november-2011

120 | DESTINATION GUIDES More free monthly guides available at traveller.easyjet.com
Berlin
Germany
DIALLING CODE +49
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
Agadir,
Amsterdam, Athens,
Barcelona, Basel-
Mulhouse, Bristol,
Brussels, Budapest,
Cagliari, Copenhagen,
Corfu, Crete
(Heraklion), Dubrovnik,
Geneva, Glasgow, Ibiza,
Lisbon, Liverpool,
London (LGW, LTN),
Lyon, Madrid, Majorca,
Málaga, Manchester,
Milan (MXP), Naples,
Nice, Olbia, Paris
(ORY), Pisa, Rome,
Split, Tenerife,
Thessaloniki, Venice
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €35.
Berlin Welcome
Card allows 72
hours of travel on
city transport. Buy
onboard, tickets: €25.
The S-Bahn train
leaves from the
airport. Tickets: €3.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15
Manouche (23
Grimmstrasse) This
crazy candelit cavern
THE MOST FAMOUS
IRISH PUB IN BERLIN
cooks up generously
sized savoury galettes
and sweet crêpes, and
some great salads.
There are board games
for the bored, friendly
waiters, and nostalgic
French tunes.
UP TO €50
Wilson’s (Crowne
Plaza Berlin City
Centre, 65 Nürnberger
Strasse, tel: 030 2100
7991) This expansive
restaurant specialises
in prime rib, that
delicious slow-cooked
speciality made from
US free-range beef,
served with a plethora
of well-prepared sides
and salads. Expect
professional service
and a formidable list
of American wines.
EXCLUSIVE
Fischers Fritz (49
Charlottenstrasse,
tel: 030 2033 6363)
The only restaurant
in Berlin with two
Michelin stars,
Fischers Fritz in The
Regent hotel is a
gourmet’s delight. True
haute cuisine in lavish,
classical surroundings.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY
Gainsbourg (5
Savignyplatz, tel: 030
313 7464) This tiny
cocktail bar dedicated
to the French pop icon
Serge Gainsbourg
has a reputation as
a watering hole for
people working in
theatre and the fi lm
industry. The perfect
place to smoke a cigar
over a whiskey.
LIVE MUSIC NBI
(Kulturbrauerei Centre,
36 Schönhauser Allee,
tel: 030 4405 1681)
From Danish indie to
German country to
some compositions
performed on a laptop,
you never quite know
what you’re going to
get at NBI. Generally
speaking, it is always
a good night though.
LATE & LIVELY
SO36 (190
Oranienstrasse, tel:
030 6140 1306)
A classic, SO36
arose amid the wild
Kreuzberg nights of
the 1980s. Monday’s
Electric Ballroom night
is legendary, as is the
monthly gay Turkish
night, Gayhane.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Berlin is famed
for its numerous fl ea
markets. The biggest
and most popular
remains the sprawling
market at Mauerpark
in Prenzlauer Berg,
where you can clutch
a hot mulled wine while
browsing through
UP TO €30
Chipps (35
Jägerstrasse, tel: 030
3644 4588) This
casual, stylish joint
was launched last
year. Don’t be misled
by the name. Here a
chipp is a wafer-thin
potato pancake.
endless piles of
fashion, homeware and
other random stuff .
SEE The Helmut
Newton Museum
shows works by the
Berlin-born master of
fashion photography.
An exhibition of
Newton’s kinky
experiments with
Polaroid cameras in
the 1970s is showing
‘til 20 November
(2 Jebensstrasse).
GO The street
between
Oranienburger Strasse
and Torstrasse in Mitte
is home to dozens of
galleries – including
the charming CO
Berlin photography
centre (35–36
Oranienburger),
the infl uential KW
Berlin art space (69
Auguststrasse) and
the neighbouring ME
Collector’s Room
(68 Auguststrasse).
ESCAPE Teufelsberg
(Devil’s Mountain), an
artifi cial hill made from
World War II rubble in
the western Grunewald
forest, is well-suited
for an autumnal stroll.
At the top enjoy a view
over the city. There
you’ll also encounter
an abandoned former
US military listening
post from the Cold War.
NO WAY!
Pink Floyd’s 1990 The
Wall concert on the
border of east and
west Berlin was
the only concert in
history at which
the stage straddled
two countries.
exberliner.com
Biarritz
France
DIALLING CODE +33
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
London (LGW),
Lyon, Paris (CDG)
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €15.
The STAB runs
hourly from
7.30am. Tickets: €1.50.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €30 Bistrot
Ahizpak (13 Avenue
de Verdun, tel: 05 5922
0926) Owned and run
by three sisters, this
bistro-style restaurant
in the town centre
off ers good French
cooking without too
much fuss.
EXCLUSIVE Les
Frères Ibarboure
(Chemin de
Ttaliena, Bidart,
tel: 05 5954 8164)
A well-established
countryside inn
serving delicious
home-cooked meals.
Specialities include
lamb, fi sh and foie
gras beautifully
presented and
served in refi ned
surroundings.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY
Le Ponton (30
Avenue de La Milady,
tel: 05 5923 8303)
This chilled-out bar
and restaurant is
set inside the Hotel
le Biarritz. Large
windows overlook the
fantastic Côtes des
Basques, making it an
ideal place to come
for an apéritif.
LATE & LIVELY
Le Play Boy Club (15
Place Clemenceau, tel:
05 5924 3846) The
Play Boy nightclub is
frequented by a mix
of all ages looking for
a party atmosphere
after the other bars
close. Several dance
fl oors play rock, 1980s
and techno music.
THIS MONTH
GO Take a day trip
across the border to
the Spanish part of the
Basque Country. Buses
run regularly between
Biarritz and San
Sebastian. Stroll along
La Concha beach, go
window shopping in
the Old Quarters of the
city and enjoy some of
the best tapas in the
north of Spain.
NO WAY!
In 1905 Biarritz
chocolate makers
invented a special
bon bon for visiting
Russian nobility.
The choco-caramel
kanouga continues to
be popular today and
can be found in all of
the best chocolate
shops around the city.
Steve Bilsborough