Bilbao 2024

Outside the Guggenheim

We’ve been planning to go to Bilbao for a long time, and so decided to choose it for our February half term break, with no great expectations of good weather at that time of the year (we were to be pleasantly surprised).

After a smooth flight with Vueling (a new airline for us, something of a rarity) we arrived at Bilbao Airport in the early evening. To get into the city centre there is a bus that runs every twenty minutes, we bought tickets for €3 each from the kiosk near the bus stop and joined the queue for the next bus. You can actually use the local transport cards for this which is a cheaper option, more on that later.

The journey to the centre took around twenty minutes, and included one of those wonderful moments where you arrive somewhere for the first time and see a sight that really makes an impression on you. This moment occurred as the Guggenheim Museum suddenly came into view, it was dusk and the light gave the building and area around it (including a sculpture reflected in a pool) an otherworldly look. I didn’t take a photo and doubt it would have done it justice had I done so.

Views from our rooms

After getting off the bus in the Gran Via, a long, tree lined boulevard, we were able to get a feel for the city straight away on the walk to our hotel in the old town, as we joined the many people out for an evening stroll. I always enjoy places where there is plenty going on later in the day and into the night.

We started our first morning in Bilbao by having a look at the beautiful stations on the other side of the river from where we were staying.

La Concordia railway station

Abando station

At the moment trains run from both La Concordia and Abando stations, which are next to each other, although once the high-speed Basque Y rail network is completed La Concordia will no longer be used.

We also saw the distinctive entrances to the Bilbao Metro, designed by Norman Foster.

Moyua Metro Station

I think it was already becoming apparent to us that beautiful and unusual architecture was one of the defining features of this city, and where better to explore this further than at the Guggenheim itself.

Puppy by Jeff Koons

Maman by Louise Bourgeois

Exterior of the Guggenheim

After seeing the various sculptures surrounding the museum, we were able to buy tickets with minimal queuing to have a look inside as well. I quite enjoy modern art so I liked most of the exhibits, but from what I’ve heard it’s not to everybody’s taste. The ground floor was mainly participative, with large shapes that you could walk inside, a somewhat disorientating experience. Part of the gallery upstairs was closed, but we were able to see works by Jeff Koons, Gilbert and George, and Andy Warhol.

It’s an interesting building to walk around, designed by Frank Gehry and opened in 1997. I was looking up what other buildings he had designed and realised that we’d seen some of his buildings just a couple of weeks before – some unusual residential blocks at the newly developed Battersea Power Station. We also once had a meal under his giant Fish sculpture in Barcelona.

Other Gehry works in Barcelona and Battersea

The museum is on the banks of the Nervión River which meanders its way through the city, we walked a bit further along to see the Zubizuri Bridge, designed by Santiago Calatrava. I’ve mentioned Calatrava in some of my other blog posts, and he’s one of my favourite architects. In addition to the bridge, he also designed Bilbao Airport, which we found to be light and with a feeling of space, despite its relatively small size.

Zubizuri Bridge

Crossing the bridge took us to the Artxanda Funicular, which goes up to a spectacular viewpoint. We were able to use a local travelcard called a Creditrans barik that is available at ticket machines in metro stations, tram stops etc. This card costs €3 and you can then load it with as much credit as you need, the fare being deducted each time you travel. It gives a big discount on ticket prices so is definitely worthwhile if you’re going to be there for a few days, and is particularly convenient for families as one card can be used for up to ten people. As an example of the fares, it cost €0.65 each for a single on the funicular, €0.96 for one zone on the metro and €1.14 for the bus back to the airport.

Creditrans barik travelcard

Artxanda Funicular

We’ve been on quite a few funiculars in the past, but I think this one wins the award for the best views at the top.

The two funicular carriages use a single track with a passing loop half way along

Once back down at the bottom it was a nice walk along the river back to our hotel in the old town, which is full of narrow streets and the Plaza Nueva (or Plaza Barria), one of those atmospheric squares busy with people sitting outside bars and eateries that Spain does so well.

The first time we walked through the Plaza Nueva there was a stage area that was displaying a large model of a fish, it was only later in the evening that we found out what it was all about. We were having dinner in a nearby restaurant when we heard some sort of procession going past, and could see the fish being carried along followed by people with candles. A bit of research revealed that this was the “Burial of the sardine”, a tradition that takes place across Spain during the carnival period. The fish model we saw was being carried to a nearby square where it was going to be burned, this took place on Shrove Tuesday but I think it is often on Ash Wednesday as well. It was in this restaurant that I had something I’d had many years ago in Barcelona – cheese ice cream. It was accompanying a very tasty bread pudding with caramel sauce.

Bread pudding with cheese ice cream

We’ve visited quite a few football stadiums on our travels and I’d heard good things about the San Mamés, home to Athletic Bilbao. It certainly lived up to expectations, with one of the best football museums we’ve been to, followed by a self guided tour of the stadium. As an added bonus there were very few people, unlike some of the other tours we’ve done, and we were able to buy tickets on the day rather than needing to book a slot in advance.

Museum

In need of some refreshment we found a café further into the centre that had wonderful cakes, I tried the local speciality called a “Carolina”, which was a pastry base topped with a lot of meringue.

A Carolina

I’m always on the lookout for small museums especially if they’re of local interest, and that certainly applied to the Basque Nationalism Museum, an exhibition about the history of the Basque culture in the surrounding region. I like being in places with more than one language, and Basque is so completely different to the other languages I’ve come across in Spain, such as Catalan and Valencian (which is very similar to Catalan). Those I could work out quite easily, which definitely wasn’t the case with Basque.

Our meal out that evening was in a Chinese restaurant that was typical in every way except one – it had robot waiters. These are still quite a rarity so it provided us with much amusement! The robot would glide along and turn to face the relevant table with food on a tray, you then have to take the food and press a button on the side to make it go away. A clever marketing tool as the restaurant was very busy, partly I’m sure down to its nice food but I’d imagine the robots also draw in more customers.

The next day we got the metro along to Portugalete, a little town to the west of the city. We walked down to the nearby river, on the way there were travelators in one of the steeper streets. We’ve seen outdoor escalators in Barcelona and Lisbon, but never travelators.

Outdoor travelators

One of the highlights of the area is the Vizcaya Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is a transporter bridge which uses a suspended gondola to carry vehicles and foot passengers across the river, and there aren’t many of them left. It’s quite fun to go on and we were able to use our Creditrans card to pay the €0.55 per person crossing fee.

Vizcaya Bridge

After crossing the bridge we had a very pleasant walk along the seafront all the way to Algorta, a picturesque little town, passing some big sandy beaches and grand houses on the way. The temperature got up to 26°C, much warmer than you’d expect in February, and actually the hottest part of Spain on that day.

Algorta

The weather wasn’t nice all the time and the next day was quite rainy, so we were glad to spend some time inside the Itsasmuseum, which tells the tale of maritime Bilbao. It was very detailed and had lots of information about the recent redevelopment of the city as a whole.

Outside the Itsasmuseum

Bilbao has some wonderful buildings, and on our final afternoon we walked along the Gran Via again, which is the main shopping district.

Rainbow over Bilbao

Bridge near the hotel

Stained glass in the Mercado de la Ribera

One final highlight on the way back was being able to see more Calatrava architecture in the airport.

The stylish design of this airbridge caught my eye from our taxiing plane

Vueling even has pet treats on the menu, as they allow dogs, cats, birds and other animals on their flights

Day trip to Setúbal

Praça do Bocage

As regular visitors to Lisbon we now know the city quite well, but have tended to stick to certain favourites for day trips, in particular the seaside resort of Cascais which is always enjoyable. On our latest visit we decided to do something different and take the train to Setúbal, a small port city to the south and which is famous for the natural beauty of the nearby coastline, seafood, Moscatel wine and being the birthplace of football manager José Mourinho.

We were staying in our normal area to the north of central Lisbon, which is very handy both for the Metro and also Roma-Areeiro railway station. On arrival at the airport we had bought a Viva Viagem reloadable ticket, which costs a nominal fee of 50 cents and can then be loaded with credit that is valid on nearly all public transport throughout the city (including the Metro, buses, most trams, trains and ferries). Each time you “zap” the ticket when entering a Metro station or bus the relevant fare is deducted, hence the name “zapping” given to this ticket type. The cards are normally green or white, but confusingly we were given a yellow Navegante ticket from the machine at the airport, although it seemed to serve the same purpose.

Reloadable ticket for “zapping”

In order to get to Setúbal we needed to use a train run by the operator Fertagus, which involves a slightly different process. At the ticket machine we had to insert the ticket and choose which destination we were going to, this then ensured the correct fare was debited from the card (currently €4.85 for a single). After that we also had to validate the ticket on the nearby Fertagus validator, all quite easy in practice but maybe not obvious unless you know beforehand!

Validator for Fertagus tickets

A quick note on other trains in the Lisbon area – you can also use “zapping” for the urban train services to either Sintra or Cascais (currently €1.90). For those you don’t need to choose the destination at the machine, you can either just enter through the ticket barriers at stations that have them (for example when travelling from Cais do Sodré going to Cascais) or if there are no barriers you can validate the ticket at a CP validator on the platform before boarding.

CP validator, we used this to “zap” our tickets when travelling from Roma-Areeiro to Alcantara-Terra

The train itself was a double decker, still a novelty for us even though we’ve been on them quite a few times now in different countries. It takes just under an hour to get to Setúbal and includes crossing the famous bridge the Ponte 25 de Abril.

Fertagus train

View when starting to cross the bridge

Once in Setúbal it is an easy walk to the central area, which includes the very nice Praça do Bocage, a square lined with restaurants and cafés. Many were advertising the local speciality of Moscatel, a sweet fortified wine that quite coincidentally we had tried at a meal with family the night before. I rarely drink but did have a small glass and can confirm that it is delicious.

Moscatel de Setúbal

Praça do Bocage

We then headed to the Mercado do Livramento, a large market selling mainly fresh produce, which has one wall decorated with the famous blue and white “azulejos” tiles. There was a lot of activity with camera crews in the market as filming for Masterchef was taking place, this added some excitement and we had to be careful not to trip on the many cables trailing around the floor.

Mercado do Livramento

Just along the road from the market was a visitor centre called the Casa da Baía Setúbal, this included an exhibition about dolphins and a shop selling local delicacies. Dolphins live in the nearby Sado estuary and there are plenty of boat tours available, not something that would have been suitable during our trip though as it was extremely windy and raining!

Dolphin exhibition

Whilst Setúbal is known for its sea-related activities, we only had a very brief walk along by the harbour as it was blowing a gale! It was enough to get a good feel for the importance of the fishing industry to this area, and there were some eateries advertising the popular “chocos fritos”, which is fried cuttlefish and chips.

Harbour area

There were some interesting buildings and street art dotted around the centre, and as it’s quite compact it’s easy to see a lot in a short space of time.

Although we did get a good idea of what Setúbal has to offer, I think it is somewhere that is better appreciated in the summer months. It was actually quite mild when we visited, but the wind and rain, combined with some places only opening on a seasonal basis, means it was extremely quiet and perhaps didn’t have the same atmosphere it would have in the height of the season. It is definitely worth visiting though as an interesting option for a day out from Lisbon.

Zurich 2023

View from Rathausbrücke

Anybody who has read my post about a day trip to Liechtenstein will know that Zurich was a somewhat accidental trip, booked in a hurry after our original planned holiday in Krakow was thwarted thanks to flight cancellations. I’m a great believer in the saying “every cloud has a silver lining”, and whilst we still plan to go to Krakow (or possibly a different Polish city) in the future, our alternative turned out to be a great choice.

Interior of double decker train from the airport, and Zurich Hauptbahnhof

Getting to the city centre from the airport was easy. There are two main options by public transport – a train or a tram. As we arrived late in the evening we decided that the train was a better option as it was quicker, then took the more interesting tram route on the way back. Our hotel was just around the corner from the main railway station, and in fact we quite often opt for accommodation near the main transport hubs as it’s so convenient. We were also right next to Bahnhofstrasse, the main shopping street, a fantastic tree lined boulevard perfect for a stroll, albeit full of mainly designer stores that are rather out of our price range, although I did treat myself to a Swatch watch.

Top of Bahnhofstrasse by night

On our first day of exploration we took the Polybahn up to the university. The Polybahn originally opened in 1889 and is a funicular railway with a very frequent, and cheap, service up the hill, once at the top there are wonderful views across the city from the university terrace. It’s only a short ride but we always enjoy funicular railways.

Polybahn and view from university terrace

After descending we had a walk around Niederdorf, which is the old town district of narrow streets and has a good selection of eateries, popular at nighttime as well as during the day. We then crossed the river and went up to Lindenhof, a public square which is another great viewpoint.

Niederdorf

Niederdorf

Walk up to Lindenhof

View from the top

In the afternoon we walked along Bahnhofstrasse right to the end where Lake Zurich begins, it was a hot day (mid 30’s) and the bathing area in a lakeside park was unsurprisingly packed with people cooling off. Very different to our previous visit to Switzerland which was to Basel one February, where the temperature hovered around zero and we struggled to keep warm on a riverside walk. The lakeside seemed like a part of the city that would be very enjoyable at any time of the year, with lovely views and plenty of activity on the water.

Lake Zurich

We then visited the nearby FIFA Museum, which had nicely presented exhibits including lots of football memorabilia and a variety of video games to play.

FIFA Museum

The neighbouring Enge railway station is worth a quick look as it’s quite an interesting building.

Enge station including a double decker train

Eating out can be quite expensive in Switzerland and so I did a bit of research before going, to see if I could find some restaurants that were slightly more reasonable. The selection that I found included an Asian fusion restaurant, a very good Italian and a Chinese. Whilst the prices at these were definitely more than we’d pay back home, we noticed that restaurants have got so much more expensive now in the UK that the difference isn’t as much as it used to be. I tried Rivella which I’d never seen before but is apparently the quintessential Swiss fizzy drink. I’m not too sure how to describe it but probably the closest comparison I can make is to Irn-Bru.

On the subject of drinks, I liked the fact that there are lots of fountains throughout the city that aren’t just ornamental, but can also be used for drinking. We saw quite a few people filling up their bottles, especially welcome in the hot weather.

Some graffiti near one of the restaurants – they obviously knew I was coming

Tram by night, these services seem very frequent and reliable

The following day we went on a day trip to Liechtenstein. I’ve already written a blog post about this so won’t go into much detail here, but it was an easy journey involving a train to Sargans followed by a bus to the capital, Vaduz. It’s a very scenic journey and one that I’d highly recommend.

A typical view in Vaduz, capital of Liechtenstein

I’ve already mentioned Lake Zurich, and on our final full day we walked along a different part of it, ending up at a pleasant park which included the Le Corbusier Pavilion and the China Garden. We didn’t go inside the Le Corbusier house, actually the last ever constructed by the renowned architect, but there is plenty to appreciate from the exterior. The China Garden is a beautiful area of ornate landscaping and buildings which is free to enter.

Le Corbusier Pavilion

China Garden

Lake Zurich

On our walk by the lake we had spotted some divers, and on the way back it became clear what they had been diving for. There was a collection of items that had been retrieved from the lake, I don’t know all the details but presume this is something that happens periodically, it was quite poignant to see these everyday objects that had been rescued from the depths and would make a good art installation in a gallery.

Which brings me nicely to the final place we visited in Zurich, the Museum für Gestaltung or Design Museum. This had a variety of exhibits encompassing fashion, furniture, posters etc, and was a nice place to spend an hour or so out of the rain (the heatwave was rapidly on its way out by this point). You could even sit on a lot of the furniture and browse through a selection of books on art and design.

Design Museum

On our return to the airport we had plenty of time to spare and so took the tram, which gradually trundles up through mainly residential areas and is a good way to see a bit more of the city. The centre of Zurich is pleasantly walkable and so we didn’t need to use it at any other point, and the process of buying tickets for either the tram or train from the ticket machine was very simple.

Zurich makes a perfect destination for a short break, and a great base for train travel further out into Switzerland and particularly up into the mountains, which is something we would like to do more of in the future.

Trains at Zurich Hauptbahnhof

Münsterhof, this square includes a fountain that can also be used for drinking

A day trip to Liechtenstein

View over vineyard towards Vaduz Castle

In the world of travel it pays to be flexible and able to change either travel dates (if possible) or even destination, and that’s exactly what happened to us this summer. A couple of weeks before our scheduled trip to Krakow in July we were told that the flight had been cancelled, with no obvious reason being given and no convenient alternative available. And so after a bit of searching we decided on a few days in Zurich instead, which would be a new city for us to explore along with the possibility of doing a train trip out into the beautiful Swiss countryside. We then realised that we could also include a visit to Liechtenstein, a tiny nation of around 39,000 inhabitants, and one of only two doubly landlocked countries in the world (the other being Uzbekistan).

View of Lake Zurich from train

We were staying in a hotel just a couple of minutes walk from Zurich Hauptbahnhof (main station) and it was very easy to buy tickets from the machine for the frequent service along to Sargans, one of the nearest railway stations to Liechtenstein which doesn’t actually have a station within the country itself. You can buy a through ticket to Vaduz, the capital, which includes the bus from Sargans, alternatively you can buy a ticket on the bus for around 6 Swiss Francs. The tickets we bought would have been cheaper had we bought them in advance and used a particular train, but for various reasons (not least of which being the fear of yet another flight cancellation) we preferred to keep our plans flexible. My daughter was able to travel on a Child Day Pass for 19 Swiss Francs so that did save a bit of money.

The train that we caught had come all the way from Frankfurt, it was fairly quiet and we were able to move seats as necessary throughout the journey depending on which side had the best view! And it was definitely one of those trips where the landscape gets increasingly dramatic, starting with views over Lake Zurich and becoming more mountainous as you approach your destination.

Some of the scenery on the train from Zurich to Sargans

The journey took just under an hour, and on arrival in Sargans it was very easy to find the bus we needed right outside the station. There are two buses to Vaduz, the 11 and the 12E, the 12E is slightly quicker but both take around half an hour to the central Vaduz Post bus stop. We got bus 11, which goes up through Liechtenstein and ends over the border in a place called Feldkirch in Austria, which has a railway station and provides another way of accessing the country by train. There is an open border between Switzerland and Liechtenstein with no controls of any kind, the only indication that you’re entering a different country is the flags on the bridge across the Rhine.

On bus 11 at Sargans

On the bus coming back from Vaduz, about to cross into Switzerland

Part way through the bus trip we stopped at a school where lots of children aged around 7 or 8 got on. There seemed to be no adults to supervise them and the children got off individually or in little groups at various stops along the route, presumably heading home after a morning session at school. It was fantastic to see them travelling independently and making use of local public transport rather than just being ferried around by car, and in this very rich little nation it reminded me of the following quote (said to be from Colombian president Gustavo Petro, although there seems to be uncertainty about this) – “A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars, it’s where the rich use public transportation”.

Centre of Vaduz

The actual centre of Vaduz is quite small, but with various museums and easy accessibility to nice walks there is plenty to keep a visitor occupied. We chose to go into the Post Museum which has free entry and a large collection of stamps. There is also the LandesMuseum about Liechtenstein itself, an art gallery and some other smaller museums, we didn’t visit any of those but they did look interesting.

To get a view of the surrounding area from a higher vantage point we took a short walk up to a building known as the Red House, in an area full of vineyards with black velvety grapes, and from where you can see the mountains that comprise a large area of this small country.

Views on walk up to the Red House

The Red House and nearby views

We considered walking down to the little riverside stadium which is home to the Liechtenstein national football team, but the clouds were gathering and we opted for the bus back to Sargans instead, which turned out to be a wise move as the heavens opened soon afterwards. On the way back we had the excitement of a double decker train, something of a novelty to those of us from the UK where they don’t exist. Apparently some even have a family carriage complete with play equipment, which my children would have loved when younger.

Walk down from the Red House

Crossing the Rhine on bus towards Sargans

Views from Sargans station

Double decker trains in Zurich Hauptbahnhof

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip to Liechtenstein. For those who like outdoor pursuits I would imagine that there are plenty of opportunities for hiking, climbing, cycling etc, but even for those who prefer a more sedate day out there is the opportunity to really appreciate the surrounding mountainous scenery. As with Zurich, we found we could pay by credit/debit card everywhere, and as might be expected from a journey within Switzerland all the transport was very punctual. It has definitely tempted me to do further train travel there in the future.

Train journey back

Cardiff 2023

Cardiff Bay

During the times when our travel was somewhat restricted by covid we realised that we had been neglecting our own country in favour of always going abroad. We enjoy city breaks, and of course the UK has some great cities, so we decided to gradually work our way around the capitals of the Home Nations, Cardiff being the last remaining unvisited.

The journey from where we live is very simple, just a train up to London and then another from Paddington, unfortunately it turned out that our return date coincided with the train drivers strike so we had to reschedule our stay (this is why I always book hotels with free cancellation where changes are easy). An unexpected bonus was that our tickets (Super off-peak returns) included free seat reservations, which I didn’t request and came in quite handy.

View to stadium from near Cardiff Central station

On arrival we were impressed with how central the main railway station was, literally opposite the BBC studios (more on those later) and a few minutes walk from the Principality Stadium, a major venue for not just sport but events such as concerts.

BBC studios

Our hotel was also very centrally located and had great views from the 17th floor, which I think is the highest floor we’ve ever stayed on. I’m a big fan of city views and spent quite a lot of my time when in the room just looking out the window.

Morning and evening views

The first place we visited in Cardiff was Cardiff Bay, which is about a mile from the centre. Although we walked there is also a station with frequent services from the centre (the little one carriage train shown in the photo above) and buses. We found it to be a very vibrant and lively area, which among other things is home to the cultural hub of the Millennium Centre and the Senedd, the Welsh Parliament. Visitors are welcome at the Senedd and after going through security we were able to wander around the building and sit in the public viewing gallery. There were no meetings taking place on the day we visited but we were able to listen to a guide who told us lots of facts about the Welsh government and UK government in general. It was very enjoyable and from what we could see there seemed to be a real emphasis on openness and encouraging people to be involved in the democratic process. The building itself is architecturally interesting, designed by Richard Rogers, and is built using local materials such as Welsh oak and slate, and has sustainability in mind, for example by collecting rainwater on the roof to flush toilets.

Senedd from outside and inside

Millennium Centre

Next to the Senedd is the Pierhead Building, which shows a short film outlining the history of Cardiff docks, this is free to visit and has some nice features including tiles and mosaics.

Pierhead Building and interior

After a snack in one of the many nearby eateries we walked around the Bay heading in the direction of the Barrage and the seaside town of Penarth, although we didn’t actually get as far as either of those but the option is there for keen walkers or cyclists. We also went past the outside of Roath Lock studios where the television drama Casualty is filmed, even though we couldn’t see much it was still interesting as I’ve been watching it for decades!

Scott Memorial and Norwegian Arts Centre

Other points of interest around the Bay include a memorial to Captain Scott, who set out from Cardiff in 1910 on his voyage to the Antarctic. The Norwegian Arts Centre contains a church (originally for Norwegian sailors), exhibition and café.

On our final day in Cardiff we started off at the National Museum Cardiff. This is free to enter and has a large collection of art and natural history exhibits. I particularly enjoyed the Impressionist paintings and there is a good selection by Monet, Renoir, Pissarro and others. The museum building itself and neighbouring City Hall were both quite grand.

National Museum and City Hall

We finished our trip with the highlight of the holiday, a tour of the BBC Wales studios. The BBC studio tours are something that we’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and in the past there was the option to do these at Broadcasting House in London, Media City in Salford and various other locations. Unfortunately all the other tours have now stopped and so Cardiff is the only option, but given the fact that the studios there are only a few years old and some of the most advanced in the world, it was definitely worth the wait when we finally visited.

Tours have to be booked online in advance, and were around £9 each with a family ticket. We were taken to different types of TV and radio studios, and were even allowed to sit in with the person doing the announcement between programmes on BBC2 Wales. There were also opportunities to see yourself on screens reading the news and weather. I have to say that I found the whole experience extremely exciting, it was fascinating to see what happens in a live broadcasting environment and I would highly recommend this tour.

A few of the BBC studios

And so what about that other highlight of holidays (at least for us), the food? Well we found that Cardiff had a great selection of restaurants and cafés of all types, amongst other things we enjoyed a very nice Indian meal and some Welsh cakes (best described as a flat round cake) from a bakery that specialised in all different flavours. There is a fantastic range of shops with various shopping malls (including the second largest John Lewis in the UK) and the more traditional arcades, which offer many independent stores. We also had a walk around Cardiff Market which has a mixture of fresh produce, eateries, clothing etc.

Cardiff Market

Aubergine curry at Chai Street Indian

Interiors of two of the several arcades

As somebody who likes learning about different languages, one of the things I loved about Wales was the fact that all the signs etc were in both English and Welsh. I’ve been learning a few of the basics and it’s interesting to see the similarities between Welsh and some Latin languages, for example the word for thousand is “mil”. The Welsh language is related to Cornish and Breton, the latter being a language I first learned about in my teens on visits to Nantes and surrounding areas. Having other languages to decipher always makes a holiday feel more complete to me!

Cargo bike being used to transport tools by workmen putting up posters, a common sight when we were in Copenhagen but not much yet in the UK so this was good to see

Obviously Wales is particularly known for its wonderful countryside and this is something we didn’t see on our little city break, but I would like to go back and explore more in the future. We found Cardiff to be a busy, multicultural and enjoyable place to spend a few days. I haven’t talked about the castle as we didn’t have time to go there, and we also missed out on a stadium tour of the Principality Stadium, so these are other options for visitors.

Street art

Shopping area

Art Deco signage and interior at Cardiff Central Station

My London

View from Blackfriars station looking east

Despite writing about my experiences of other cities I’ve visited, I realised that I’ve never written anything on the subject of London. I think that as I’ve lived either in or very near the capital my whole life I tend to forget that it’s somewhere that people travel to from all over the world, and take my knowledge of it for granted. I won’t be writing about the typical popular tourist attractions as that information is readily available elsewhere, but will give an idea of which parts of London I’ve enjoyed most over the years.

I grew up in the London suburbs about twelve miles from the centre, then lived in Kentish Town (near Camden), Cricklewood and Sutton, before moving a bit further out. Whilst I can’t claim to actually live in London anymore we can get up there quickly, have one of London’s airports (Gatwick) in our town and are still within the broadcast area to receive London news on the television, which makes it feel like we’re not far away.

Battersea Power Station Tube station

One of the things I love most about London is that it’s constantly changing and there is always something new to see. For example we took a ride on the newly opened Northern Line extension in September 2021 and since then Battersea Power Station itself has opened in its new incarnation that includes a shopping mall, giving us something else to visit soon. I find it difficult to believe that it’s finally been redeveloped at last, as it had been disused since I was a child!

As a fan of modern architecture, especially transport related, I also really enjoy the stations of the Jubilee Line Extension and the Elizabeth Line.

Canary Wharf Jubilee Line and Elizabeth Line stations

Of course what lots of people come to London for is its history. My favourite area for getting an idea of what London used to be like is around the London Bridge area. The roads near the station, with their railway arches and narrow streets have always had a feel of the past to me, despite the modern developments that have sprung up in recent years. One of my favourite walks is from London Bridge station down to the riverside and along to Waterloo via Blackfriars, which as shown in the opening photo has possibly one of the best views from a railway platform anywhere in the world (and is also home to another disused power station, the old Bankside which is now Tate Modern).

Part of riverside walk near Blackfriars

Graffiti tunnel near Waterloo station, which features a constantly changing collection of street art

Another redeveloped area that we discovered recently is Kings Cross. When I was growing up it had a reputation for being both derelict and rather seedy. Not so any more, there are lots of restaurants and shops and it’s a very pleasant place to spend a few hours. I particularly like how they’ve incorporated the old industrial buildings into a modern setting.

Coal Drops Yard and surrounding area near Kings Cross and St Pancras stations

A highlight of London for many is the number of museums and galleries, many of which are free to enter. Two that we have been to over the last year are the Design Museum and Whitechapel Gallery. The Design Museum is set in what used to be the Commonwealth Institute in Kensington, and it was only after visiting that I realised I’d been there for a work Christmas party many years ago when it looked somewhat different! It shows the changing styles of various products over the years and is nice to combine with a stroll around nearby Holland Park.

Design Museum and Kyoto Garden in Holland Park

Whitechapel Gallery is in a part of East London that I don’t know very well, it’s a small gallery that has quite unusual exhibits and a fantastic bookshop. Afterwards we walked towards Shoreditch up the neighbouring Brick Lane which is an eclectic mix of restaurants, vintage shops and street art, and seems to be popular with tourists now judging by the number of tour groups. There is also a new arts centre run by Gilbert and George which was opening around the time of our visit.

Brick Lane

Which brings me to the subject of food. When we lived in central London we would eat out regularly, and got to know the best parts of the city for different cuisines. I think most people are familiar with Chinatown, and it does have a great variety of Chinese restaurants, but they may not know that the place to go for Korean food is New Malden, a short train journey to the south out of Waterloo.

Brick Lane is famous for mainly Bangladeshi curry houses, but another area worth looking into for an authentic curry is Southall to the west, which has some great Indian and Pakistani restaurants which were full of families when we went there.

Fans of Middle Eastern food should head to the Edgware Road, and Portugal is best represented in the Stockwell area. When living in Kentish Town I was lucky to have an Ethiopian restaurant across the road, and in Cricklewood there were some good Sri Lankan places.

There are numerous other types of food available in different parts of the capital, especially outside the very central area that still includes anachronisms such as the Angus Steak House (previously Aberdeen Steak House) which is one of those eateries that seems squarely aimed at foreign tourists. One restaurant that we did used to go to regularly in the West End is sadly no longer there. The Stockpot was a casual dining experience where you sat at long benches with shared tables, and offered a daily handwritten menu including a variety of mains (stuffed aubergine was my personal favourite) and desserts (I have fond memories of sponge puddings with custard and jelly with cream) all for a very modest sum. The West End Kitchen opposite it in Panton Street was similar, and I’m sure both would do very well nowadays in these cost conscious times.

I still enjoy the novelty of travelling on the driverless DLR (Docklands Light Railway) and we’ve taken it a few times to Stratford to the east. The station is named Stratford International as the original plan was for Eurostar services to stop there, unfortunately that never happened, but it’s still an important hub for mainline trains and the Tube. Stratford is the site of the Olympic Park and as well as being enjoyable to walk around there is the added attraction of the Westfield shopping mall. I know that wandering around shops isn’t everyone’s idea of fun, and I rarely actually buy anything in these places, but it is quite impressive to see the range of stores and eateries. The other Westfield at Shepherd’s Bush is equally grand and is not far from the Design Museum and Holland Park which I mentioned earlier.

ArcelorMittal Orbit (which contains a tunnel slide) in the Olympic Park

London has an impressive amount of parkland in the centre for such a big city, and one of our favourite areas for a walk on Sundays when living nearby was Hampstead Heath. We invariably got lost there but always eventually found our way to Kenwood House with its pleasant outdoor café. It was also a wonderful place to spend a Saturday evening in the summer listening to the outdoor concerts with a picnic.

Greenwich Park is also worth a mention for the views, and after walking around the town you can go down through the Greenwich foot tunnel under the river, trying to avoid the people speeding through on cycles and scooters, which emerges near to a DLR station on the other side.

View from Greenwich Park and Old Royal Naval College

For a trip outside the centre my recommendations would be either Wimbledon or Richmond. Although normally associated with the tennis, Wimbledon itself has a lot to offer. Starting in the main shopping area by the station (on both train line from Waterloo and Tube) if you go up the hill to the village you’ll find a variety of pubs and restaurants, and Wimbledon Common has some great walks. In fact you can walk all the way through to Richmond via the common and Richmond Park. The easier way to get to Richmond is also by Tube or by train from Waterloo. It too has many cafés, restaurants and pubs, and a walk up Richmond Hill will reward you with timeless views down over the Thames, there are also riverside walks past some fields of cows along to Petersham, where Captain George Vancouver (who discovered Vancouver Island) is buried in St Peter’s Church.

And finally, are there any areas of London that I don’t enjoy? Yes, some of which are actually quite popular with tourists. I made the mistake of going shopping in Oxford Street a few years ago, something I used to do regularly when I lived up there, but now it’s quite a disheartening experience as amongst the flagship stores are a lot of dubious American candy places and there’s a general rundown feel to the area. I would prefer to shop in one of the Westfields, and perhaps that’s one of the reasons for Oxford Street’s demise. I also avoid Piccadilly Circus as that has deteriorated even more than Oxford Street, with tacky souvenir shops and too much traffic. Covent Garden is very popular and whilst I can see that it’s perfectly pleasant, it’s not somewhere I would choose to go, possibly just because I’ve been there so many times in the past and the novelty has worn off.

On a school exchange trip to Germany in my teens I was met with the same response several times when saying that I was from London – “Have you been to Madame Tussauds?”. For the life of me I can’t understand why waxworks of celebrities are so popular, to the extent that it’s the first thing some people associate with London, and a couple of subsequent visits with friends from other countries who were keen to go confirmed that it really isn’t my thing. It does seem amazingly popular though, perhaps even more so now in the age of the selfie.

So that’s a description of just some of my experience of London to date, but ask anyone who knows London well for their recommendations and I’m sure each person would tell you something completely different. I look forward to discovering new areas on a regular basis, so in time my favourite haunts could have changed to places I haven’t yet visited or even that don’t yet exist, that’s the great thing about a vibrant metropolis that is constantly evolving.

City of London near where I used to work, and DLR train at Canary Wharf

Copenhagen & Malmö 2023

Opera House and CopenHill power station seen to left

For our first ever visit to Scandinavia we decided on Copenhagen, which would also give us the opportunity to visit Malmö in Sweden for the day. As with many of our trips, we were able to find cheap flights which would partly offset the extra costs of visiting what is known to be an expensive part of the world.

Copenhagen Airport railway station

Our first impressions of Copenhagen were very favourable – the railway station that took us from the airport to København H (the main central station) was in a stylish minimalist design with a smooth, uncluttered look. Tickets were easy to buy from the machines and were valid for a set length of time after purchase.

Our hotel was actually right next to the central station, and whilst a large part of the reason I chose it was because it was good value, it turned out to be probably the most characterful accommodation we’ve ever stayed in.

Hotel from outside with station on the left, original revolving doors and room door panel

The hotel was designed in 1935 in the shape of a steam locomotive, and was where train conductors used to stay. Great effort has been made to preserve the character and original features, including door panels in the rooms where the conductors could hang their uniforms – the panel was accessible from outside so the staff could clean and return the uniform without disturbing the occupant. On our side of the hotel we had views directly over the train tracks and station, I’d read some reviews saying that the train noise keeps guests awake at night, and the hotel had helpfully supplied ear plugs, but we personally didn’t find it loud at all.

Our first port of call was the nearby Rådhuspladsen, a large square which is dominated by the City Hall. This is open to visitors and we enjoyed the ornate interior, which included a room housing Jens Olsen’s World Clock. This timepiece is one of the most accurate mechanical clocks in the world and also shows the positions of stars and planets and other astronomical information. Both the City Hall and the clock are free to visit.

City Hall and World Clock

Although the city is very easy to walk around, we chose to use the Metro system a few times as well. The service is frequent and efficient, and being driverless provides the fun of having a driver’s eye view if you sit at the front.

One of the images that people associate with Copenhagen is Nyhavn, a canal/waterfront area with colourful buildings. There were plenty of eateries there aimed at tourists which we didn’t go to, instead finding a nearby Espresso House café where we had our first taste of semla, a cardamom flavoured bun filled with almond paste and cream – delicious.

Semla bun and Nyhavn

Nyhavn provided the start of a very pleasant waterside walk where we saw various sights along the way. The first of these was the Opera House, which was designed to have a view from the central point that lines up exactly with the nearby Amalienborg Palace and Frederiks Kirke.

Opera House

Further along we saw one of the most famous sights of the city – the Little Mermaid statue. It was predictably surrounded by crowds of tourists taking selfies, a somewhat precarious endeavour as it involves stepping out onto the rocks for those who wish to be right next to it. I did take a photo (I have no interest in selfies) in the brief few seconds when there was nobody next to her, but made sure to capture CopenHill in the shot which I personally think is much more interesting. This ultra modern power plant also includes a ski slope, hiking and the world’s tallest climbing wall.

Little Mermaid and CopenHill

We saw quite a lot of birdlife along the waterfront including cormorants, and the largest number of coots I’ve ever seen in one place.

Coots and Frederiks Kirke

The nearby Frederiks Kirke, also known as Marmorkirken (marble church) is worth a visit, containing the largest church dome in Scandinavia.

That evening we tried Cambodian cuisine for the first time, I had a curry which was very flavourful but subtler than Thai, followed by a pumpkin and sticky rice dessert. It’s definitely given us an appetite to try more Cambodian food.

Very moreish and comforting dessert

The following day we had one of the highlights of our trip, a journey to Sweden. This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, having watched the Danish/Swedish drama The Bridge, in which the main characters are frequently going backwards and forwards between Copenhagen and Malmö. The Øresundsbroen between the two countries was opened in 2000 and is about 5 miles in length, containing both road and railway, most of this is bridge over the Øresund strait but it also includes a section of tunnel. We caught the train from the Central Station which took about 35 minutes to Malmö, we had been told to take our passports as checks would be carried out on entry into Sweden, but this didn’t actually happen.

View on the bridge – weather conditions meant it wasn’t possible to get a good photo

We got off the train at Triangeln, the station before Malmö Central, which greeted us with yet more examples of great Scandi design.

Triangeln Station, Malmö

Malmö was a very pleasant city to stroll through, being mainly pedestrianised with the ubiquitous cycle lanes which are also a prominent feature in Copenhagen. I’ve never been anywhere with such a culture of cycling before and it was very refreshing to see. As well as normal bikes you see many with carriers for children and for transporting all sorts of goods. It all feels very civilised.

We saw the main squares including the one housing the Town Hall, and visited a little design museum with displays about projects to reinvent abandoned church buildings.

Stortorget square with Rådhus, Form/Design Center

And now the culinary highlight of our day in Sweden – giant slices of cheesecake in a café with a view over Lilla Torg market square.

New York and Daim cheesecakes

Suitably refuelled we walked along to the castle, via a pretty road of colourful houses. We didn’t go inside the castle itself but saw some interesting things in the grounds.

Walk through the centre, castle and resident swan

One of my favourite architects is Santiago Calatrava, probably best known for the City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. I was excited to see another building by him in Malmö, the Turning Torso, although the gloomy weather that day meant that the top was lost in the cloud. We also walked through an area where a fish market is held in the mornings.

Turning Torso and fish market

There is a considerable amount of construction taking place in that area of Malmö, with many new apartment blocks and businesses springing up. It’s certainly a very liveable place to be, located near the waterfront, city centre and Central Station.

Waterfront views and unusual buses which reminded me of the Belfast Glider services

We caught the train back to Copenhagen from Malmö Central Station, interestingly the ticket back was cheaper as we were given a group discount.

Malmö Central Station

Rather than going to more famous (and hence quite touristy) museums we try to find smaller ones which tend to be more interesting, and this certainly proved to be the case when we visited the Arbejdermuseet (Workers Museum). Set in a beautiful building, this documented the history of the working Danish people and also had an exhibition about Klaus Albrectsen, a fascinating satirical political cartoonist who also drew many famous jazz musicians.

Interior of Arbejdermuseet including carvings depicting different professions, and a couple of the works of Klaus Albrectsen

Food markets are always interesting to look around and the nearby TorvehallerneKBH had two sections, one containing fresh produce such as an array of fish and cheeses, and the other side specialising more in chocolates and other delicacies. Although busy, it wasn’t as overrun with tourists as these places can sometimes be.

Market hall and chocolate display

Another central attraction is the Rundetaarn, or Round Tower. To get up the tower involves walking along a long winding slope, with a short narrow staircase to access the very top part from which there are views over the city, continuing the theme of our trip these weren’t very visible due to the gloom but it was still worth the climb.

Round Tower with interior walkway and views from top

Part way up the tower was an exhibition which I think was primarily aimed at children, containing floral displays inspired by the royal Rosenborg Castle gardens. It was actually a relaxing place to spend some time, with very calming video installations to enjoy.

Shopping doesn’t really feature much in our holiday plans but it was nice to stroll through the city centre, and we went in a wonderful bookshop which was set in the building of a newspaper publisher. It had plenty of titles in English as well as Danish.

Politikens Boghal

A few shots of Copenhagen by night

It’s worth mentioning that we were staying right next to the Tivoli Gardens, but didn’t visit for two reasons – the first being that it’s a seasonal attraction and wasn’t open when we were there, and second as amusement parks aren’t really our thing. For those who do enjoy them then it looks like a fun place to spend some time.

Our final morning brought the somewhat alarming news that Storm Otto would be arriving in Copenhagen just when our flight was scheduled to leave that afternoon. The fact that the storm had actually been named by the Danish meteorological service just added to our sense of unease. We made good use of our last few hours in the city by visiting the Danish Architecture Centre, which had displays about various new developments, including the airport, as well as Lego construction areas and a giant slide.

Danish Architecture Centre

It turned out to be our lucky day. Our flight left on time, the winds were already quite strong and it was a blustery takeoff, but most of the flights after ours were either severely delayed (many to the following day) or cancelled.

A few more pictures of the hotel interior

I would highly recommend going to Copenhagen, we did find that prices were a bit higher than in the UK but not considerably so, and the opportunity to include a day trip to Sweden makes for an ideal short break.

Manchester October 2022

Media City

When deciding on a destination for a holiday, Manchester may not be somewhere that immediately springs to mind. However, much as we love going abroad, we’re also keen to explore parts of the UK that we haven’t yet got round to visiting, and so chose Manchester for an autumnal city break.

As the railways have been in a state of disarray recently I decided the best route was to go from London St Pancras to Sheffield and then across to Manchester – a combination of engineering works and general chaos on the direct route from Euston meant that a slightly longer but hopefully more reliable route seemed more tempting. We were also rewarded with some lovely views of the Peak District.

Peak District from train

Our hotel was very centrally located with views over the city, and had mosaics by William Mitchell, known for his ornate Egyptian escalator in Harrods department store.

View from room and mosaics

As we enjoy football stadium tours, going to one of the most famous in the world, Old Trafford, was high on our list of things to do. The tour was great with a very knowledgeable guide, who also provided plenty of football banter which was appreciated by my son! These tours get booked up well in advance so it’s best to reserve a few weeks ahead if possible.

Theatre of Dreams

Just across the river from Old Trafford is Media City. This huge complex of studios is home to many BBC and ITV programmes, and also contains The Lowry, a performing arts centre that includes paintings by the local artist LS Lowry. His works depicting everyday life in industrial cities can be seen in various museums throughout Manchester.

Media City including bee sculpture, a symbol of Manchester, representing the hard working people of the city

The Lowry

To get around we used the excellent MetroLink tram system, which seemed to run regularly and reliably. There was also a free bus service around some central areas although we didn’t need to use this.

Trams at Exchange Square and Imperial War Museum

Other museums we visited included the National Football Museum, the Imperial War Museum North and the People’s History Museum, which tells the story of democracy and houses the largest collection of banners in the world.

National Football Museum which includes many fun activities

Imperial War Museum North, designed by Daniel Libeskind, who was the architect responsible for planning the reconstruction of the World Trade Center site in New York

One of a large number of political banners on display in the People’s History Museum

Fans of retail therapy will enjoy the Trafford Centre. Whilst I don’t really enjoy browsing around shops it is quite impressive, with the biggest and best designed food court I’ve ever seen.

The Trafford Centre

Manchester is a really vibrant city with a great selection of restaurants, bars and cafés. There is a lot of construction going on and it has an interesting mixture of older industrial architecture juxtaposed with modern buildings. There are also some wonderfully quirky shops such as the alternative retailers housed in Afflecks shopping centre in the lively Northern Quarter.

Street art

Our hotel was near Chinatown which had a wide variety of restaurants and bubble tea cafés.

Manchester Chinatown

On our final day we went to Manchester Art Gallery. This had a large selection of artworks including Lowry and Pierre Adolphe Valette, a French Impressionist who lived in Manchester and was Lowry’s tutor, each influencing the other.

This painting by Valette is the first to show an industrial building lit by electricity rather than gas

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Manchester and it offered everything we look for in a city break – plenty to see, museums, restaurants, architecture and good transport. As we only saw a small amount of what it has to offer I’m sure it’s a place we will return to in the future.

Statue of the first dog, Petra, from much loved children’s TV programme Blue Peter, in the Blue Peter garden in Media City

Lisbon August 2022

Queluz Palace

One of the things I enjoy about travel is exploring new places, however there are some destinations I love so much that I’m happy to go back again and again. Lisbon is one of these, and having family connections to the city gives us the perfect excuse to visit on a regular basis. There is so much to do that I still have a long list of things to see in the future, and a lot of these are off the tourist trail which has become increasingly busy in recent years.

Top of our places to visit on our recent trip was Queluz Palace. This is included on the website of the better known Sintra palaces, but is located closer to Lisbon, a few stops on the Sintra train line. A quick word on Sintra – I have been there several times now, to walk around the picturesque town and to visit family, but the crowds have put me off visiting any of the palaces themselves.

Sintra in 2019

Compared to lots of attractions in the Lisbon area it was therefore a nice surprise to have no queue on arrival at Queluz Palace, we were able to buy very reasonably priced tickets and go straight in. The interior was beautiful, and the grounds were some of the nicest I’ve ever been to, with perfectly tended gardens.

Queluz Palace and grounds

Another museum we’ve been meaning to visit for a while is the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, or Tile Museum. Whilst not one of the busiest, this is quite popular so it’s definitely worth getting there fairly early to avoid the queues. Portugal is famous for the mainly blue and white decorative tiles which can be found both inside and on the outside of buildings, and even in the Metro. The museum is set within an old convent and includes a spectacular chapel, as well as tiles through the ages.

A selection of tiles, chapel, and part of the tile panorama of Lisbon

A favourite trip for us to do when in Lisbon is to get the train from Cais do Sodré along to the fairly upmarket seaside resort of Cascais. We have a walk around by the beach, an ice cream at Santini and look around the centre which has some nice little lanes with plenty of eateries. This time we also visited the Casa das Histórias Paula Rego. This museum of her somewhat thought provoking work is set in a building which is itself a work of art.

Beach, Paula Rego museum and walk around back streets

Some of the most famous views of Lisbon show the 25 April Bridge going across the River Tejo. There are various parts of the river that we enjoy walking along, and when we were there three years ago we visited the Electricity Museum in Belém. This is set in an old power station, perfect if you like the grandeur of old industrial equipment. It’s next to MAAT, a fairly new art museum in a fantastic building that has a roof you can walk up and over. Despite being just a short walk along the river from the main tourist attractions of Belém, the crowds don’t make it this far along.

MAAT with Ponte 25 de Abril

Sculptures on roof of MAAT

Much further along the river, away from the city centre but easily accessible by Metro, is the Parque das Nações. This was the venue of Expo 98, and is a large area of modern architecture, also including a shopping centre, Aquarium and Science Museum. It’s good to visit at any time of the day but we particularly enjoy going there in the evenings as it’s a lovely location for a meal and post dinner stroll. I was very excited to finally see the massive lynx by Bordalo II, who creates animal sculptures out of rubbish. This was installed just after we last visited Lisbon and covid scuppered our plans to go again until recently.

Bordalo II lynx

Riverside walkway including cable cars and pavilion

There is one part of Portuguese culture that is quite controversial, an event that I’d imagine most tourists would have no interest in but is worth talking about as it still exists – bullfighting. Whilst the vast majority of the population has no interest in bullfighting, unfortunately it does still take place in the Campo Pequeno, an architecturally interesting building that most of the time promotes its more acceptable attractions of restaurants, a cinema, concerts etc. As opposed to Spanish bullfighting the bull is injured rather than outright killed, but I don’t think most people would argue that this is anything other than barbaric. I would imagine that going forwards there will be less support for bullfighting leading to an eventual ban. We saw a couple of posters up in the area near the Campo Pequeno, one of which was from the political party PAN, who promote environmental and animal causes, saying that banning bullfighting would be progress, whilst the other was obviously a reply to this defending the rights of those who want to protect this aspect of their “traditions”. The increasing number of vegan restaurants I’ve noticed in Lisbon would seem to indicate that the culture is nowadays a much more caring one, in which such traditions will soon no longer have a place.

Campo Pequeno with posters both for and against bullfighting

Next time we go to Lisbon we’re planning to explore some more of the lesser known corners of the city as well as getting the train down to the nearby city of Setúbal. I’ve also written posts about transport and food in Lisbon for those who are interested.

Basel February 2018

Switzerland is a country I’d wanted to go to for a long time and it’s known for being expensive, but as we found some extremely cheap flights to Basel we thought that would partly offset the extra cost. We were also lucky to find a very reasonably priced hotel in the centre, which combined with free public transport made it seem much more affordable.

View of trams from hotel

One of Switzerland’s largest cities, Basel is at the point where Switzerland, France and Germany meet and some of its suburbs are in those other two countries. On arrival at the somewhat appropriately named EuroAirport you are actually on French soil, but exit following the signs to Switzerland and the bus will quickly whisk you across the border. As mentioned, we had free public transport. Whilst transport isn’t actually free, it is for hotel guests in Swiss cities. Our hotel gave us a pass which entitled us to use the buses and trams, and as long as you can produce proof of accommodation if requested then transport from the airport is also free, provided that you stay within the Swiss parts of Basel.

Basler Rathaus (town hall)

The centre of Basel is very pleasant with pedestrianised streets and plenty of interesting buildings, there are also nice walks by the river Rhine.

River Rhine and Münsterplatz

Basel is known for having many museums, especially of art. Rather than go to one of the larger museums we decided to go to two smaller ones – the Cartoon Museum and the Paper Mill Museum. Both were very enjoyable and not too busy, and offered something a bit different to the standard museum fare. The Paper Mill had old preserved equipment and hands on activities, we’ve been to several of these industrial museums and they’re always good (others we’ve visited include the Industrial Gas Museum in Athens, the Electricity Museum in Lisbon and the Rice Museum in Valencia).

Part of the old Paper Mill now converted into a museum

I was fascinated by the fact that Basel has a tripoint where three countries meet, and so we got the tram to the north of the city where you can visit Dreiländereck, a monument next to the river near to where Switzerland, Germany and France converge.

Dreiländereck, blue skies on a freezing February day

After seeing the monument we walked up the road and across the border to Germany. Coming from the UK it always feels quite a novelty to wander so easily into another country! Just across the other side is a shopping centre where the prices were considerably cheaper and I’d imagine it’s well used by the inhabitants of the Swiss part of the city. There was also a fantastic Chinese buffet restaurant which had views across the river to France – the French suburbs of Basel were just a short walk across the adjacent footbridge, the Passerelle des Trois Pays. There are trams to this area from the centre of Basel but it’s important to remember to get off at the border, as once across you’ll need to pay the fare because it’s in Germany, and the free travel offer to visitors therefore no longer applies.

Dinner in Germany with views across to France

Eating out in Basel was expensive, so as well as the cheaper buffet in Germany we managed to find a reasonably priced pub-style restaurant offering traditional Swiss food near the river docks back in Switzerland. It had a very cosy feel with wood panelling. I had the potato based rösti topped with a fried egg followed by cassata for dessert. Now cassata can refer to more than one type of dessert, the best known being the Sicilian cake with ricotta cheese. This however was the cassata I remember from my childhood – layers of ice cream with candied fruit, and very nice it was too. It definitely added to the retro feel of the evening.

Rosti and cassata at Schiff restaurant

We were in Basel in the run up to Fasnacht, the annual carnival. Whilst we didn’t see the parade itself there were lots of displays in the shops and it seemed to be quite a big event, the largest in Switzerland.

Fasnacht mask displays

On our final day we visited the Markthalle, an indoor market area with various restaurants and the fairly unusual and fun feature of a slide between floors – something I have since seen in the Mall of Berlin, although that one was closed due to covid precautions.

How to make a quick exit

As the shops were so expensive we didn’t buy anything on our meanderings around the centre (not that we’re really into shopping anyway) but there was plenty to look at without spending any money.

Some of the city centre sights

And finally, we normally ignore the ubiquitous airport Toblerone bars, nice though they are, but it seemed appropriate to succumb to their delights whilst in their spiritual home! I can recommend a short break in Basel as a little taste of Switzerland, with the advantage of cheaper options for eating available across the nearby border so that it doesn’t break the bank.