lonely planet traveller me - issue 6, 2013 jun-jul

MINI GUIDES Hamburg 4Seville 4Croatia 4San Francisco 4Turin 4Wales

4Classic Paris4Locals Madrid4Switzerlands valleys4Sardinias island cuisine4La Dolce Vita in Italy4Shop the Cotswolds4Party in Croatia

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ON THE COVER The Eiffel Tower still stands tall

over Paris

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AMERICAS ASIA PACIFIC

EUROPE MIDDLE EAST

www.swissotel.com

Feel the fresh spirit of Swisstel. Where life is a fusion of simplicity and renement, relaxation and activity, leisure and work, local culture and Swiss-inspired design, an attentive service and a sincere smile.

experienceTHE SWISS QUALITY OF LIFE

Swisstel Mtropole, Geneva

The Europe issue

FROM TOP Paris is perfect this time of year (page 30); Summer brings out a different side of Switzerland (page 40); locals introduce us to Madrid (page 55); eat your way round Sardinia (page 62)

Europe is a multi-faceted, multi-

cultural, historical behemoth. A year

long trip around this most varied of

continents still wouldnt be long enough

to get a real grasp on the endless cultures,

cuisines and landscapes that have been

thrown together geographically. It means

something different to everyone, and

these varied stories are what weve tried to cover in this

months special Europe issue. From the stories behind the icons

of Paris, one of Europes most famous modern daughters (page

30) to the ancient dual cuisines of Italys largest island, Sardinia

(page 56), Europe bubbles away with so many options for

those looking to escape the Middle East summer. Uncover

sultry Madrid, as locals show us their secret go-to spots (page

48) whilst elsewhere we take to the road in Switzerland (page

40), uncovering some of the most dramatic European

landscapes, made even more dazzling covered in fresh grass,

rather than wintery snow. With more options in our Easy Trips

(page 23) and Mini Guides (page 73) sections, theres no need

to trudge back to the same old holiday resort this year; branch

out and embrace all that Europe has to offer. Trust us, you

wont be disappointed.

EDITORIALEDITOR Georgina [email protected]/ +97150 574 2884

CONTRIBUTORS Oliver Berry, Matthew Fort, Rory Goulding, Nicola Monteath, Mark Read, Ben Rossi, Anders Schnnemann, Pete Seaward, Steffan Snow, Chris Sutteneld

ART DIRECTOR Srge Bones

PUBLISHINGSALES DIRECTOR: Tim [email protected] /+971 50 458 7752

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONSMarizel [email protected]

ONLINELouie Alma

PRODUCTIONDevaprakash

DISTRIBUTIONRochelle [email protected]

SUBSCRIPTIONSwww.cpievents.net/mag/magazine.php

PRINTED BY Emirates Printing Press LLC, Dubai

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Head Ofce, PO Box 13700, Dubai, UAETel: +971 4 440 9100, Fax: +971 4 447 2409Group Ofce, Dubai Media CityBuilding 4, Ofce G08, Dubai, UAE

A publication licensed by IMPZISSN 2306-6547 Copyright 2013 CPI. All rights reserved.While the publishers have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of all information in this magazine, they will not be held responsible for any errors therein.

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Lonely Planet Traveller is published by CPI Media Group under licence from LPG, Inc. (part of the Lonely Planet group). Lonely Planet is a trade mark of Lonely Planet Publications Pty Limited (part of the Lonely Planet group) and is used under licence.Copyright Immediate Media Company London LimitedAll rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part prohibited without permission.

June/July 2013 Lonely Planet Traveller Middle East 3

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The Lonely Planet storyIn 1972, two years after meeting on a bench in Londons Regents Park, newlyweds Tony and Maureen Wheeler went on an unforgettable honeymoon. With only a shabby car and a few dollars to their name, they travelled overland across Europe and Asia to Australia. At the end, broke but inspired, they sat at their kitchen table to write their rst travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap. Within a week of its publication in 1973 theyd sold 1,500 copies, and Lonely Planet was born. The Wheelers began publishing books on Southeast Asia, India and beyond. Over the years, coverage extended to most countries, and on lonelyplanet.com. BBC Worldwide became the sole shareholder in 2011, and Lonely

Planet now makes books, ebooks, apps, TV shows and, of course, this magazine. Turn to page 18 for Tony Wheelers column, The Road Less Travelled.

Lonely Planet Traveller Middle East June/July 2013 4

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trusted, independent travel advice and information that has been gathered without fear or favour. We aim to provide you with options that cover a range of budgets and we reveal the positive and negative of all locations we visit.

Because we believe it is important that our journalists experience rst-hand what theyre writing about and because you require comprehensive information from every corner of the world, at times it may be necessary for us to seek assistance from travel providers such as tourist boards, airlines, hotels, national parks and so forth. However, when receiving such assistance, we ensure our editorial integrity and independence are not compromised through the following measures: by publishing information on all appropriate travel suppliers and not just those who provided us with assistance, and by never promising to offer anything in return, such as positive coverage.

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is owned by BBC Worldwide and produced on its behalf by Immediate Media Company London Limited, Vineyard House, 44 Brook Green, Hammersmith, London W6 7BT. ISSN 2050-635X. Printed by Polestar Group. BBC Worldwides prots are returned to the BBC for the benet of the licence-fee payer.

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BOOKS OUT THIS MONTHJuly sees the release of Cantonese Phrasebook (Dhs30), Discover China (Dhs120), Discover Great Britain (Dhs108), Discover Malaysia & Singapore (Dhs102), Hungary (Dhs96), Perth & West Coast Australia (Dhs96) and Pocket Phuket (Dhs48).

ContentsJune/July 2013

8 From Cuban cigars to Vietnamese boats

15 Paul Theroux talks about the joy of travelling and we discover New Yorks surf school

24 COTSWOLDS, UK Take a retro road trip and nd vintage stores24 MUSCAT, OMAN Watch the turtles hatch on an Omani beach25 SPLIT, CROATIA This summery city is ready for a festival26 BASILICATA, ITALY Live la Dolce Vita at Francis Ford Coppolas place27 MADAGSCAR Take to the islands wilderness on a small

photography workshop27 COPENHAGEN, DENMARK Enjoy reworks, music and a relaxed vibe in the

Danish capital28 KEA, GREECE This little island has a hidden history beneath

the waves28 BAKU, AZERBAIJAN The City of Flames will warm your heart

30 ON THE COVER PARIS Rediscover classic Parisian attractions as we delve

into the stories behind them40 SWITZERLAND The tiny alpine country is perfect for a road trip.

We criss-cross the country for another Perfect Trip48 MADRID Let the locals introduce you to this passionate

city, from their chocolaterias to where to buy amenco shoes

56 SARDINIA Food is a serious business in this untouched island

paradise, whether its caught from the sea or climbed down the mountain

64 HIGH 5: DUBAI STAYCATIONS If you have to be here during Ramadan, treat

yourself with one of these fab options

FEATURESIn depth experiences to add to your wish list

8 EASY TRIPSShort breaks to book now

Uncover the stories behind classic Paris p30

ON THE COVER


Hit the Swiss roads on a fondue-fuelled trip p40

POSTCARDS

OUR PLANETThis months travel news, views and events

Your travel photos and the stories behind them

Party Croatian style p25

70 We look back at the history of Everest, discover luxury eco-tourism and fall for airport apps

75 HAMBURG Its not just Scandinavia that does cool design 77 SEVILLE Flamenco and festivals, nd it all in Spain79 CROATIA Discover the Dalmatian coasts islands 81 SAN FRANCISCO Eat well, eat local, eat organic in Frisco 83 TURIN Art Nouveau and amazing architecture85 WALES Seek adventure in this wild land

PLUS82 SUBSCRIBE At only Dhs120 for 12 issues, a years

subscription is a steal for all your travelling inspiration every month

COMPETITIONS87 WIN A TWO NIGHT STAY at the Hilton Ras Al

Khaimah Resort & Spa88 WIN THREE NIGHTS at the boutique Beach

House in the Maldives!

Cafes, tapas bars and more - this is locals

Madrid p48


Fall in love with the simple life in Sardinia p56

MINI GUIDES

ARMCHAIR TRAVELLER

Themed guides to pull out and take with you

Books, apps and websites that will feed your passion for travel


Postcards

I was travelling

through Thailand with my wife a few years ago and we

stopped at Damnoen Saduak Floating Market, which is the longest oating marketing in Thailand and where sellers paddle up to sell their food, arts and crafts. This woman paddled over and sold my wife some porridge and I just took the shot.

P O S T C A R D SWhy not get involved? Wed love to include your best new travel photos (at 300dpi) and the inspiring

stories behind them. Send them with a pic of yourself to [email protected]

DAMNOEN SADUAK, THAILAND

Floating restaurant

Roger P. Alfonso is a Filipino civil engineer based in Dubai. He loves Sir Bani Yas Island in Abu Dhabi.

This is Elaine, she

was in her 60s when I took this in November 2010. We

were in Havana and we just came across her on a back street, smoking her cigar. She let us take her picture and we talked through sign language and broken English. I loved the look in her eyes, shes weary but the contrast of colours is fantastic. I loved Cuba, for all the talented musicians and bands who will perform in the streets for free.

Lama Kabbani is Lebanese and lives in Dubai. One of her favourite places in the world is Tibet.

HAVANA, CUBA

Cuban smoke


Why not get involved? Wed love to include your best new travel photos (at 300dpi) and the inspiring stories behind them. Send them with a pic of yourself to [email protected]

P O S T C A R D S


P O S T C A R D S Why not get involved? Wed love to include your best new travel photos (at 300dpi) and the inspiring stories behind them. Send them with a pic of yourself to [email protected]

P O S T C A R D S

I spent a month in

Vietnam a couple of years ago and I was travelling on

the Mekong Delta all the way up to Sapa on a train, from Hoi An. This river ran through the town and a this female Vietnamese vendor just sailed past selling her food. A storm was coming in and just created a perfect setting for a sense of real drama.

HOI AN, VIETNAM

Boat party

Belinda Muller is a Canadian living and working in Dubai. Shes planning a trip to Cuba next.

Our PlanetThis months travel news, views and discoveries

A L O C A L S V I E W

Frank Cullen, surng instructor, Rockaway Beach, New York City

Its hard to believe theres a beach with a surng heritage right in

New York City. Tourists think the Empire State Building will be the highlight of their trip they dont expect it to be surng in Rockaway! Last October, Hurricane Sandy arrived on a Monday, after guys had been out surng on the Sunday before. We had no idea it would hit this area so hard: the ooding; no electricity, heat, transport or cellphones. But no other neighbourhood could have handled it like we did. The surf club did a lot of organising. Teams went knocking on doors, making sure there werent any old people who needed help. The storm destroyed the boardwalk but now these beautiful breezeways (sheltered passages) are being built. The breaks changed too some for the better. Surng is catching on again. A day is all it takes to get hooked.

Visit Franks surf school at suressonsnewyork101.com

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AS PART OF THE DANISH celebrations of their UK invasion 1,000 years ago, the longest Viking shipwreck will be exhibited at the National Museum of Denmark in Copenhagen from 22 June 17 November.


O U R P L A N E T

A N Y T H I N G T O D E C L A R E ?

Paul TherouxPAUL THEROUX is a best-selling author, whose works include The Great Railway Bazaar and The Old Patagonian Express. He travels through Africa in his new book, The Last Train to Zona Verde (Dhs120; Hamish Hamilton)

Ive spent the past 50 years travelling in Africa. Familiarising myself with it, returning there, seeing it change, and trying to keep current with the continent has been a big part of my life more with Africa than anywhere

else. I rst went to Malawi at the very end of 1963, which was an astonishing experience. It was Nyasaland then; I got there just before independence when it became Malawi. It was a country of a very small population, most of them living on pastures in mud huts with thatched roofs. The mode of transportation was bicycle. Seeing that, I felt I was looking at the past. It was an experience that changed my life.

For my new book, The Last Train to Zona Verde, I thought I would go back. I had it in my mind to go from Cape Town to the Eastern Cape, Botswana and Namibia and even further. Namibias landscape is fascinating, with the population spread very thinly. The San people here are said to be the aristocrats of the planet and, meeting them, I can believe that. Anthropologists say theyre the closest we can get to seeing our ancestors today and you can see that in some aspects of their culture. Thats how we managed: by hunting and gathering and moving on, by being nomadic and living off the land. Its a pre-town, pre-village existence.

The landscape they live in is hot, at bush. The soil is sandy, so the paths are very soft. Thered be a big tree in one place and that would be where people camp or gather. I felt two ways about meeting them. I felt rstly these are real people and theyre much like our ancestors. But I also thought theyre doing it for me its a charade, and they dress up for tourists. You cant be a hunter-gatherer in Africa now. But if theres a lesson there, it is in mutual help. The San have kept family unity; they get along, they help each other. Mankind wouldnt have prospered if there hadnt been an exchange of goodwill. Thats what you see in these good people. Thats the ancient aspect of it, I suppose.

The level of change in Africa over the past 10 years varies from country to country. South Africa in some respects has improved greatly; the townships, the housing, education and so forth, but theres still not enough jobs, and not a lot of trust in the government. So some things have improved, others not at all, and I think thats true of a lot of Africa. Probably the greatest change of all, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, is urbanisation.

Train was the main mode of getting around for me during the early part of my travelling. It was the best way to see a place. What is it about the

When to disconnect from home

THE 55TH VENICE BIENNALE kicked off this month, bringing 150 artists together to exhibit in the city at the Encyclopedic Palace until 24 November. An Architecture Biennale, directed by legendary architect, Rem Koolhaus, will run alongside it.

EXPERIENCE SPANISH FLAVOUR like no other at the Bilbao Guggenheim, with its look at all things baroque, from 17th century sensual paintings to modern day lms. Riotous Baroque: From Cattelan to Zurbarn is open from 18 June 6 October.


O U R P L A N E T

train? I think its the freedom it allows you: you can sleep, you can write, you can read or walk around, get off and get on. Historically it has had great advantages but, in Africa, its not a mode of travel that anyone depends on any more. So I think its the last gasp of it.

I think that, more than ever, people really need to get out of the house, get away from the computer and nd out the way things really are by travelling. If you just trawl the internet and try to nd out about a place, I think youll be misinformed. You dont nd out about any place until you go there and ideally speak the language too. Technology gives you that sense that you know more than you know. It has made us arrogant and presumptuous.

The great thing that travel should do that it ought to do is disconnect you from home. It should be a lesson, it should liberate you and allow you to live in a different way not being dependent on a phone or a computer. You should be separated from home then you nd out about a place, and about yourself.

Travelling alone is absolutely essential. If you can do it, if youve got the stomach for it, thats what you should do. I think that the solitary traveller learns a lot.

The San people of Namibia are descendants of southern

Africas earliest inhabitants, and speak languages known for

their variety of click sounds

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Bettany HughesBETTANY HUGHES is an award-winning historian who has written for Lonely Planet Traveller about Santorini and the Spartathlon.

Id been given a great tip-off that an Aryan civilisation had been

discovered on the steppes of Siberia. For a historian, things dont get much better, so I found myself a plane to Chelyabinsk (now famous because of that meteor-strike). People have a Pavlovian response to the word Siberia and imagine endless swathes of snow, but the colour and oriental culture of these borderlands near Kazakhstan is a brilliant surprise. The rst sight on the asphalt was a donkey-drawn cart, piled high with suzanis the embroidered cloths typically made for a girls dowry.

Then, driving seven hours east, Siberian shamans, Mongolian horse-traders and Cossack tank enthusiasts gave gaudy diversion

from the relentless grasslands. The promised civilisation didnt disappoint either 70 circular Bronze Age settlements, halls packed with swastika themed jewellery, the burial of a great warrior with his horse and chariot, and make-up pots still caked with bright pigments.

Leaving a fortnight later we passed that same suzani-cart, plodding its way east. Because the cloths decoration represented the ancient sun-mandala symbol so degenerated by the Nazis, I bought one. The hanging now keeps the draught out of our unheated suburban semi. When I look at it, I am back in the Bronze Age; it allows me to be in two times at once.


WIMBLEDON THE WORLDS MOST FAMOUS TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

L O N D O N , U K

Its that time of year, when Dubai is sweating it out, London is praying for sun and eating strawberries and cream around Centre Court at Wimbledon. This year the championship takes place between 24 June and 7 July. Tennis championships have been played here on grass since 1924 and theres also an interactive museum on site. Tickets for general admission can be bought on the day, you just have to arrive early. wimbledon.com

GUJARAT, INDIA

T H E R O A D L E S S T R A V E L L E D , W I T H T O N Y W H E E L E R

WHY GO?With so many travellers veering either to Gujarats northern neighbour Rajasthan or Mumbai to the south, the temple-topped mountains, rare wildlife and traditional handicrafts of Indias westernmost state are too often overlooked.

WHAT CAN I SEE?Head to the district of Kutch to see artisans at work on some of Indias most intricate textiles (above). The salt plains of the Little Rann of Kutch are the last refuge of the Indian wild ass and home to breeding amingos. Visit Sasan Gir Wildlife Sanctuary to see the only Asiatic lions left in the wild.

HOW SAFE IS IT? Gujarat isnt immune to natural disasters, and experienced a major earthquake in 2001. Violence between Hindus and Muslims has ared up sporadically (the last major riots were in 2002) but underlying tension is unlikely to affect visitors. This is one of Indias most developed states. Its where the Tata Nano the worlds least expensive new car is made.

WHERES TRULY OFF THE BEATEN TRACK?Girnar Hill, near the ancient fortied city of Junagadh. Join pilgrims and porters at dawn to tackle some or all of the 10,000 steps leading past Jain and Hindu temples.

WHAT SHOULD I EAT? The Gujarati vegetarian thali a dish featuring a selection of curries, curds, dhal, pickles and rice is lighter and less spicy than most, and is usually served with buttermilk.

RECOMMENDED READING?Gandhi, An Autobiography: The Story of My Experiments with Truth. Gandhiji was born in Gujarat and co-ordinated his struggle for many years from its largest city, Ahmedabad.

TONY WHEELER, Lonely Planets co-founder, never stops exploring unusual places. Next month on his wish list: Zimbabwe


DUBLINLonely Planets Ireland expert Fionn Davenport shares his tips for whats free in the capital this summer

F R E E W O R L D

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF IRELAND The schools are busy with exams in June, so youll have Irelands foremost museum all to yourself. Its collections include some of Europes nest

Bronze- and Iron-Age gold artefacts, as well as a number of the most intact examples of medieval Celtic metalwork in the world notably the 8th-century Ardagh Chalice, uncovered in a potato eld in 1868 (museum.ie).

NATIONAL GALLERYOpened in 1864 after the local success of a great Irish exhibition, the National Gallery is now home to over 15,000 works of art from the 13th-20th centuries. As well as a Yeats Collection and

Irelands favourite, a suggestive number from 1864, make time for the National Portrait Collection and spot the famous Irish, from Jonathan Swift through to Seamus Heaney, and yes even, Bono.

POOLBEG LIGHTHOUSE Dublins perfect stroll for a summer afternoon takes you along the Great South Wall

at four miles, the worlds longest sea wall when it was nished in 1795 to the Poolbeg Lighthouse. Reach the end and youll be rewarded with views of the city skyline, while to the north you can see the nature reserve of North Bull Island and, beyond that, the peninsula of Howth Head.

CHESTER BEATTY LIBRARY The best small museum in Ireland is home to a collection of books,

manuscripts and other objets dart and is currently exhibiting a selection of 30 paintings from Irish-American mining magnate Chester Beattys private hoard. Representing the Barbizon School (French art movement that preceded impressionism) youll nd works by Corot, Jacque and Millet (cbl.ie).

BLOOMSDAY June sees James Joyce fans dressing up in Edwardian garb and turning out across the city to celebrate Bloomsday in honour of Ulysses character Leopold

Bloom. On 16 June, the James Joyce Centre will host a variety of celebrations, including a special cooked breakfast with black and white puddings and a Ulysses walk with ad hoc readings and dramatisations in settings from the novel. Bring a copy if you have one (jamesjoyce.ie).

FIONN DAVENPORT is currently researching Lonely Planets Ireland guide. He lives in Dublin.

Bloomsday sees James Joyce fans dressing up to

O U R P L A N E T

From here to there...Cool off and get a feel for an older time with dinners in volcanos and an Olympics based on Eskimo survival

AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD...

Do the wine run. The Lanzarote Wine Run on 23 June is a half marathon with a difference. Along the course runners can sample the local vineyards latest offerings as they make their way through the Geria region, finishing at the Bodega Rubicon. Winners can win their weight in wine! Theres a slower 10km Wine Walk for those who want to enjoy it at a slower pace. lanzarotewinerun.com. Festival trippin. The Balkans are home to the coolest festivals this summer. Take a three day festival tour (10-14 July) taking in Slovenia and Croatia, hitting a different festival site every night. balkanroadtrip.com. Music in Monte Carlo. The luxurious Med destination will see a host of five star concerts between 6 July and 19 August including Rihanna, Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker as part of its Sporting Summer Festival. montecarlosbm.com. Eskimo Olympics! Alaska will see the World Eskimo Indian Olympics take place between 17-20 July. The games have been derived from ancient hunting techniques and include games where contestants are tossed as high as possible in walrus skins and carrying lead inglots by the ear lobe! weio.org. Dine inside a volcano. Head to Santorinis latest resort, The Katikies Hotel, which sits 300ft up on the cliffs and has four tables at its signature restaurant

which are suspended on a rooftop veranda on the volcanos rim. The hotel is made up

of a free-form collection of stairs, bridges and cottages. katikieshotelsantorini.com. Summer sounds. Forward-thinking musical festival ATP will head to Iceland for the first time for a two day gathering on an old NATO base at Keflavk,

Iceland on 28-29 June. Expect plenty of Scandinavian

sounds, whilst Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds headline. atpfestival.com. Go Brazilian! Etihad launch their first non-stop service to South America on 1 June, heading to Sao Paulo. etihad.com.

M O S T A R , B O S N I A & H E R Z E G O V I N A

EXPERIENCE A REAL CLIFF-HANGERThe Mostar Bridge Diving festival in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 31 July isnt for the faint hearted. Mostars 24 metre high bridge has been the place local men prove their worth for over four centuries. 10,000 visitors now descend on the historic town over the last weekend in July to compete and celebrate the death-defying dives. Bars and clubs stay open late as local divers celebrate cheating the reaper, for another year at least!

Are you as brave as a Bosnian? Would you leap from this 24 metre high bridge?

weio.org. Dine inside a volcano. Head to Sanlatest resort, The Katikies Hotel, which sits 3the cliffs and has four tables at its signature

which are suspended on a rooftopthe volcanos rim. The hotel

of a free-form collection obridges and cottages.katikieshotelsantorini.comsounds. Forward-thinkingfestival ATP will head to Icthe first time for a two don an old NATO base at K

Iceland on 28-29 June. plenty of Scandina

sounds, whilst& the Bad Seeatpfestival.coBrazilian! Etitheir first nonservice to Souon 1 June, heaPaulo. etihad.

vina on bridge our wn over ath-rs


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A lavish selection with your client in mind.

Daily rates based on Double occupancy per room. Breakfast included. Offers available for travel between 1 June and 30 September 2013. Subject to availability.

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TRIPSEASY

Shop the UKs Cotswolds, watch turtles hatch in Oman, discover Baku and learn to cook

in an Italian palazzo


Pretty villages hide a wealth of shops

Cotswolds, UK Roman to retroWHY GO N OW?One of the prettiest areas of England is the Cotswolds, bucolic countryside thats as famed for the pretty villages and limestone cottages as it is for the celebrities who have moved there. Settled by the Romans and made rich in the Middle Ages, the Cotswolds is about as iconically English as you can get, but theres more to the area than just beautiful views across rolling green elds. The small market towns have become home to a range of independent shops and markets that highlight everything thats great about the UK. From fashion designers to homewares, retro and vintage boutiques to antique fairs and car boot sales, Cotswold Vintage Tours have come up with four routes that take in all these, plus organic farms, wildlife parks, cute country pubs and plenty of boutique accommodation options.

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 Download the four different vintage shopping route maps for free from cotswoldsvintagetours.com.4 Stay at the Inn at Fossebridge, a 17th century coaching inn with riverside gardens for two nights and get the third night free (Dhs750 per night including breakfast; free Wi-; cotswolds-country-pub-hotel.co.uk/4 Fly to London Heathrow on Gulf Air via Bahrain (from Dhs2,445; gulfair.com).4 Hire a car from Thrifty at Heathrow Airport (from Dhs1,458 per week; thrifty.co.uk).

WHY GO NOW?Meet a real life turtle ranger! Shangri-Las Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa is lucky enough to have been built around traditional turtle nesting beaches on the Muscat coastline and now is the perfect time to watch the endangered eggs hatch and see the baby turtles make their way to the sea for the rst time. Thousands of Hawksbill turtles return to these Omani nesting ground every year to lay the precious eggs; 55 days or so later,

the babies make their dangerous dash to the sea. The hotel has a full time member of staff dedicated to the turtles, and he can accompany you on a late night beach excursion to see the heart-warming event. Hatching usually runs throughout the month of June.

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 There are three hotels at Shangri-Las Barr Al Jissah resort complex. From the family focused Al Wada and Al Bandar properties to

Muscat, Oman Turtle power!Omans most luxurious hotel Al Husn. The resort is home to 21 restaurants and bars, a spa and an Omani Heritage Village (from Dhs700 for a Superior room at Al Bandar inc breakfast ; free Wi-; shangri-la.com/muscat/barraljissahresort).4Fly to Muscat on Oman Air every day from Dubai (Dhs495; omanair.com). 4Dont miss Muscats Natural History Musuem which includes the skeleton of a sperm whale! (mhc.gov.om).

Hawksbill turtles can live for up to 50

years, but they all start out on a beach

8 E A S Y T R I P S

Split dates back to a 6th century

Greek settlement

WHY GO NOW?The city of Split, located in the Mediterranean Basin on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, is the second-largest city in Croatia. The entire country is becoming more and more popular for summer holidays, and the Split Summer festival is yet another reason to visit. A month long cultural festival that hand-picks theatres, ballets, operas, jazz musicians, street performers and more from all over the world, the events all take place at a Roman

ruin, the Diocletian Palace, built in the fourth century AD, for an out of this world setting. The dynamic festival has been in place for 59 years and shows no sign of slowing down. And of course, Split is the key to the Dalmatian coast, for some of the best Mediterranean- based sailing you can nd, if the mood should take you.

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 The Split Summer festival takes place from 14 July -14 August. For a detailed list of events and

performances check the website (prices tbc; splitsko-ljeto.hr).4 Fly to Split from Dubai with Lufthansa (from Dhs2,900; lufthansa.com).4 Stay at the historic Hotel Vestibul, created in the remains of Roman palaces and located in the heart of Split (Dhs1,360 per night; free Wi-; vestibulpalace.com).4 Organise a day sailing or kayaking tour and head out to one of the beautiful islands. See page 79 for our guide to the Croatian islands (splitdailysailing.com).

Split, Croatia Summer lovin

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Times Square CenterDubai, UAE

TEL +97143466824800 ADVENTURE

www.adventurehq.ae

Photo Woulter Kingma

Meet Catherine Todd, Ultra-marathon athlete supported by

Great things happen to people that dont give up.


WHY GO NOW?No one does pizza, pasta and bread quite like the Italians! Foodies (and carb-lovers) are in for a treat when they book themselves in for the La Dolce Vita package at Francis Ford Coppolas lavish property, Palazzo Margherita yup it even sounds good enough to eat! The iconic director has turned his hand to luxury hotelier and offers up the faded elegance of a fresco-covered Italian palace. Its the perfect place

to indulge in Italys food scene. Over three or eight days discover local markets, historic sites, ancient wine cellars and specialty restaurants for a taste of southern Italy. Cooking classes at the property will teach you how to make proper pizza dough amongst other delights and you can spend evenings admiring the beautiful courtyards and gardens, vino in hand or at an Italian lm screening. La Dolce Vita indeed.

Basilicata, Italy La Dolce Vita

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 Stay for three nights in the Suite Six in the Palazzo Margherita. Theres a in-room bar and yoga and masage therapists can be brought in on request (Dhs17,000; free Wi-; coppolaresorts.com/palazzomargherita).4 The three-day La Dolce Vita package includes lunch, dinner,

cooking lessons and historic site visits, while the eight-day package includes breakfast and all of the above (from Dhs2,700 per person; coppolaresorts.com). 4 Fly to Bari Palese with Qatar Airways (from Dhs5,575; qatarairways.com). 4The hotel is 20 minutes from the Ionian Sea and close to Puglia, rst colonised by the Greeks.

Feast on ne food and lms from director

Frances Ford Coppola

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WHY GO NOW?Photographer and blogger Catalin Marin is organising an 11 day travel photography adventure to the wonderfully wild island of Madagascar. The trip will take in capital Antananarivo and camping along the Tsiribihina river with plenty of time for waterfalls, picnics and meeting some local villagers. Youll also take in the Tsingy National Park, home to 11 species of lemur, and arrive at sunset to photograph the

phenomenal baobab trees at Baobab Avenue. Madagascar has ora and fauna like no other country in the world, and this trip will give you the opportunity to shoot birds, people, animals, landscapes in a once in a lifetime trip, with a small group of fellow photographers.

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 The 11 day trip leaves Dubai on 16 August. All domestic ights, transfers, guides and entrance

Madagascar Get snap happyfees, accommodation (hotels and camping) and some meals are included (Dhs10,248 per person excluding international ights. The price is for double occupancy. A single supplement costs Dhs1,098). To sign up email [email protected] The trip is limited to 10 people. A deposit of Dhs1,380 will secure your place.4 Kenya Airways ies to Antananarivo via Nairobi (Dhs5,886; kenya-airways.com).

The baobab trees here are over 800 years old

Copenhagen, DenmarkPark lifeWHY GO NOW?We all know whats coming. Its mid-August, its 45 degrees, and the end of Ramadan means the unwelcome return of normal working hours. So what better place to escape to than the happiest nation on earth, Denmark! The United Nations awarded the feat to the Danes in its World Happiness Report after it scored highest on its life evaluation test, taking into account things like good health and strong relationships. But the happy-chappy population and cool-air summer of Copenhagen, arent the only attractions to lure you from the dry desert heat. 15 August marks the 170th birthday of the worlds most popular city park, Tivoli Gardens. To celebrate, the famous pleasure-gardens-cum-amusement-park will have an elaborate reworks show every Saturday night through summer. Tivoli is also putting on 82 concerts, the majority of which are free when the Dhs60 park entrance fee is paid.

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 Emirates ies daily to Copenhagen direct from Dubai (Dhs3,385; emirates.com).4 The Square hotel is ideally situated just 200 metres from Tivoli Gardens and Copenhagen Central Station, and sports a very Danish-typical minimalist design. Book soon to avail decent summer discounts (Dhs850; free Wi-Fi; thesquarecopenhagen.com).


WHY GO NOW? The nearest island to capital Athens, Kea has had a varied history, having been owned by the Byzantines, Ottoman Turks and the Venetians in its time. But its sandy shores hide a treacherous sea, which has seen plenty of dramatic shipwrecks. The largest dive-able wreck in the world lies here; the HMHS Britannic was the sister ship to the also ill-fated Titanic. Working as a hospital ship she was attacked in World War One just off the coast and is now just one of many historic wrecks

beneath the glittering Adriatic Sea. She was discovered in 1975 by Jacques Cousteau and compared to her famous sister, is in a much better condition and much more accessible to divers. However, if your interest remains rmly above sea level, the lively port, Ioulis, has plenty of restaurants and bars and 65kms of walking trails criss cross the historic island, making it easy to explore.

MAKE IT HAPPEN4 Fly daily to Athens direct from Abu Dhabi on Etihad (from

Kea, Greece Get wreckedDhs4,385; etihad.com).4 Kea is two hours from Athens. Take the bus to Lavrio port and a ferry to Kea (Dhs25 for the bus one way; Dhs110 for a return ferry; fantasticgreece.com).4 Stay at family-run Red Tractor Farm, a guesthouse with its own vineyards and farm, where they make their own condiments. It also has a traditional, hand-built sail boat that can take you out for day trips on the water (Dhs1,750 for three nights in the St George studio; free Wi-; redtractorfarm.com).

Let the city of re illuminate you

Baku, AzerbaijanFire powerWHY GO NOW?Locally known as the ame towers, a trio of new curved skyscrapers cast a shadow over the rest of Baku. They house the new Fairmont Baku. This huge hotel opening showcases Bakus potential on the cusp of an exciting new tourism boom. Known as the city of re, perhaps thanks to the bursts of natural gas and oil erupting from its landscape, Baku sits at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and has long been a centre for trade. It was on the Silk Road and traded artisan copper long before its current oil hey day. Bakus Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage site; for the best view of it, climb the 1,000 year old Maidens Tower, but for a leap into Bakus future, check out some of the biggest hotel rooms the countrys ever seen, at the Fairmont.

HOW DO I MAKE IT HAPPEN?4 Book into the Fairmont Baku (from Dhs1,404; free Wi-; fairmont.com).4 Visas are still fairly ddly things for Azerbaijan. You will need a conrmation from your hotel to get a tourist visa. Leave plenty of time to arrange it. Download the forms from azembassy.ae.4 Fly to Baku on ydubai (every day except Saturdays) from Dubai (Dhs1,276; ydubai.com).4 For traditional food and costumed waiters visit Yeni Bah Bah Club (bah-bahclub.com).4 For more info on Azerbaijan check new tourist website ourAzerbaijan.com.

This pretty Greek island has had a rocky past

8 E A S Y T R I P S

ClassicParisGet to the heart of the allure of Paris with a tour of ve of its star sights, from the heights of the Eiffel Tower to the depths of the catacombs, and a day trip to the splendour of Versailles WORDS RORY GOULDING O PHOTOGRAPHS PETE SEAWARD

At night, a light show made from 20,000 bulbs illuminates the Eiffel Tower

If all the iron in the Eiffel Tower, seen here from the Palais de Chaillot, were melted down into the shape of its base, it would ll the square to only 6cm


C L A S S I C PA R I S

Eiffel Tower

THE WORLD IS FILLED WITH buildings and monuments named after monarchs, generals and businessmen, but its rare to nd great landmarks that credit the

architects or engineers who actually built them. The giant tower that greeted visitors to the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889 was planned to be merely a temporary construction. Perhaps thats why it was excused from bearing the name of some national symbol or lofty ideal, and instead commemorates the genius of Gustave Eiffel.

To appreciate the impact of the Eiffel Tower on a Parisian of 1889, consider the timeline of the record-breaking structures that came before. The Great Pyramid at Giza set an early standard, at over 140 metres tall. Much later, a few medieval cathedrals managed to edge past it. By 1888, the tallest thing made by man was the 169-metre Washington Monument a giant stone obelisk. Impressive, but still something that a time-travelling ancient Egyptian would have instinctively understood. So for 4,400 years the ceiling of architectural achievement had been raised only modestly when Gustave Eiffel

opened an entirely new chapter, with a tower more than 300 metres high, and made not out of stone like all its predecessors, but wrought iron.

Gustave Eiffel knew how to master the most advanced technology of the time, says Stphane Dieu, who looks after the towers heritage. For a start, the foundations of the towers four pillars had to be built in damp soil close to the river. Above all, it was his faith and love of science that guided him you can see that from the frieze around the rst oor, which gives the names of 72 French scientists.

The commercial success of a 300-metre observation tower was only possible of course thanks to the invention of the elevator. Four sets of diagonal lifts climb the towers splayed feet to the mid-levels, through a lattice of girders that join in crosses and starbursts. The second journey is a vertical one, up the centre of the structure. As the cabin glides ever higher, the four edges of the tower close in around it. Just before it seems like the iron is about to run out, the lift stops, and opens its doors.

Solving technical challenges was only part of Eiffels work. When construction had hardly begun, some 50 of the leading

French artists and writers of the day signed a joint letter to the press, condemning this black and gigantic factory chimney, which would crush the great monuments of Paris under its barbaric mass. Eiffel wrote a lengthy rebuttal: Why should something that is admirable in Egypt become hideous and ridiculous in Paris? he asked. Two years later, the tower received nearly two million visitors during the exhibition.

And yet Eiffels supreme achievement was meant to be dismantled by 1909. It was only saved on his insistence that it could serve as a testing ground for scientic experiments and later as a radio transmitter. Bridges and buildings by Eiffel survive from Hungary to Bolivia. He even designed the internal framework for the Statue of Liberty. But if it hadnt been for Eiffels determination, the tower that bears his name might be remembered today only from a few yellowing postcards.

TOP TIPO If you know your travel dates two or three months in advance, its worth booking a timed ticket to skip long ticket ofce queues (Dhs42 to 2nd oor only, Dhs72 to top; toureiffel.fr). Either print it out or show it on a smartphone screen.

Notre-Dame

EVERY CATHEDRAL HAS A face it presents to the world, but somehow Notre-Dames feels particularly expressive. At the top, two square towers with dark, shuttered

arches stare out over Paris. In the middle, a rose window and a ligree of stonework conrm the skill of medieval masons. At the bottom, three sets of doors are surrounded by sculptures of saints and sinners forming a bible without words.

Like any human face, the cathedral faade has its slight aws (the small square holes where the wooden scaffolding went in eight centuries ago), and looks more real for being slightly asymmetrical just

enough to avoid monotony.The queue to get in passes by a bronze

marker in the cobblestones, denoting point zro the spot from which all French road distances are measured. This makes a certain amount of sense. Notre-Dame is on an island, washed by the strong current of the Seine, that was one of earliest parts of Paris to be settled in Roman times conveniently neutral ground in the citys Left Bank-Right Bank divide.

In 1160, Bishop Maurice de Sully judged Pariss existing Saint-tienne cathedral inadequate, and the construction of a replacement began three years later. The bishop never saw the nished building, which took shape over more than a century. During construction, the builders were worried enough about the growing structure to add the then-novel safety measure of ying buttresses. They must have betrayed a certain lack of condence at rst, but time has been the test, and now they seem at one with the medieval tracery. Inside, the soaring ceilings are further proof that stone can convey delicacy as well as bulk.

A lot of what appears medieval however is really neo-medieval. The French Revolution took an anti-clerical turn, and the cathedral suffered. Bells were melted

down and in 1793 the 28 royal statues on the main faade were vandalised, their heads hacked off the crowd had allegedly mistaken the Biblical rulers for kings of France. By 1831, when Victor Hugo wrote The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, the cathedral had become a dilapidated embarrassment. The architect Eugne Viollet-le-Duc was brought in to bring it back to glory in the 1840s. As with many of his restoration projects however, he took some creative liberties along the way.

These include Notre-Dames famous grotesques, or chimeras not gargoyles, as they serve as decoration rather than waterspouts. A dimpled, well-trodden staircase leads to the Galerie des Chimres. A herd of grotesques perch between the west towers sinewy, bearded devils, but also a pelican. They werent on the original blueprints, but then again Notre-Dame never got the spires that were meant to top its twin square towers. Perhaps a great cathedral is always a work in progress.

TOP TIPO On the faades left-hand portal, look out for the statue of St Denis. The patron saint of France is said to have walked miles after being decapitated, carrying his head in his arms.

Notre-Dame is a rare reminder of medieval Paris. BELOW A devil joins the crowd of statues on the high walkway between the cathedrals two towers

Catacombs

THE CITY OF LIGHT HAS A darker twin. While the Paris that knows sun and rain is home to some two million people at its centre, another six million Parisians can be

called on during visiting hours in their parallel city, 20 metres below street level. Or at least, whats left of them.

The Paris catacombs were a quick solution to a mounting problem. By the late 18th century, the medieval cemeteries could not keep up with the growth of the city. Old graves were dug up and bones tossed into attic-like charnel houses to make room for more burials, but neighbours complained that milk and soup would spoil within hours because of the miasmas wafting their way, and in one notorious case the walls of a bone-repository broke under the strain, spilling a morbid cascade into nearby houses. This was the Age of Enlightenment, and something had to be done.

Luckily, under the hill of Montparnasse to the south of the city, Paris already possessed a network of tunnels, built from Roman times onwards to quarry high-quality limestone for buildings such as Notre-Dame. From 1786, the old city-

centre cemeteries were gradually emptied, and their contents brought to the mineshafts in a nightly stream of hearses accompanied by the chanting of priests. The last of the transfers to the catacombs was made in 1860, by which time vast suburban cemeteries such as Pre Lachaise had relieved the burden on the city.

The level of the catacombs is reached by means of a spiral staircase, but there is a long preamble of tunnels before the bones themselves. Many still bear a black line painted along the roof to help 19th-century quarry workers navigate in low light, and water drips from the ceiling in places. The catacombs proper begin with a doorway over which is written: Arrte! Cest ii lempire de la mort (Stop! Here is the empire of death). This is the rst of many cheery inscriptions that were designed, in the words of the quarries overseer Louis-tienne Hricart de Thury, to break the sinister and dark monotony of the catacombs, and to put the living into a philosophical frame of mind.

Think that in the morning you may not last until evening, and that in the evening you may not last until morning, reads one. God is not the author of death, reminds another. The embankments of bones on

either side of the passageways have signs stating the original cemeteries and dates of reburial. Passing these carefully stacked communities of the dead feels at times strangely like wandering through a sepulchral wine cellar, but even here the human urge to be decorative expresses itself in patterns of skulls and femurs.

The rst bones had been thrown in haphazardly, in a rationalist 18th century that just wanted these unsavoury remains put somewhere safely out of sight. But when burials resumed after a hiatus caused by the turmoil of the French Revolution, Romanticism had become the zeitgeist, and the catacombs were refashioned into a place where visitors could enjoy a kind of dignied melancholy. Their modern successors are returned to the surface by way of an unmarked door, onto an unremarkable Parisian backstreet, perhaps now taking a little more care crossing the road on the way back to the Mtro station.

TOP TIPO Queues to get in can be long (sometimes over an hour), so try to arrive before the catacombs open at 10am. Dress for a temperature of around 14C, with a few drips of water from the ceiling.



Louvre

THE LARGEST PAINTING on display at the Louvre is The Wedding Feast at Cana, painted by Paolo Veronese in 1563. In any other room it would be the focus of

attention. On the wall immediately facing it however is a modest-sized portrait in smoky colours of a woman smiling enigmatically. Thanks to the Mona Lisa, known in France as La Joconde, the gures in Veroneses masterpiece spend most of their time looking at peoples backs.

The worlds most visited museum has plenty of similar treasures hiding in plain sight, such as a 9,000-year old human gure in ghostly white plaster from Ain Ghazal in Jordan. Tutankhamun of Egypt lived closer in time to us than to the people who made this statue.

The Louvre gets its particular character because it evolved into a museum rather than being designed as one. It began around 1200 as a fortress built to protect the western walls of Paris, its chilly foundations still

visible in the basement of the museum. Enveloped by an expanding city, the fortress lost its defensive function and beame the royal palace that stands on the eastern side of the great glass pyramid.

IM Peis bold, geometric addition to the Louvre attracted some criticism when it was built in 1989 to give the museum the single, grand entrance it had never had. But it is only the latest stage in eight centuries of reinvention, in which the opening of a public museum in 1793 was just one milestone. To the west of where the pyramid was another royal palace, the Tuileries, and it was a long-term ambition of French kings to link up both residences with two parallel wings, creating a great central courtyard. It was an emperor, Napoleon III, nephew of the more famous Napoleon, who completed the project in the 1850s. In 1871, he was overthrown and the Tuileries burnt down. The central courtyard remains open on its western side.

Before it was home to the Mona Lisa, the Salle des tats was the venue for state

openings of parliament.Older royal reminders are also threaded

through the museum. In room 26 of the Egyptian galleries, a headless statue of the boy-king Tutankhamun is watched over by portraits of Louis XIII and his queen, Anne of Austria their great-great-great-great-grandson Louis XVI and his own queen would come to a similar end in real life. And in the Grande Galerie, built between 1595 and 1610 to link the old Louvre to the Tuileries, French kings carried on the practice of healing sufferers of the skin condition scrofula with a royal touch of the hand, as proof of their divinely ordained powers. Yet despite the parade of kings and emperors who have passed through its corridors, the Louvre has never looked as splendid as it does now.

TOP TIPO The museum offers a variety of themed, self-guided trails, including palace history, horse-riding, The Da Vinci Code and artworks depicting love through the ages (louvre.fr).


The central courtyard of the Louvre was only cleared of townhouses in the mid-19th century the glass pyramids came later, in 1989

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A 9,000-year-old gure from Ain

Ghazal in Jordan. RIGHT The Charles X

rooms were decorated

in the 1820s

The Mona Lisa was nished

around 1506 and is one of ve paintings by Leonardo da Vinci in the

Louvre

VersaillesHALF-HOUR RIDE WEST from the centre of Paris on the commuter train, the town and suburb of Versailles has grown up around a palace that stands as perhaps the most splendid example of

control-freakery the world has ever seen. In 1661, the young Louis XIV embarked on a massive expansion of his fathers old hunting lodge, to glorify his rule and secure his crown against two troublesome quarters Parisians, and ambitious nobles who might build private power bases in the provinces.

French kings had long been in the habit of roaming between various country chteaux and residences in the capital that were uncomfortably exposed to unruly crowds. In 1651, one mob had even barged into the 12-year-old kings bedchamber. From 1682, Louis moved permanently to Versailles, and required most of his court to live where he could keep an eye on them, in his ever-growing palace.

On entering the state apartments, once

the immediate impact of the coloured marble and gilt has worn off, a running theme emerges a sunburst with a face at the centre, repeated in the design. In Louis XIVs propaganda, he was the Sun King, and solar metaphors were given free rein. Versailles original building plan followed a kind of yin and yang, with the kings apartments and the Salon of War in one wing, and the queens rooms and the Salon of Peace in the other. But ultimately Louis moved his bedchamber to the very centre of the palace, facing the rising sun.

Every morning at eight, he would be woken in his canopied bed, watched over by a gilded gure representing France herself. Over the next two hours, up to a hundred courtiers would crowd into his room to join in the ritual of the lever (rising), where handing a shirt or a glove to the king as he dressed was a social and political honour calculated, like all Versailles etiquette, down to the last degree.

Yet despite the formality, security could be surprisingly relaxed. Almost anyone was allowed into the palace provided they

met a few minimum standards of attire, and gentlemen could rent the required dress-sword at the entrance if they had none of their own. There are nations where the majesty of kings consists, in large part, in never letting themselves be seen, Louis XIV once said. But that is not the genius of our French nation. The curious throng from all over the world who process through the Hall of Mirrors six days a week are unwittingly re-enacting a drama scripted by the Sun King.

In its display and ritual, Versailles was a suit made to t its creator. But Louis XV and Louis XVI who followed him were more private, as was the wife of the last, Marie Antoinette of Austria. Even a Habsburg princess like her found the etiquette oppressive, and she escaped when she could to her own miniature palace the Petit Trianon, at the other end of the gardens. Although she never said Let them eat cake, the mock hamlet she had built in the grounds was a source of much ridicule at the time.

Versailles reign ended on 6 October 1789, when an angry crowd overwhelmed the palace guard, forcing the royal family to return to Paris, sending them to the guillotine in 1793. The rst and last piece of pomp in Versailles is the equestrian statue of Louis XIV at the entrance. Here the king sits, with his back turned on the chteau he willed into being and which his successors could never fully make their own, and his arm pointed back to Paris.

TOP TIP O Book an e-ticket online and come Wednesday to Friday to avoid the biggest crowds (main palace Dhs78, all buildings Dhs90; chateauversailles.fr).

The Southern Parterre is part of three square miles of

gardens at Versailles. BELOW Louis XIV, King of

France and Navarre (16431715)

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Classic ParisJust a stroll along the banks of the Seine is a reminder of the special hold the French capital has on all our imaginations, and even its most visited sights have kept their magic

ESSENTIALS Getting there

You can y daily from Dubai to Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris on Emirates (from Dhs4,055; emirates.com) and from Abu Dhabi on Etihad (Dhs4.625; etihad.ae).

Getting around

Mtro stations are dotted everywhere around Paris. A carnet of 10 tickets costs Dhs66, but its often worth buying a Paris Visite card, which allows unlimited public transport use within a set time period, and also gives a range of discounts (three-day card Dhs120; ratp.fr).

Further readingLonely Planets Paris (Dhs84) is a thorough guide to the French capital. For more information, see parisinfo.com.

Fascinating Muse Carnavalet Le Jardin des Plantes in ower Top comfort at Htel Verneuil

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The sun sets over the Seine, viewed from the Pont Alexandre III

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Pick up where the Louvre leaves off at the Muse dOrsay, which covers art from around 1848 to the early 20th century, including Manets epoch-making painting Djeuner sur lherbe, which turns 150 this year (admission Dhs48; musee-orsay.fr).

The botanic gardens at Le Jardin des Plantes have a history dating back to 1626. Stroll through sections ranging from Alpine rockeries and rose gardens to tropical hothouses (some areas free, greenhouses Dhs30; jardindesplantes.net).

Many city-run museums in Paris are free (for a list, see paris.fr). One of the best is the Muse Carnavalet, which sings a poetic ode to Parisian history through exhibits including an Art Nouveau shop interior (carnavalet.paris.fr).

Brilliant value and footsteps from the bars, cafs and clubs of Rue Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Cosmos Htel has retro style on the budget-hotel scene, recently given a makeover (from Dhs420; free Wi-; cosmos-hotel-paris.com).

Au Sourire de Montmartre is a charming B&B with ve rooms individually decorated with either French antiques or Moroccan riad-style motifs (from Dhs630; free Wi- and 30 mins international calls; sourire-de-montmartre.com).

Htel Verneuil (pictured above) is a 17th-century townhouse, which mixes dark tones and opulence to create a pied--terre in fashionable St-Germain-des-Prs (from Dhs1,110; free Wi-; hotel-verneuil-saint-germain com).

Set in the Grand Palais, Minipalais serves creative French and world cuisine (right) and has a splendid colonnade (mains from Dhs96; Ave Winston Churchill; minipalais.com).

Flavours from the Maghreb are matched by Thousand and One Nights dcor at 404 in the Marais. Afterwards, repair to the multicoloured Casablanca-meets-Andy Warhol cocktail lounge (mains from Dhs84; 69 Rue des Gravilliers; 404-resto.com).

Classic bistro dishes such as lentil salad, duck cont and tarte tatin are on the menu at tiny, charming Au Pied de Fouet the St-Germain-des-Prs branch is one of three in town (mains from Dhs36 3 Rue St-Benot; 00 33 1 42 96 59 10).

BARGAIN!

Eat


Moving at the pace of centuries, the Aletsch Glacier extends for 14 miles from its source under the Jungfraujoch, making it the longest glacier in the Alps


SwitzerlandRocks and ice took the rst steps in creating this

mountainous land, home to four ofcial languages, a multitude of Alpine valleys, enchanting towns and

the two best kinds of food to melt in a pot WORDS RORY GOULDING O PHOTOGRAPHS PETE SEAWARD

T h e P e r f e c t Tr i p

Your trip mapped out


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This 390-mile road trip begins at Lake Lucerne, the historic birthplace of Switzerland, before taking in the awe-inspiring Lauterbrunnen Valley, the cheese and chocolate

region of La Gruyre and the grandeur of the Aletsch Glacier

ALETSCH GLACIERBest for ice

Trek across a World Heritage site and wonder at the biggest Alpine glacier a monstrous, ever-changing st of ice punching through the peaks.

LA GRUYREBest for cheese and chocolate

A paradise for grazing cows, whose bountiful milk produces the regions world-famous Gruyre cheese and Swiss chocolate.

LAUTERBRUNNEN VALLEYBest for Alpine scenery

Perhaps Switzerlands most dramatic valley, where 72 waterfalls cascade down sheer cliff faces, overlooked by an ogre, a monk and a maiden.

LAKE LUCERNEBest for history

The home of freedom ghter William Tell, the Swiss Army knife and the spot where the regions disparate people came together as one nation.

ABOVE Lake Lucerne and the Rtli meadow (centre) from the Fronalpstock

T H E P E R F E C T T R I PSwitzerland


LAKE LUCERNEBest for historyMiles into your trip: 0Fly to Zrich from the UAE in 7 hours, followed by a one-hour drive to Lucerne

Built in 1910, this palatial hotel in Lucerne stands on a hill overlooking the lake and has its own miniature funicular to convey guests to the waterside. Much of the dcor is inspired by the Art Deco era and bathrooms contain huge free-standing bathtubs with lake views and rubber ducks (from Dhs1,200; hotel-montana.ch).

WHERE TO STAY

Art Deco Hotel Montana

It all began with an apple. Some 700 years ago, the story goes, a sadistic bailiff called Gessler decided to teach the people living around the many arms of mountain-anked Lake Lucerne a lesson in obedience. In the market square of Altdorf, at the lakes southern end, he placed a hat atop a pole to symbolise the power of the regions Habsburg rulers, and ordered all the local people to bow before it as they passed.

One man refused however and, as a punishment, Gessler forced him to shoulder a crossbow and shoot an apple off the head of his own son. As the statue that stands in Altdorf today proclaims, that man was William Tell, and this was the act that inspired a people to ght for freedom. The only problem with the story and dont mention this too loudly around Lake Lucerne is that its almost certainly a myth.

Its a difcult topic for Swiss people who want to remember him as a hero, says Eva Fischlin, who teaches classes at the Forum of Swiss History, ten miles north of Altdorf in the town of Schwyz, capital of the canton of the same name. The Tell legend was presented until recently as historical fact, but the truth is that hes mentioned for the rst time in the late 15th century and never

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before that. Its widely acknowledged that his tale is a copy of a Scandinavian legend.

The Forums home is a solid 18th-century former granary, but its location has extra signicance. Schwyz was one of the three founder members of an alliance, made in around 1291, that grew to become todays 26-canton Swiss Confederation. Schwyz gave its name to the rest of the country, in a roundabout way, and even the famed Swiss Army knife is made here, in the Victorinox factory just downhill from the town centre. Schwyzs place in the national mythology is irreproachable, even if William Tells isnt.

At the northern end of Lake Lucerne is Lucerne itself, which became member number four of the confederation in 1332. The ne townhouses that line both sides of the Reuss river are mostly of a later date, but Lucerne still has a witness to those times in the shape of the Kapellbrcke the covered wooden bridge that departs with convention by taking a leisurely diagonal route across the river.

For an overview, in the truest sense, of early Switzerland, its worth doubling back from Lucerne. Above the village of Stoos, a chairlift climbs up to the Fronalpstock, where a viewing platform looks over Lake Lucerne, nearly a mile below. By the shore is a small patch of lighter green surrounded by dark forest. This is the Rtli, where the founders of the confederation supposedly swore their oath after Tell ambushed and killed Gessler. It is tting that the spot where Switzerland commemorates its birth isnt a battleeld or a colonnaded hall, but a simple meadow, beside a mountain lake.

FURTHER INFORMATIONOluzern.comOnationalmuseum.ch (admission Dhs42; closed Mon)

WHERE TO EATO At 1,922m, the Gipfelrestaurant Fronalpstock is the spot to admire the lake at leisure. With a seated terrace, it offers Swiss Alpine dishes, including cheesy macaroni with apple sauce (mains from Dhs66; gipfelrestaurant-fronalpstock.ch).



On the main street of Lauterbrunnen village, this is a Swiss hotel straight from central casting, with its green shutters, geranium-bedecked balconies and the aroma of a mean cheese fondue wafting from the terrace. Alongside the 24 rooms in the main building, there are apartments in two nearby annexes (from Dhs578; hoteloberland.ch).

WHERE TO STAY

Hotel Oberland

When travelling in the Alps, its easy to become accustomed to magnicent scenery, but Lauterbrunnen startles all who see it. On either side of the broad valley, cliffs rise 300 metres until they reach forested slopes. The village of Wengen sits in a cleared space on the eastern ledge, looking out across the valley to the chalets of Mrren, on its own shelf to the west. Waterfalls, 72 of them, leap from the cliffs on either side, and behind Wengen rise the triple peaks of the Eiger, Mnch and Jungfrau the ogre, the monk and the maiden.

A visitor with an old illustrated copy of The Lord of the Rings might feel a ash of recognition. JRR Tolkien came here in 1911 and took inspiration from what he saw to create the valley of Rivendell. At that time, the last tunnels were being dug inside the Eiger and Mnch to emerge at the 3,454m Jungfraujoch then, as now, the highest railway station in Europe. Since the late 19th century, the people of the valley have obliged visitors with ever more inventive ways to experience the landscape.

Samuel Brunner is one local with a head for heights. In his job working the cable car from Wengen to the mountaintop of Mnnlichen, he experiences the 947-metre height difference many times every day. Some people cant deal with it and quit after a month, he admits. So far Im okay. From the cabin he has a vantage point over Wengen and the valley beneath. Its possible to see lynx every now and then. chamois and eagles, too. I can even see my house I keep tabs on it.

From Wengen, a steep but broad path zigzags down through the forest to the valley oor. The Staubbach Falls, pride of Lauterbrunnens cascades, teases the onlooker with glimpses through the trees until the woods open up to reveal the falls to their full height. Even in a place where feats of Swiss engineering abound, some of the best views are only reached on foot.

ABOVE Samuel Brunner operates the cable car from Wengen to Mnnlichen

LAUTERBRUNNEN VALLEYBest for Alpine sceneryMiles into your trip: 49 A 1-hour drive From Lucerne on the A2 and A8 to Interlaken, turning off to Lauterbrunnen

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FURTHER INFORMATIONOjungfrauregion.ch

WHERE TO EATO Wengens Hotel Schnegg has a beautiful dining room and a terrace outside in summer, and serves dishes such as saddle of Simmental lamb with hay blossom jus (mains from Dhs218; hotel-schoenegg.ch).


ABOVE Molson mountain towers above the cobbled streets of Gruyres

LA GRUYREBest for cheese and chocolateMiles into your trip: 120gruyres is a two-hour scenic drive via Spiez and Boltigen, then over the Jaun Pass

Just a few hundred yards outside the town walls of Gruyres, the Hostellerie des Chevaliers has rooms decorated in summery colours, which look out over Gruyres Castle or the mountains beyond. The breakfast buffet includes Gruyre cheese, naturally (from Dhs660; chevaliers-gruyeres.ch).

WHERE TO STAY

Hostellerie des Chevaliers

The language border between Switzerlands German-speaking centre and its Francophone west is dubbed the Rstigraben (rsti ditch) after the beloved Swiss-German potato dish. Just west of this divide lies the region of La Gruyre, which specialises in two foodstuffs that unite the country. One has been produced as long as humans have farmed the Alpine meadows. The other is a tropical import that only became a Swiss speciality after the Industrial Revolution. Both are best enjoyed in a moderation seldom easy to maintain, and both owe their success to the most smugly contented cows you are ever likely to see.

Chocolate is the more recent of the twin Swiss culinary stereotypes. In the early 19th century, Switzerland became one of the rst countries to give this Aztec drink a solid form, and the Cailler chocolate brand is the countrys oldest. Since 1898, it has been based outside the village of Broc, close to the 56 farms that supply its milk. The factory tour ends in a tasting room, where visitors eye the full Cailler range,

wondering if etiquette permits them to take more than one piece from each tray.

The average Swiss eats a world-record 12 kilos of chocolate a year. In the cheese stakes, Switzerland loses out to Greece, but at 21 kilos a head it is not for want of trying.

Gruyre cheese and the softer, younger Vacherin are the regions specialities. In a fromagerie dalpage an old dairy on the mountain slopes of Molson, full of inscrutable farm implements and the smell of woodsmoke Marc Savary swings a huge cauldron over a soot-blackened hearth. I get up at 4.30 and I go to bed with the sun, he says. But its not work for me, its a pleasure. Marc has an admission. He doesnt make Gruyre, technically speaking. The strict production rules require cows to graze by the place where their milk is turned into cheese, and in this case the ski slopes outside get in the way.

Its the same process as Gruyre and in my opinion it could be even better, Marc says. Our small farms keep the landscape beautiful. Farmers maintain the meadows and forests on the slopes, and that helps to keep winter snow in place. If we werent here, there would be a risk of avalanches.

At the regions heart is the boundlessly charming hilltop town of Gruyres and its 13th-century castle. At one end of a square that sags in the middle like an old mattress stands a chalet fronted with wooden shingles. Leave all reticence at the door, and sit down to a fondue made, fty-fty, with Gruyre and Vacherin, mixed with white wine and nished with a dash of Kirsch.

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FURTHER INFORMATIONOla-gruyere.chOfromagerie-alpage.ch (demonstration Dhs18)Ocailler.ch (tour Dhs42)

WHERE TO EATO The Chalet de Gruyres serves cheese fondue, Raclette and cold cuts in a rustic wooden interior (chalet-gruyeres.ch; fondue from Dhs120).




ALETSCH GLACIERBest for iceMiles into your trip: 223The 2-hour drive to Mrel, below Riederalp, goes via Montreux and Sion on the A12 and A9

In the largely car-free village of Riederalp (accessed by cable car, with a transfer to the hotel by golf buggy), the Walliser Spycher occupies a prime spot on a sunny ledge. Old knick-knacks dot the corridors and rooms have balconies with views of the Rhne Valley and the Matterhorn in the distance (from Dhs750; walliser-spycher.ch).

WHERE TO STAY

Walliser Spycher

The biggest glacier in the Alps isnt visible from the road that follows the headwaters of the Rhne up through the canton of Valais. Nor can it be seen from the three nearest villages Riederalp, Bettmeralp and Fiescheralp whose dark wooden chalets bask on sunny slopes high above the valley, reached only by cable car. The payoff comes after one last lift ride up to the top of the mountain ridge. On the far side is a valley engulfed with ice, which disappears from view between the crags.

Its a sight that induces awe. Any walker who stands for a moment, silhouetted against the mountain skyline above the glacier, automatically looks heroic. Seen from the 2,333m heights of Moosuh, over Bettmeralp, the ice snakes like the number 3. Darker lines of rocky debris the medial moraines track the length of the glacier, dividing the ice into lanes and giving the Aletsch the look of an unnished motorway for ice giants.

Most visitors take in the giddy view and then turn back without ever setting foot on the glacier. For that youre strongly advised to team up with a local guide. Martin Nellen prefers to start the walk down to the ice edge in the early morning. The path leads past a dry-stone wall, marking the boundary of a nature reservation. Two chamois, startled at this quiet time of day, bound across the trail, over the wall and into their state-protected sanctuary.

Martin demonstrates how to tie crampons under our walking boots the metal spikes will give purchase on the ice. And to prepare for any slips, the inexperienced

are joined to him by a length of rope. The edge of the glacier slopes up to the height of a two-storey house. Anybody else would be lost on its surface, which is as disordered as a sea frozen mid-storm and slightly different with each new dawn. Ten days ago it was impossible to walk just here, but now its a highway, Martin points out.

Aside from the crunch of crampons on ice, the only sound is meltwater running over the glacier surface in a perfect zigzag stream. Crossing a medial moraine, we reach a pothole in the ice with a stream plunging into it. A stone thrown in gives a booming echo. At another stream, we stop to have glacier milk a cupful of meltwater clouded with a dash of absinthe.

Remember that we are moving slowly even when were standing still, says Martin. The glacier travels about 30cm a day on average. Only in higher regions does snowfall turn to ice. Take a metre of powder snow, then melt and freeze, melt and freeze, and after eight to 10 years you have a centimetre of ice. When you see the ice at the end of the glacier, you are looking at snow that fell up to 800 years ago.

Glaciers in most parts of the world are shrinking and the Aletsch is no exception. In our lifetimes, it is likely to shrink to the size it was in the Roman era. But even in its present majesty, it is only a fraction of the length it reached at the height of the last ice age, around 20,000 years ago, when the whole of the Rhne Valley as far as Lake Geneva was one long glacier. In the early 21st century, its a privilege to meet the greatest descendant of the iceelds that made Switzerland what it is today.

FURTHER INFORMATIONOaletscharena.ch (glacier walks with Martin Nellen or other guides cost from Dhs2,100 for a small group)

WHERE TO EATO A favourite in Riederalp, Derby offers a wide-ranging menu with classics such as beef Stroganoff (mains from Dhs114; derby-riederalp.ch).

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Lpbms^keZg]Rocks and ice took the rst steps in creating this

mountainous land, home to four ofcial languages, a multitude of Alpine valleys, enchanting towns and

the two best kinds of food to melt in a pot WORDS RORY GOULDING O PHOTOGRAPHS PETE SEAWARD

T H E P E R F E C T T R I P

April 2013 Lonely Planet Traveller 53Lonely Planet Traveller April 201352

Moving at the pace of centuries, the Aletsch Glacier extends for 14 miles from its source under

the Jungfraujoch, making it the longest glacier in the Alps

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In warmer months, residents ock to the lakeshore. There are many free places to take a dip, while at ofcial spots (Badis), charging around Dhs24, youll nd piers, saunas and snacks.

The castle-like Schweizerisches Landesmuseum tells the story of Switzerland through exhibits, including recreated interiors from different eras (Dhs42; nationalmuseum.ch; admission

The impressive Kunsthaus holds an art collection stretching from the Middle Ages to 20th-century Giacometti bronze stick-gures (kunsthaus.ch; admission Dhs66, free Wed; closed Mon).

Ladys First (right) is a boutique hotel that welcomes both sexes, but the spa and rooftop terrace are for women only (from Dhs1,200; ladysrst.ch).

The youthful Hotel Plattenhof is located in a quiet residential area, and has low Japanese-style beds and mood lighting in some rooms (from Dhs1,080; plattenhof.ch).

Hotel rates are high in Zrich, which makes the Astor Hotel good value for its sizeable rooms near the Old Town (from Dhs600, without breakfast; astor-zurich.ch).

Climb to the roof of a car park to discover tropical Zrich in the form of City Beach two pools, a strip of imported sand and bars (glass of wine from Dhs30 city-beach.ch).

Les Halles, in Zri-West, has an eclectic interior. Its menu is short, with a daily pasta special and favourites including moules frites and steak (mains from Dhs78; les-halles.ch).

Europes oldest vegetarian restaurant, Hiltl was founded in 1898 but looks smartly modern, and keeps its menu inventive (dinner mains from Dhs102, buffet Dhs240; hiltl.ch).

At Restaurant Kreis 6, dishes have a Mediterranean avour when its warm out, and go towards Swiss comfort food in winter (mains from Dhs120; restaurantkreis6.ch).

Since 1864, H Schwarzenbach (below) has sold the nest coffee and colonial wares, theres a teashop and caf

(coffee from Dhs18; schwarzenbach.ch).

Clouds looks out from the 35th oor of Switzerlands tallest building. The venue combines a restaurant, lounge and bistro-bar (glass of wine from Dhs39; clouds.ch).

WAYS TO DO ZRICH

Budget Mid-range Luxury

MAKE IT HAPPEN

SwitzerlandTheres no better jumping off point to visit Switzerlands awe-inspiring Alpine vistas and lakes than the nations largest city Zrich, an alluring combination of history and culture

ESSENTIALS Swiss ies direct from

Dubai to Zrich (from Dhs2,098; swiss.com). Etihad also ies direct from Abu Dhabi (from Dhs3,445; etihad.com).

Getting around

Rental cars allow the most exibility (from around Dhs240 per day; europcar.ch), but even small villages are linked up to an efcient train and bus network (sbb.ch). See stc.co.uk for travel passes.

Further readingLonely Planets Switzerland (Dhs96) is a comprehensive guide. You can nd out more on Swiss regions at myswitzerland.com. If youre planning to do some hiking, wanderland.ch is an excellent resource.

Bikes and foosball at Les Halles Understated Hotel Plattenhof City and lake views from Clouds

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Zrichs St Peterskirche has Europes largest church clock face

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L O C A L S M A D R I D

LocalsMadridDelve into the heart of the Spanish capital by visiting the places the locals go from their favourite chocolate

lonely planet traveller me - issue 6, 2013 jun-jul

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