march-2011

114 | DESTINATION GUIDES
Bari
Italy
DIALLING CODE +39
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
Milan (MXP)
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI
Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €25.
Route 16 goes
to the centre.
Tickets: €0.77.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €30
NessunDorma (3 Via
Fiume, tel: 080 522
8825) A good, reliable
lunch spot that serves
a wide selection of
pastas and local dishes.
You won’t fi nd anything
too fancy here, just
good cheap grub.
EXCLUSIVE Rococò
(18 Via Ciaia, tel: 080
483 4754) Set inside
a stunning 1,400-yearold
building, this
restaurant is superb.
The menu covers all
tastes and the wine list
is very healthy indeed.
After dinner, retire to
the piano bar for an
Amaro or two.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Vinagre
(47 Via Camillo
Rosalba, tel: 080 504
2844) Slightly off
the beaten track, this
excellent wine bar
makes up for the trek
with its good food. A
cool, chilled-out place
to kick off the evening.
LATE & LIVELY
Smaila’s Bari (154
Via Principe Amedeo)
Smaila’s is open from
12.30am to 4am most
nights of the week.
Entrance is usually
free, but on Saturdays
the club sometimes
hosts live acts and
there’s a charge.
Music-wise, it’s a bit
of a mishmash – you
can’t be sure quite
what you’ll get – but
that all adds to the fun.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Only a twominute
walk from
the Old Town, Borgo
Murattiano and the
surrounding area is
a shoppers’ paradise.
All the fashion
boutiques and other
Italian stalwarts can
be found here.
GO Visit Polignano a
Mare, 38km from Bari.
The ancient seaside
town is stunning and
has some of the best
fi sh restaurants in
Puglia. The Church of
Santa Maria Assunta
is a national treasure,
as is the local historic
art collection in the
Presepe Chapel.
NO WAY!
The beautiful Old
Town of Bari claims
to have the longest
seafront in Italy.
Max Keep
Basel/
Mulhouse/
Freiburg
Switzerland
DIALLING CODE +41
CURRENCY CHF
FLY FROM
Alicante,
Amsterdam, Barcelona,
Berlin, Bordeaux, Cagliari,
Copenhagen, Corsica
(Ajaccio), Dresden,
Düsseldorf, Edinburgh,
Gran Canaria, Hamburg,
Istanbul, Lisbon, London
(LGW), Madrid, Málaga,
Marrakech, Nantes,
Naples, Nice, Olbia,
Rome (FCO), Porto,
Pristina, Split, Tel Aviv,
Thessaloniki, Venice
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs
CHF40 to Basel and
€40 to Mulhouse.
Route 50 takes
you to Basel’s
main train station.
Tickets: CHF3.80.
In France, shuttles
go to the station in
Saint-Louis for trains to
Mulhouse. Tickets: €1.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet infl ight rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15 Paul (62
Rue des Clefs, Colmar,
tel: 03 8924 1662)
Cosy, dependable Paul
is ideal for a coff ee,
croissant or light meal
at any time of the day.
UP TO €30
Restaurant
Unterlinden (2 Rue
des Unterlinden,
Colmar, tel: 03 8941
1873) Just next to the
fantastic Unterlinden
Museum, this quaint
spot is one of the best
places in the city to try
fl ammekueche, the
Alsatian version of pizza.
UP TO €50 Der Vierte
König (20 Blumenrain,
Basel, tel: 06 1261
5442) Next door to
Basel’s luxurious Drei
Könige (Three Kings)
hotel, Der Vierte König
(The Fourth King)
off ers mid-priced
cuisine at its best. With
a rustic but stylish
interior, an excellent
menu and the best
wine list of any Basel
restaurant in its class.
This is a local highlight.
EXCLUSIVE St
Alban-Eck (60 St
Alban-Vorstadt, Basel,
tel: 06 1271 0320)
This little jewel is
situated in a charming
street parallel to the
Rhine. The cuisine
is imaginative
and includes such
temptations as cold
melon and mint
soup, grilled steak
with chanterelles and
chocolate souffl é
on pistachio sauce.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Charlie’s
Bar (26 Rue de la Sinne,
Mulhouse, tel: 03 8966
1222) This bar, with
authentic art-nouveau
décor and piano music
from 1920s Paris, is the
perfect place to start
the evening with a glass
of chilled Champagne.
LIVE MUSIC Cargo
Bar (46 St Johanns-
Rheinweg, Basel, tel:
06 1321 0072) Basel’s
best-loved alternative
to the larger venues.
Three nights a week,
this bar fi lls to capacity
and spills out on to
the riverbank as jazz
and rock acts keep
the neighbours up.
LATE & LIVELY
The Annex (14
Binningerstrasse, Basel,
tel: 06 1564 6600)
Fridays see relaxed
reggae nights, while
Saturdays feature
house and guest DJs
at the most exclusive
garage in Basel. It’s
one of the gems in
the cluster of clubs
around Basel Zoo.
THIS MONTH
SHOP The masks,
drums and piccolos
of Basel Fasnacht
(carnival) are
BASEL
FASNACHT
GO Starting on 14
March, with 72 hours
of music, drinking,
dancing and lots of
fun, the Fasnacht is
the event of the year.
More than 12,000
people take part each
year (fasnacht.ch).
wonderfully original,
but you won’t make
yourself popular making
off ers to the locals on
the street and there
are no touts selling
knock-off s. If you
really want to take a
sample home, consider
respectfully inquiring
at one of the boutiques
that make them,
such as Larveatelier
d’Frau Fasnacht (30
Blotzheimerstrasse).
SEE Baselworld
(24–31 March) is the
world’s leading watch
and jewellery show,
with more than 2,100
exhibitors from 40
countries, and 94,000
visitors in 2010.
Fascinating if you know
your Patek Philippe from
your Rolex, rather dull
if you never expect to
have an extra €10,000
to blow on diamonds
(baselworld.com).
ESCAPE Mulhouse’s
carnival may not be
as famous as Basel’s,
but it does happen
the week before, so if
you’re in town from
11–13 March check
out the parades
and fun (carnavalmulhouse.com).
NO WAY!
Certainly Switzerland’s
most spectacular
winter rite, Chienbaese
in Liestal (13 March) is
a fi re parade in which
men, women and
children carry giant
fl aming brooms and
fl aming wagons through
this small city – the
youngest participant is
off ered a prize!
Richard Harvell