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Ghent (Belgium)
by sonic0209 Last February half term, we had a family trip to Ghent in Belgium. The fact that Ghent is less popular as a tourist destination then Brussels, Bruges or Antwerp, was part of what really sold it to us. It is an attractive university city with rivers that run through it and a wealth of medieval history. It is as pretty as Bruges, but, with ... fewer tourists and a large student population, it has a different feel - a bit edgier, just a little bit more cool. ~~~~~~~~ Getting There~~~~~~~~~~ We took the Eurostar from London to Brussels which took less than 2 hours and there was a quick and very easy connection from Brussels to Ghent, a 20 minute journey away. You can fly to Antwerp or Brussels, but I do like to take the train! Everything ran to time and was pretty stress free and you have the added bonus of watching the countryside slide by. http://www.eurostar.com/uk-en/ destinations/belgium/flanders/ghent We chose to walk from the station to our hotel, but in the event the station was quite a walk away from the town centre and I would probably recommend that you get yourself a taxi. I guess it must have taken us about 30 to 45 minutes to get into town. There are also trams that run from the station into the centre of town. You want the number 1 line. Tickets are on sale at self-service kiosks or you can buy them from the driver. ~~~~~~~~~The City~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ghent has a relatively small city centre, making it possible to walk around and get to know easily in a couple of days. The city built up around the confluence of the rivers Lys and Scheldt and the waterways and bridges not only contribute to the city's attractiveness, but also provide a structure and logic to the layout so that places and roads and riversides become quickly familiar to you. At the heart of the city are The Three Towers: St Bavo Cathedral, the Belfry and St Nicholas Church. They are literally next to each other with large squares in between, quite indulgent if you ask me!! You can enter all of these, and we did visit the Belfry, climbing to the top (ok, part climbing the spiral staircase and part taking the lift...). You get very good views of Ghent from the top. As well as the principal bell (Roland, a local hero!) there is a truly fantastic carillon (a bell instrument driven by clockwork and with melodies created from a rotating metal drum) and an old iron dragon sculpture that used to be perched on the top of the belfry, breathing fire. Much of the medieval architecture remains intact despite the rigours of the passing years and being occupied in each of the world wars. It is a joy to just walk around. The castle (Gravensteen) dates back to the 12th century and was renovated in the 19th century, so is in pretty good nick, but even some of the ordinary buildings are extraordinary - the old post office building is all gothic intricacy. At night, many of the buildings and bridges are lit up and it is a real pleasure to stroll about after dinner. ~~~~~~~~ Stuff to Do ~~~~~~~ 1. Take a river trip - several companies run these year round, but there are more options outside of winter months. It's a really nice way to see the city and get a little more info and history. There are also certain views that you can only get from the river. 2. Go shopping - there are plenty of little and interesting boutiques as well as quite a good selection of more high street style shops. Make sure you buy some: a. Ghent noses - these are locally made jelly sweets in a cone shape (like a nose...). They are made with fruit juices and rose water and sold from carts on Groentenmarkt. Delish! b. Mustard - there is a shop in Ghent (just behind the carts of noses) called Tierenteyn Verlent that has been making its own mustard since 1790. You select your preferred receptacle from the shelves and they fill your pot using a ladle from a barrel at the back of the shop. It is smooth and dark brown and quite delicious. c. Chocolate - how could you possibly leave Belgium without them? So many options to choose from in Ghent. Why not read about the options from a true chocaholic. http://melissabedinger.wordpress.com/2012/ 04/09/when-in-ghent-mission-for-chocolate/ d. Wallpaper...??? - No seriously, there is a shop in Ghent called Priem (on Zuivelbrugstraat) that still stocks original wallpaper from the 1950's to the 1980's. The place is dusty and full of higgledypiggledy piles of rolls of paper. Fun just to walk around. e. Memorabilia / Bits and bobs - Check out Fallen Angels and the Antique shop opposite it. There are posters, dolls, old toys, lots of lace, racy postcards and plenty more. 3. Design Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, the Alijn House Folk Museum (this had a truly fantastic exhibition about marching brass bands whilst we were there) 4. Eat - of course!!! We particularly enjoyed: a. Steak and Chips - there are a few places that pride themselves on their quality steak and we can vouch for them!! Spare Rib was less expensive than the very popular Du Progres, but just as tasty b. Spare Ribs - try Spare Rib or Amadeus c. Waffles - oh my, you have GOT to have some waffles - we really enjoyed them at Max, which is just outside the hotel we stayed at - Novotel Centrum, but there are plenty of options. 5. Take a Trip out of Town - we went to the In Flanders Fields museum in nearby Ypres, which was a short train journey away and I have to say I think this is one of the best museums I have ever visited and warrants a review all of its own. This museum tells the story of the First World War and particularly of the impact on Flanders and Ypres itself and concentrates on the human story of this war. It is set in the beautiful and recently renovated Cloth Hall in the main square in Ypres and the current permanent exhibition, which opened in June 2012, makes stunning use of multi-media technologies. Utterly engaging and incredibly moving. 6. Get a photo of yourself from St Michael's Bridge with the iconic view of the river and medieval buildings behind you. ~~~~~~Conclusion~~~~~~~ We had a really enjoyable family holiday (my boys are 9 and 12), but I can see Ghent being a popular place to visit as a couple on a weekend break, or as part of a longer trip around Belgium. Given the student population here and the trendy bars and cafés, it could be just as appealing to younger travellers. We had 3 nights in Ghent and a day trip out to Ypres and still there was more to see. The pace of the town is relaxingly slow, and the fact that it does not feel like part of the tourist trail make for a really enjoyable break. If you enjoy 'slow tourism' and want to a soak a place up slowly, there is plenty of opportunity to do this at your leisure in Ghent. If you want to hit the high spots and move on, then this city offers some obvious gems and is conveniently close to its better known neighbours of Brussels, Antwerp and Bruges to allow you to sneak the best from all of them. I would recommend Ghent in a heartbeat. Read the complete review |
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Salzburg (Austria)
by annav I travelled to Salzburg with EasyJet with my partner. We stayed at the Hotel Am Mirabellplatz which was just across the river from the old town. A very safe feeling to walk around at night in the centre of town and near our hotel. To get to the centre from the airport you just have to take a bus which is free if you buy the ... Salzburg card at the tourist office at the airport. The card costs 36 Euros for 72 hours as we were there for 3 nights, and starts when you first swipe it. We managed to see the palace outside the city where the sound of music was filmed at the pavillion, go on a boat tour down the river, get on all buses for free, go in the cathedral, the state rooms, go up the funicular to the fortress, and loads of other little museums and things we wouldnt have normally done. My favourite was going to Mozarts birthplace and his fathers first house in Salzburg. I also managed to see a concert for free as my partner felt tired that evening. A lady came up to me and gave me a flyer for a free concert just down the road from the hotel. It was a choir singing lots of Mozart and was brilliant as the advertised concerts at the fortress cost around 50euro each! The centre of town is very compact and its impossible to get lost, there are loads of little cafes and restaurants which are quite expensive selling everything from pizza to traditional Austrian food. We ate on our side of the river as it was a lot cheaper for the same type of food, and there seemed to be more locals in the restaurants and bars where we were. There are loads of hotels everywhere in Salzburg, I booked ours through expedia and hotels.com and it was very easy to find the cheapest one nearest to town. A lot of the hotels also have restaurants attached. 3 days was enough to see pretty much everything in the town centre and one day trip out for an afternoon. If you want to go to the local mountain and go up in a cable car you may need more time. We couldnt do this as it was shut for maintenance the week we were there. Its a great destination for a short break, and the best thing to do for us was to fly to Salzburg, then get a train to Vienna. Read the complete review |
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Brno (Czech Republic)
by fizzywizzy The Czech city of Brno has some 400,000 residents (its metropolitan area has around twice that) and it is the capital of the province of Moravia. It is home to the largest exhibition centre in Europe and to the country's Constitutional and Supreme Courts, the Supreme Administrative Court and the office of the national Ombudsman. Brno ... hosts a number of highly regarded international festivals each year and in total its many higher education faculties have more than 90,000 students. So why is it that so many people have never heard of the Czech Republic's second city? Given that Brno is just a couple of hours by train from Prague, and even less from Vienna and Bratislava it's maybe surprising that Brno has held onto its budget route to and from the UK with Wizz Air though it's possible that the flight has been maintained because it's useful for exhibition delegates. We've passed through Brno's main train station on numerous occasions over the last ten years but never stopped until recently when we broke up a train journey from Prague to Maribor (Slovenia). Depending on which train you take the journey to/from Prague takes about three hours and is, for the most part, incredibly scenic. The area immediately around the train station is shabby and you'll probably see a few drinkers hang around; we didn't feel threatened at all but it's not the best of arrivals. The historic core of the city is compact and walkable; attractions such as Villa Tugendhat - a modernist house built in 1929-30 and the only building in the Czech Republic to have UNESCO World Heritage Site status - are just a short tram ride from the centre. The key sights can be seen in a day, even a few hours if you are inclined to jump off the train and pound the pavements. Over a long weekend you can pack in a few museums or galleries and enjoy Brno's charms at a more leisurely pace. I have to confess that when we visited we knew we wouldn't see a great deal of Brno: it was cold and I was recovering from surgery on my foot but we were able to wander around the historic heart of the city and see many of its architectural monuments. Namesti Svobody (Freedom Square) is the symbolic centre of the historic centre; it's more triangular than square, to be pedantic, and is dotted with fountains and sculptures rather than having one grand focal point. Like the other tourists in town we made a half hearted attempt to work out the rather unusual clock (referred to somewhat indecently as the 'cock clock' by some) which symbolizes the 1645 Battle of Brno, then turned our attention instead to the building just behind which is designed so that the façade is held up by four magnificent caryatids (a caryatid being a human figure in place of a more conventional pillar). I loved this building, but my travelling companion thought it too over the top. In Brno you need to look up; the city is packed with wonderful buildings so that it resembles a giant open air museum of architecture. There are splendid gilded arcades with twinkling chandeliers that give a magical effect, intricately tiled facades and cute little finials that are reminiscent of Russian architecture. If you like to shop you can combine consumerism with architectural appreciation as the main shopping area is made up of streets of these fine buildings. I was surprised how many smart, upmarket stores there were, including quite a few international designers; there are also lots of little independent shops selling quality items, especially confectionery. The old town hall- the Stara Radnice - houses the tourist information office (as well as the Brno wheel and the Brno dragon, symbols of two famous legends surrounding the city); the staff are friendly but not very helpful or proactive. We asked about visiting Villa Tugendhat but we were told that it was by advance reservation only for guided tours; tours are usually full for the forthcoming six weeks. I really wanted to visit and asked if a staff member could phone and enquire about cancellations; I was told there wouldn't be any and so nobody phoned. I mentioned that we were looking for something a bit different to do and that I was recovering from foot surgery and didn't really want to do something that involved lots of walking. One staff member suggested sky diving (I'm not joking) but added it was only possible in summer. Another suggested going to a water-park; she stared at me blankly when I pointed out I had no swimming gear and it wasn't really an activity that was special to Brno (maybe she thought it would be therapeutic). One good thing about the TIC is that there are loads and loads of leaflets and several different 'What's on' publications so if you turn up with a guidebook or you've not done any research, you can easily find out where there is to see and do. Among the ones we picked was one that described a walk around a residential area of the city in which there are a number of interesting architect designed houses, something we'd have enjoyed had I been more mobile. Perhaps because it was approaching the end of autumn Namesti Svobody was rather quiet with people passing through rather than stopping at one of the cafes. I got the impression that this is the place to stop for a coffee or beer in summer, but in the winter only a few hardy people sit outside with a coffee and a cigarette. Zeleny Trh (the Cabbage Market) was much livelier; a fresh produce market where the stalls are clustered around a slightly grotesque baroque fountain. From here it's a short walk to the cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul; with its gothic revival twin towers it is perhaps the most recognisable visual symbol of Brno. The cathedral is a mishmash of styles with bits added here and there over the centuries according to the prevailing fashions, or practical necessity. The tower can be climbed for a small charge and no doubt a trip to the top is rewarded with fantastic views; we contented ourselves with a look around the main body of the church, discreetly tagging on to the tail end of a guided tour to learn more. I'd have easily spent a few days in Brno given the chance but we had plans and couldn't stay. It's a lively and youthful city where there appears to be plenty going on. Ice hockey is a massive spectator sport; we stayed over on a Friday night and the bars were full of people watching a televised game. I get the impression that people in Brno like to make the most of what's available to them; through the window of a small basement bar near our hotel we could see that the place was packed with people watching a guitar duo playing. There are posters all over town for concerts, lessons and sports clubs; it seemed to me a city where people really live life. I found Brno surprisingly cosmopolitan, but with a distinctly Czech attitude. No doubt being the seat of several important national institutions, as well as a major venue for international exhibitions and conferences, contributes to this. Restaurants cover the range of price brackets and international cuisines; there are cosy traditional pubs and sleek modern boutique bars. Hotels, too, cover a range of pricing options and there are plenty of good independent hotels that don't fall under a generic, faceless international branding. Service tends to be efficient but not very friendly; we found that the more downmarket we went, the more friendly the staff became. Wizz Air flies to Brno from Luton Airport; flying in to Prague, Bratislava or Vienna are all viable options as Brno can be reached easily by train from those cities. People rave about Prague; it's a very beautiful city but it's too large to comfortably explore in a weekend. Try Brno, I dare you; it's visually quite stunning, it's lively and there's a heck of a lot going on. Read the complete review |
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