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Top Ten Reasons to Travel Now
1 TO BARTER YOUR WAY TO A BARGAIN
PARIS, FRANCE
Paris is famed for its brocantes, the roving flea markets that appear throughout the city in every season except summer. One of the most popular is the Salon Antiquités Brocante, held every November (8-18th) at the Place de la Bastille. Thousands of antique lovers are drawn to the 350 stands that line the Seine offering furniture and trinkets from the 12th to the 20th-Centuries. Those who can bargain successfully with the crafty antique dealers may walk away with an early 20th-Century French advertising poster or a Regency-era leather club chair.
2 TO EAT,DRINK AND BE MERRY
Work up an appetite at this year’s Manchester Food & Drink Festival
From 3-13 October
More than 100 restaurants, breweries and bars across the city will be hosting cook-offs, celebrity chef appearances, beer and wine tastings and cookery demonstrations. At the glitzy gala dinner on the 13th, the festival awards the city’s best restaurant, bar, and newcomer of the year.
Chef Talk
We caught up with Ian Matfin (right, inset), nominated for Chef of the Year at the festival, to get the lowdown on the local foodie scene. Ian works at Manchester’s Michael Caines at ABode, recently voted as one of the city’s best restaurants by www.toptable.com.
I love Sunday lunch at….
The Old Wellington Inn (4 Cathedral Gates, +44 (0)161 830 1440) – it’s located in one of the city’s oldest buildings and serves great food to boot.
For somewhere that won’t break the bank…
Try Pesto (115 Deansgate, +44 (0)161 831 9930) – it serves small dishes, like tapas, but with Italian food.
Don’t tell anyone but…
The Northern Quarter Restaurant (108 High Street, +44 (0)161 832 7115) is a great little restaurant well off the tourist trail.
3 TO REST AND RELAX
Head to a spa for some well earned time out. Here’s our pick of the best
Best for Sore Feet
Chancery Court Hotel Spa, London High heel addict? Get yourself to this award-winning spa for the Killer Heels treatment. Comprising a massage of hot and cold herbal compresses, a gentle exfoliation of the feet and legs as well as an intensive mask to soothe and nourish the skin, the 55-minute session is topped off with a slick of nail polish in your favourite shade.
Best For Getting Away From It All
Mandarin Oriental, Prague, Czech Republic Located in a former Renaissance chapel (above), guests arrive via an underground passageway – at the end of which they’ll find a ‘spritual oasis’ with seven treatment rooms, vitality pool and water massage.
Best for Winter Phobics
The Spa, DGI-byen, Copenhagen, Denmark Stave off the winter blues at this huge leisure complex behind Amsterdam’s Central Station. Warm up with a salt scrub followed by a steam bath, sauna and a dip in the plunge pool, then indulge in a spot of light therapy.
4 TO SOOTHE YOUR SOUL
Milan Yoga Festival (10-12 October)
After you’ve splashed all your hard earned cash around the Quadrilatero D’Oro, take time out at the Milan Yoga festival. Over three days, you can learn about yoga and its benefits and visit workshops held by top yoga masters from around the world. Entry is [GillLight]5. Head to the Superstudio Più, Via Tortona 27
(P.ta Genova/Navigli Area).
5 TO CATCH AN EXHIBITION
VIENNA, AUSTRIA
Head to the beautiful Belvedere Museum in Vienna to catch this historic exhibition of work by the renowned Gustav Klimt, most famous for his enduringly popular painting ‘The Kiss’. First presented to the public in 1908, organisers want to recreate the fascination visitors felt at the original show, 100 years ago. (1 October -18 January, +43 (01) 795 570, www.belvedere.at)
THE BEST OF THE REST…
BARCELONA
ArtFutura
23 – 26 OCTOBER MERCAT DE LES FLORS
Spain’s major digital arts festival this year focuses on the evolving relationship between art and science, and how the gap separating humanity and machines is getting smaller. Artists such as Theo Jansen, Moebius and David Byrne investigate the implications of artificial life and virtual reality. www.artfutura.org/v2/
ISTANBUL
Held Together With Water
10 SEPTEMBER - 11 JANUARY 2009 ISTANBUL MODERN
This intriguingly named exhibition draws together 117 artworks by 37 artists, including Cindy Sherman, Cecil Beaton and Louise Lawler. Pieces on display range from photography to sound installations and sculpture. www.istanbulmodern.org
NICE
Chagall
UNTIL 13 OCTOBER MUSÉE MARC CHAGALL
Un peintre à la fenêtre (A Painter at the Window) explores how Marc Chagall gave the window a significant role in many of his works. Admire over 100 paintings and drawings, from family portraits to his later works of the French landscape. www.musee-chagall.fr
6 TO GET FESTIVE EARLY
Quite unlike his Santa Claus counterpart in most of Europe, the Netherlands’ Sinterklaas arrives every November on a steamer up the Amstel River from his residence in Spain. Accompanied by his helper elves (Zwarte Pieten), he parades throughout the city surrounded by festive floats and marching bands. This year’s parade on 16 November begins at the Scheepvaartmuseum and continues through the Prins Hendrikkade and Weteringcircuit, finishing at the Leidseplein.
BOOK AHEAD FOR CHRISTMAS
Nowhere can you get a better taste of a Danish Christmas than in the much-loved Tivoli Gardens amusement park and pleasure garden, the place that inspired both Walt Disney and Danish fairy-tale writer Hans Christian Andersen.
LONDON
Romantics can glide around the ice rink at Somerset House (above) before going to hear an open-air carol service in Trafalgar Square, where choirs will be singing all the classics.
7 TO RELEASE YOUR INNER BOOKWORM
Online travel community TripAdvisor have recently released their top ten literary cities – including three in SkyEurope destinations
Paris’ literary past – from French authors like Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas to Americans such as Gertrude Stein and F. Scott Fitzgerald – is rich and diverse.
Highlight: Spend a morning browsing the famous book stalls lining the Seine, and then pop into one of the famed literary cafes like Les Deux Magots, frequented by greats like Ernest Hemingway and Albert Camus.
ROME
Home to ancient greats like Virgil as well as attracting foreign authors like Keats, Shelley and James, who came to draw inspiration from the centre of the ancient world.
Highlight: Visit the Keats-Shelley House on Rome’s historic Spanish Steps – a site visited by many other authors and artists throughout history.
LONDON
The birthplace or home of many of the greatest authors of all time, including Charles Dickens, Geoffrey Chaucer, John Milton, John Keats and H.G. Wells.
Highlight: See the house where Samuel Johnson wrote the first comprehensive English dictionary, or go on one of many guided walks that let you follow in Sherlock Holmes’s footsteps (www.londonhorrortours.co.uk).
8 TO GET INTO THE GROOVE
Hercules and Love Affair Tour
The New York-based musical project has hit Europe with a smash, with ‘Blind’ being hailed the single of the summer in many countries. Visit www.herculesandloveaffair. com to get dates of their gigs across Europe including Barcelona, Madrid and Milan.
The Ting Tings
The British pop duo had a hugely successful festival season in the UK and their album We Started Nothing was recently a number 1 hit in the UK. Catch them singing hits like ‘That’s not my Name’ and ‘Shut up and Let me Go’ in Manchester, Birmingham and London between 2-10 October.
9 TO LAUGH YOURSELF SILLY
Sarah Silverman tour and DVD
Known as the most controversial female comedienne in the US, Sarah Silverman has yet to break it big in Europe. It’s only a matter of time. She is doing her first UK show at the Hammersmith Apollo on 19 October (tickets at www.livenation. co.uk) to coincide with the UK release of her DVD, Jesus is Magic. Consisting of sketches and a stand-up show in LA, the film’s themes include race, sex and religion. Not for the easily-offended. (Release date: 20 October, £19.99)
10 TO SHOP ‘TIL YOU DROP
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM
Every two years, fashion spills onto the streets of Brussels. Over three days from 24-26 October, the city’s top designers will show off their collections in exclusive boutiques as well as in car parks, churches and theatres. The trail begins at the Centrale Électrique (44 Place Sainte Catherine) and winds through the neighbourhood surrounding Rue Dansaert, finishing at the Place Royale.
GET THE LOOK
THIS SEASON’S TOP TRENDS
Guys
Once synonymous with gentleman’s clubs and wedding dress, the dinner jacket has been given a serious makeover for the new season. Wear your DJ with a twist by adding a skinny tie or opt for a blazer with a trim for a thoroughly modern look.
On model, left: Black jacket with white piping €245 and purple check shirt, €63,
On model, right: Grey and navy jumper
€100, blue polo shirt €44, farrahslacks.com Red blazer with trim,€44, beyondretro.com
Girls
Black Attack
The all-black silhouette is officially back. 
Label of the moment Balmain’s models wore black lace mini dresses at the autumn/ winter 08/09 shows and YSL’s Stefano Pilati dressed his cyber models (left) in black harem pants and bobbed black wigs. Whether it’ll be a figure hugging black dress that takes your fancy or an all-black tux, it’s definitely time to go back to black. Black jacket €245, black trousers €233, and white shirt €120, all Day Birger et Mikkleson.
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