opens up to the Somerset Levels below - mile upon mile of fields and hedges, and twelve miles away, the isolated shape of Glastonbury Tor. Whether in golden sunlight or winter mist, this is a magical view. This may or may not be King Arthur's Camelot, but it does sometimes feel as if it's on the frontiers of another world.
Five miles north west of Yeovil
The streets within the walls in the city centre are like double decker rows of shops. Walk along the upper rows for an alternative view of the streets and shops. Then take the steps up to the wall at Eastgate clock - great views of the streets and a good place to start your walking tour of the city as seen from the Roman walls.
You can pretty much circle the entire city centre by walking the wall and getting a different vantage point and contrasting views and points of interest on either side of the wall as you go round.
Eastgate
Easily my favourite street in this, the most bohemian part of Berlin's Prenzlauer Berg district.
Many interesting bookshops, clothes shops, cafes and bars to waste an afternoon or more exploring. The 19th century tenements, some lovingly restored, some retaining a scruffy charm, are a welcome break after the grey concrete that's more familiar in much of Berlin.
The Mauerpark at the end of the street, where the wall once ran, is the ideal photo op.
Take the U Bahn to Eberswalder Strasse, exit to left, cross Schonhauser Allee, make for Kastanienallee, then first street on right. Or tram 11 from Hackeschermarkt to Kastanienallee or Eberswalderstrasse.
Not many people know about this, even one tour guide I met hadn't heard of it. At the top of Kelvingrove Park, near the University, sit two tudor-style cottages, built for the 1901 Glasgow Exhibition. They were built by the Lever Brothers (of Persil and Fairy, and Sunlight Soap fame), as an exact replica of the houses that make up Port Sunlight village, the town built for their workers, complete with cinema, art gallery and railway station, near Liverpool.
The Glasgow houses (Port Sunlight Cottage) were intended to be an example of how houses in Glasgow would be built from then on, but this never happened, and now they stand alone, looking quite out of place amongst the sandstone of the city. They are now private residences.
It's a beautiful walk up through the park to get to the houses, and it leaves you within easy reach of the Transport Museum, the Kelvingrove museum and art gallery, and the West End.
You can see more at
tinyurl.com/3dap2j
Just outside Glasgow University, G12, at the top of Kelvingrove Park.
If you are on the Glasgow tour bus, get off at the Kelvingrove museum and walk up from there.
Crookston Castle is in the care of Historic Scotland but has free entry. You get two castles for the price of one. It has the ditch and earthen rampart of a 12th century ringwork castle and in the centre the ruinous remains of a 15th century stone castle of unusual form. It's on a hilltop and there's a good view of the southwest side of the city from the top of the tower.
Off Brockburn Road, Pollok, SW of Glasgow city centre. Exit M8 at Junction 26
www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/properties_sites_detail.htm?propertyID=PL_077
Also known as St Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow cathedral is situated in Cathedral Square at the north end of the medieval High Street. It's the only surviving mainland pre-reformation cathedral in Scotland and dates mainly from the 13th century. It's still in use. Architectural highlights include the lower church or crypt and the rare plate tracery windows. Entry is free.
Glasgow Cathedral, Castle Street, G4
www.glasgow-cathedral.com
nearest railway station - High Street
It's a big, accessible green space with good paths largely through mixed woodland which also features an early ringwork if you're in to archaeology. There are also gardens. Look out for kingfishers along the White Cart Water. There's a programme of family events and the kids will like the heavy horses and the highland cattle herd. There are also mountain bike courses through the woods for beginners to advanced level.
And if it rains, the Burrell Collection is on site - marvellous antiquities and art and entry is free. Or you could visit Pollok House, an 18th century mansion house in the care of the National Trust for Scotland. Both venues have restaurants.
If going by car, park by Pollok House rather than by the Burrell if you want to avoid parking fees.
Pollok Country Park
2060 Pollokshaws Road
Glasgow
G43
www.glasgow.gov.uk/en/Residents/Parks_Outdoors/Parks_gardens/pollokcountrypark.htm
Nearest train station Pollokshaws West
Buses 45, 47, 48, 57
This incredible castle is perched on a rock high on the west coast of the island. Half the fun is the drive there, which takes you along a winding coastline with stunning views of Turkey, Halki and other small islands.
The landscape on the west is not commercial or developed, and you can stop in small villages like Embonas (famous for their wine) and Sianna (great for carpets) on the way.
Keep a look out for a caravan parked on the side of the road (before you get to Sianna) which looks as if its going to slide down the mountain. Stop here and have a coffee (or a suma) sit and contemplate the breathtaking view.
Just follow the road east from the airport - you dont have to turn off anywhere. It's about 2 hours from Rhodes Town.
Greenwich Observatory was built to look at the stars. But it's a fantastic place to look at London, too.
You look past the green lawns and Palladian architecture below, across the Thames, past the Dome and Canary Wharf, to the whole of north London spread out on its hills above the metropolis. Nowhere else do you get this feeling of the sheer scale of the city, and binding it all together, the sluggish grey ribbon of the river.
From Cutty Sark DLR station - it's an uphill walk so come motivated!
Dwarfed by the surrounding views of Skiddaw, Helvellyn and Blencathra, Castlerigg still manages to maintain its dignity like an immobile Haley Joel Osmont against the awesome acting might of Bruce Willis. Despite its youth (just 5,000 years old on Monday), the stone circle is a place that just feels, well, wise. Get there early and ponder on the passage of people through time and you'll get an eerie feeling for the importance of this site. Get there late and you'll be jostling for photo opportunities with the Addams Family.
Just outside Keswick and along Castle Lane from the A591.
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