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You can't visit Copenhagen without renting a bike and joining ranks with the 500,000 daily cyclists. Baisikeli [bicycle in Swahili] sends used Danish bikes to workshops in Africa and they finance it by renting bikes to visitors and students.
Found this online today: for $199 (adult) the City Pass gives you entrance to five (5) amusement parks: Disneyland, Disney's California Adventure, SeaWorld in San Diego, Universal Studios Hollywood and San Diego Zoo or San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. You have 14 days to use it. Saves a bundle if these parks are your funky thang.
Buy it online:
themeparks.universalstudios.com/hollywood/website/tic_sccp.html
Theme park of extreme proportions that is well worth the price ($59). It's a day trip with loads of events and the famous train ride around the film lot.
On their website they actually write this:
"Located conveniently in Los Angeles, CA." Hilarious.
100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, CA 91608.
themeparks.universalstudios.com/hollywood/website/index.html
Like anywhere else, the Japanese smoke. Smoking, however is blanketed in the same courtesy and respect as many other aspects of the culture. If you smoke while walking around, don't toss your butt on the street. There are dedicated smoking areas around the city and there are ashtrays outside many buildings. Use them. If in doubt, follow the lead of other smokers.
A splendid new coffee bar in the dynamic Vesterbro neighbourhood. Translated as "Black Coffee & Vinyl" this tiny coffee bar sells quality java to rival anywhere else as well as doubling as a record shop featuring sleazy-listening, moog-pop, electrotrash and acid-folk on vinyl.
It don't get much groovier than this, baby.
Skydebanegade 4, Vesterbro, Copenhagen, right by Istedgade, the main strip in the Vesterbro neighbourhood;
Open: Tues-Thurs 8am-6pm, Fri. 8am-7pm and Sat/Sun 11am-7pm
There is a lovely daily market in Ars-en-Ré with wonderful seafood and local salt, among the usual stands selling everything under the sun.
Ars-en-Ré marketplace, near the harbour. Can't miss it.
Another transport option to Ile de Ré is the boat from La Rochelle's Old Harbour to St. Martin. There are only a couple of daily departures and only to St. Martin, but maybe that will work for you.
Sails from the Old Harbour. Boat company servicing Ile de Ré, Fort Boyard, Ile d'Aix:
www.inter-iles.com/
We arrived by TGV in La Rochelle and quickly found the busses to Ile de Ré in front of the station. They cost about 15 euros and they run the length of the island, stopping in the main towns. There are, however, different routes so be aware that some busses don't go to St. Martin, only the towns on the south coast. For example.
Website for the bus company: www.aunis-saintonge.fr/rebus
If you're in Ile de Ré you'll be wanting a bike. If you're in Ars, rent one here, at Cycles et Pêche (bikes and fishing gear). Lovely people, good bikes. You can also rent bike seats or trailers for kids.
2, place de la Chapelle
Ars-en-Ré
t: 05 46 29 20 88
cycles-neveur.com/
I spent ages trawling the internet for holiday homes to rent on Ile de Ré and in La Rochelle. www.abritel.fr seemed to be the best, and most comprehensive, website. We ended up with a wonderful 2 bedroom stone house on a narrow, quiet street a stone's throw from the main square and the main supermarket in Ars-en-Re. Rented from a certain Pascal in Paris. They have an English version and you contact the owners directly.
The site caters to all of France, by the way.
www.abritel.fr/uk/index.php
A splendid lighthouse at the far end of Ile de Ré towering 57m over the sea. Built in 1854 the lighthouse provides spectacular views. 2.50 euros for adults to climb the 250 steps.
At the far end of Ile de Ré facing the Atlantic Ocean.
Le Phare des Baleines
17590 SAINT CLEMENT DES BALEINES
Tel. : 05 46 29 18 23
In a nightmare of over-priced harbour-front bistros this little take-away joint was perfect. Serving fresh pasta in funky chinese food containers, the prices were cheap, the food tasty and there is a little square nearby where you can eat it.
19, rue des templiers
Open from 11 AM
Closed Sundays.
As one of Europe's premier aquariums Aquarium La Rochelle knows it has to impress the visitors who dish out 10 euros at the cashier. The aquarium will not disappoint. Spectacular stuff. You enter through an 'elevator' which simulates a ride deep into the sea. When you emerge you are in a tunnel surrounded by water. From there on in it gets better.
Open 365 days a year.
Situated walking distance from the Old Harbour and the Train Station.
Bassin des Grands Yachts - BP4
17002 La Rochelle
Tel: 33 (0)5 46 34 00 00
W: www.aquarium-larochelle.com
La Rochelle offers a mind-blowing number of eating options. The closer to the harbour, the more expensive it gets.
For a decent priced quality feed, try Le Madrigal. Wonderful pizza, small, friendly and cheapish. Decent kid's menu, too.
18 rue Bletterie
17000 La Rochelle
Tel: 05 46 41 08 28
When the wrecks of several viking ships were found in the Roskilde Fjord in the 60s, it was only natural that a museum be erected on the shore to host them. The Viking Ship Museum is a leading institution in the history of viking sea travel. They offer sailing trips on the fjord on replica ships in the summer but the real treat is the adjacent boatyard where viking ships are reconstructed using authentic tools and techniques.
It's about a 25 minute walk from the train station (visit the Cathedral on the way). www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/page.asp?sideid=164&zcs=402
The Roskilde Cathedral has been the burial place for Danish kings and queens since the year 985 when Harald Bluetooth took a hankering to the original wooden church on the spot. The present cathedral is a fantastic work and you'll be amazed when you see it and, at the same time, consider the fact that the main body of the building was erected around 1280.
The cathedral features on UNESCO's list of worthy sites. Wander about the huge cathedral and see the graves and tombs of a millenium of Danish royalty. I love visiting it but I'll always remember it for my son's baptism back in 2002.
Lake Agnes Teahouse is accessible by one of the most hiked trails in the Rockies. A four-hour, 7 km round trip from the parking lot at the spectacular Lake Louise, the hike is moderate and affords you amazing views and a feel of the Rockies. The trail is busy in tourist season around the lake but the crowds thin out the higher and farther you hike.
And the reward is a splendid cuppa at the Teahouse.
Any metropolis worth its salt has a film festival like this. The Copenhagen Gay & Lesbian Film Festival takes place every October. Well worth a visit.
This sandy playground of the young and beautiful is located just 20 minutes north of Copenhagen on the S-train line to Klampenborg. With views of Sweden across the sea, this stretch of fine sand is lively on hot summer days. Alternatively, try the charming, century-old sea baths next door called Bellevue Beach Baths.
Take the "C" line of the S-trains from Copenhagen; www.bellevuestrandbad.dk/?int_pageId=1
A heavyweight on the jazz scene, the Copenhagen Jazz Festival takes over the city like few other events. For 10 bad-ass, funkarythmic days each July, every form of jazz can be heard at dozens of locations throughout the city.
Big names feature regularly, but the best thing is the portable stages that can be found on every square in town, allowing music to waltz through the air wherever you wander.
Ten days every July (2006: July 7-16).
Check the English site at:
festival.jazz.dk/start.asp?l=2
Send your feedback or queries to been.there@guardian.co.uk
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