march-2011

112 | DESTINATION GUIDES
Athens
Greece
DIALLING CODE +30
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
Berlin, London
(LGW), Manchester,
Milan (MXP), Paris
(ORY), Rome (FCO)
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €35.
Proastiako and
metro line trains
service the city. Tickets:
€6 single; €10 return.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €30 Cabrio
(34–36 Kastorias Street,
Votanikos, tel: 210 348
0000) The colourful and
modern café-restaurant
in the Athinais arts
centre has a small but
well-executed menu with
multi-ethnic overtones.
EXCLUSIVE
Funky Gourmet (13
Paramythias Street, tel:
210 524 2727) Always
on the cutting edge
of culinary art, chefs
Hiliadaki, Bantis and
Roussos have taken
a few pointers from
across the Atlantic and
produced their own
table-top desserts at
this restaurant.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY The Kinky
Café (24 Megalou
Alexandrou Street)
The name says it all.
The erotic ambience
is reinforced by the
artwork on the walls and
the suggestively named
drinks on the menu.
Defi nitely X-rated.
LATE & LIVELY D.C.
(30–32 Iera Odos Street,
Gazi) This mainstream
club is decorated to look
like a street with the
walls of the buildings
removed, letting you
see parts of a garage,
a kitchen, a living room
and a school library.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Block colours,
animal appliques and
clothes as collage: the
Heel Shop is 100%
Greek and fun – it’s all
about discovering the
child within (11 Irakleitou
Street, heelshop.gr).
SEE The exhibition
Obsessions & Intimacy,
featuring work by
Austrian artists, will
be on display at the
B&M Theocharakis
Foundation for the
Fine Arts and Music
throughout the month (9
Vassilissis Sofi as Avenue,
tel: 210 361 1206).
NO WAY!
March coincides with
Orthodox Lent, which
is a much stricter aff air
than in most of Europe.
Apart from chocolate, a
decent Lent fast bans all
types of meat, eggs and
dairy products, except
“bloodless” seafood
such as shellfi sh.
Eva Webster
Barcelona
Spain
DIALLING CODE +34
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
Amsterdam,
Basel-Mulhouse, Belfast
(BFS), Berlin, Bristol,
Dortmund, Geneva,
Lisbon, Liverpool,
London (LGW, LTN,
STN), Lyon, Milan
(MXP), Newcastle
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €30.
The Aerobus runs
a frequent service
to Plaça Catalunya.
Tickets: €5.
Trains service the
Sants Estació.
Tickets: €2.50.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15 La Divina
(5 Carrer d’Ataulf, tel: 93
180 6940) Tucked out of
sight in the Barri Gotic,
this suave little barrestaurant
serves tasty
Euro-Iberian and Tex-Mex
cuisine at friendly prices.
During lunch (1–4pm),
take advantage of the
three-course menú del
día for under €10.
UP TO €30 Mesón
David (63 Carrer de
Carretas, tel: 93 441
5934) Classic Spanish
dishes from every
region of the country
have found their way
on to the menu of this
superb restaurant.
Basque hake, Navarran
trout and Galician stews
are all served in huge
portions – suffi ce to say
no one leaves Mesón
David hungry.
UP TO €50 I Buoni
Amici (193 Carrer
Casanova, tel: 93
439 6816) With its
quirky décor, intimate
atmosphere and
delicious pasta, it’s no
surprise this is one
of L’Eixample’s most
popular Italian eateries. I
Buoni Amici also serves
a mean steak if you fancy
something more meaty.
EXCLUSIVE 7 Portes
(14 Passeig Isabel II,
tel: 93 319 3033) A
Barcelona icon since
1836, the stately 7 Portes
has seen generations
of genteel Barcelonans
pass through its seven
doors for wonderful
seafood and rice dishes.
The paella is legendary.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Cervecería
Jazz (44 Carrer de
Margarit, tel: 93 443
3259) A tremendous fi nd
in the earthy district of
Poble Sec, this bar has
little to do with jazz but a
lot to do with tasty beers
and ales from around
the world. The perfect
antidote to another night
of bland big-brand lager.
LIVE MUSIC La Cova
de les Cultures (12
Carrer de l’ Ángel, tel:
93 237 5260) This selfstyled
“laboratory of
art” is located in Gracia
and throws on several
concerts each month,
typically ethnic jams by
established musicians.
LATE & LIVELY
Manchester Bar (5
Carrer de Milans) A
cult fave among the
alternative crowd, the
“Manchester” part of the
bar’s name is a clue to its
soundtrack: Joy Division,
Stone Roses and Oasis
all feature heavily. A great
place to start or end any
pub crawl in El Gotico.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Wawas has a
smorgasbord of gifts
on display, from fridge
magnets by local artists
to tapas cookbooks and
even the odd calendar.
Needless to say, all are
better than a T-shirt
saying “My sister went
to Barcelona...”
(14 Carrer de Carders,
wawasbarcelona.com).
SEE It’s not quite
Rio, but the Sitges
Carnival (3–9 March)
is nonetheless one
HOTEL
MODERNO
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Tucked on a side
street just 20m from
Las Ramblas, you’ll
fi nd this your perfect
Barcelona base.
Breakfast included.
From €95, book at
hotels.easyJet.com.
fantastic party. Everyone
descends on the coastal
resort in fancy dress
and dances on the
streets until dawn. The
35-minute train ride
from Barcelona will
seem a lot easier going
out than coming back
with a sore head.
GO The area above
El Borne, known as La
Ribera, is a perfect place
to discover a quiet slice
of Barcelona for yourself.
Amid the narrow lanes,
scenic squares and
locally patroned cafés
and bars, the splendid
Palau Música Catalana
rises up in all its redbrick
Modernisme splendour
(11 Carrer de Sant
Pere Més Alt).
ESCAPE The sacred
mountain of Montserrat
is one of the most
popular day trips from
Barcelona, thanks to its
dramatic jagged rock
face rising over the
Benedictine Santa Maria
abbey. The latter houses
the famous 12thcentury
Black Virgin
statue and one of the
oldest printing presses
in the world. Trains
leave frequently from
Barcelona embarking on
the hour-long journey.
NO WAY!
When Franco paid a
visit to Palau Música
Catalana in 1960, local
rebels treated him to a
rendition of a regional
hymn in Catalan, a
language the dictator
had made illegal. Franco
responded by having the
perpetrators arrested.
Duncan Rhodes/
Barcelona-life.com