So good I'm almost loath to share this with the rest of the world. Great accommodation in Kreuzberg in an old chocolate factory. Rooms are reasonable, the suite is mind-blowing and they give you a 10% discount if you pay cash

Mehringdamm 57, 10961 Berlin, www.hotel-sarottihoefe.de, nearest U-Bahn is Mehringdamm

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Amazingly good value (small) B&B with gorgeously comfy rooms and luxurious bathrooms, friendly hosts and great breakfasts. In a nice area of Swansea. Highly recommended.

2 Mirador Crescent
Uplands
Swansea
SA2 0QX
Tel: 01792 480266
www.christmaspie.co.uk

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If you go to a restaurant with massive portions don't be shy about asking for any food (e.g. Schnitzel) that you don't eat to be wrapped in foil so you can take it away with you. Lots of locals do it and there's no shame attached.

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Excellent restaurant, part of a small group of seven or eight eateries in Barcelona. Not a tapas bar and not cheap (100 euros for two for three courses, drinks and aperitifs / digestifs), but excellent food and a really nice classy atmosphere. Booking recommended.

Avinyó 9, Barcelona; down a side street of La Ramblas (Mcdonald's is on the corner) just past la Bocqueria;
tel: 93 318 7986; www.grupcacheiro.com

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Olde-worlde 17th-century hotel right on the canal and very close to Anne Frank's house. It’s not cheap, it can be tricky to get a room and there’s no mod cons such as TVs and room service, but it's like living in the past splendour of Amsterdam and the opulence of the breakfast room has to be seen to be believed. Not really suitable for people with mobility problems as the narrow steep staircases might be problematic.

Keizersgracht 148; tel: 20 622 5182; www.canalhousehotel.nl

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Great mid-price hotel that feels like a five-star posh one. Prices start from 99 quid for a double. Restaurant is excellent and the location, next to the Tate, is fairly central.

30, John Islip Street, London SW1P 4DD, Tel.: 0207 630 1000, nearest tube: Pimlico (handy for Liverpool Street)

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If you go to a Heuriger don't be surprised if you have to share a long table and bench with total strangers. This is the done thing and - Americans take note - if you try waiting for your own table you'll have a long wait and go thirsty.

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Though the guideboooks will steer you towards the Heuriger ('wine taverns') at Grinzing at the end of the 38 tram line don't go there as they are all full of tourists, busloads of 'em, and are not at all authentic. Head for the real thing in Stammersdorf or Jedlersdorf which are just on the edge of the Vienna public transport network on the S3 or out to Klosterneuburg from Heiligenstadt on the bus or by train from the Franz-Josefsbahnhof. Real Heuriger are tiny, only serve their own wine and food prepared by themselves. Usually much cheaper too.

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A typically Viennese milky coffee. NEVER just ask for a coffee in a Viennese coffee house as they have hundreds of different ones and the waiters will sneer at you (inwardly of course). You'll always get a little glass of water with it.

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There are some luggage lockers at Wien Mitte / City Airport Terminal but not as many as you'd think. They're near the McDonalds. Don't rely on being able to deposit your luggage as they might all be occupied.

Wien Mitte station

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Rapid transit rail service with double decker trains from Schwechat airport to the city air terminal (near the Hilton and the Wien Mitte station where you have the U3 and U4 underground lines). Costs 9 Euros single and 16 Euros return; journey takes 16 minutes and trains leave the airport twice an hour at .05 and .35.

www.cityairporttrain.com

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Heldenplatz is where Hitler stood and proclaimed the Anschluss (Annexation). Stand in the middle and look around you. You have the Hofburg (Imperial Palace) behind you and you can see the two matching museums, the beautiful Rathaus (city hall) and the Burgtheater. Breathtaking.

Hofburg, 1010 Wien

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First pressing of the grapes, looks like cloudy ginger beer, smells a bit yeasty but tastes great. Easy to down and absolutely lethal. Also plays havoc with your insides. Only available for a few weeks in September. Comes in massive bottles with a loose tin foil cap therefore can't be exported.

everywhere but only for a while

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Bar in Vienna serving filled Fladenbrote (similar to pitta bread). The original one is in the Kleeblattgasse in the first district though there are now three in total. Walk up to the top of the Graben, turn right, walk along and you'll see the Kleeblattgasse which is a narrow little alley. Mixed clientèle, reasonable prices, dark with loud music. Fladen are great though.

Kleeblattgasse 1010 Wien, www.kolar-beisl.at

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Sausages filled with molten cheese. Best bought from one of the many Würschtlstände (sausage stands) dotted around the city. Ask for a Käsekrainer hotdog and they take a mini baguette, hollow out the centre, fill it with ketchup and mustard and stuff the cheese-filled sausage in. They're probably heart attacks waiting to happen, the dripping ketchup and mustard are guaranteed to make a mess of your shoes / clothes but they taste amazing, especially late at night

all over the city

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Brilliant view over the city from the top of the Kahlenberg in the 19th district.

Take the 38a bus from Grinzing and just stay on the bus till the end of the line.

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Very cool, reasonably priced boutique hotel in the Bleibtreustrasse just off the Ku'damm. Handy for the sights and the S-Bahn, lots of bars and restaurants in the vicinity

Bleibtreustrasse, www.bleibtreu.com, nearest S-Bahn station is Savignyplatz, bus stop on route from Tegel airport is called Bleibtreustrasse

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Wonderfully whacky and very exclusive ladies boutique just opposite the opera with the most amazingly extravagant ballgowns, accessories and other 'must-haves'.

Kaertner Strasse 51, just near the Karlsplatz / Opera stop; www.popp-kretschmer.at

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You'll also recognise this airport if you've seen the third Indiana Jones film which stars Sean Connery. It doubled as the zeppelin terminal when Indy and dad were leaving Hitler's Berlin

U-Bahn Platz der Luftbrücke

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Small typical Viennese Beisl in the 9th district. Dunno if it's still on the menu but I used to say I'd choose an endless supply of owner Herbert's Krautsuppe (cabbage soup) as my desert island discs luxury item. Now very popular with the nearby Wirtschaftsuniversität staff as he does an all you can eat buffet. So try and go at the weekend. Classic Viennese cuisine at its best

Reznicekgasse 10, 1090 Vienna, tel.: 0043 1 317 91 40, take the D tram towards Nußdorf and get off at Althanstrasse or Augasse

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