march-2011

116 | DESTINATION GUIDES
Belfast
UK
DIALLING CODE +44
CURRENCY £
FLY FROM
Alicante,
Amsterdam, Barcelona,
Bristol, Edinburgh, Faro,
Geneva, Glasgow, Ibiza,
Krakow, Liverpool, London
(LGW, LTN), Málaga,
Malta, Newcastle, Majorca,
Nice, Paris (CDG), Prague
FROM THE
AIRPORT
BELFAST INT.
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs £25.
Translink run an
Airbus service to
the centre. Tickets: £7
single; £10 return.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
CITY AIRPORT
TAXI
Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs £8.
Translink runs a
service to the city
centre, which leaves
every 20 minutes.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15 Boojum
(73 Botanic Avenue,
tel: 028 9031 5334)
This informal Mexican
restaurant is the
perfect spot if you
fancy a quiet bite at
lunch or dinner. The
food is extremely
fresh and the service
is super-fast. A branch
has also just opened in
the city centre.
UP TO €30
McCracken’s (4 Joy’s
Entry, tel: 028 9032
6711) Tucked away just
off the High Street,
this stylish bar is a
great place for a hearty
lunch. The menu is
pretty varied and the
staff also serve a mean
pint of Guinness.
UP TO €50 La Boca
(6 Fountain Street,
tel: 028 9032 3087)
If you’re in the mood
for a good steak, why
not check out this
Argentine-inspired
restaurant. The food is
reasonably priced and
the restaurant has
a terrifi c atmosphere.
EXCLUSIVE CoCo
(7–11 Linenhall Street,
tel: 028 9031 1150)
Since it opened just
over a year or so ago,
this trendy eatery has
quickly established
itself as one of the
places to be seen.
The décor is pretty
funky and the
restaurant is located
close to many of the
city’s nightlife hotspots.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Ryan’s
Bar & Grill (116–118
Lisburn Road, tel: 028
9050 9850) This
small but perfectly
formed bar is an
ideal spot for a quiet
drink. It has a cosy
atmosphere and never
seems to get too
crowded. There is
also an excellent
restaurant upstairs.
LIVE MUSIC The
Black Box (18–22 Hill
Street, tel: 028 9024
4400) Located in the
heart of the arty part
of town known as the
Cathedral Quarter, this
über-cool live music
venue has played host
to some of the best
up-and-coming bands
throughout the land.
LATE & LIVELY
The Northern Whig
(2–10 Bridge Street,
tel: 028 9050 9888) If
you’re just getting your
bearings in the city,
the Northern Whig is
a great place to base
yourself. It’s busy most
nights of the week
and attracts a pretty
diverse crowd.
THIS MONTH
SHOP These days,
no visit to Belfast is
complete without a trip
to the mega shopping
centre Victoria Square.
As well as being home
JURYS INN
BELFAST
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Even more stylish
after its recent
refurbishment, this
hotel is ideal for a
trendy Belfast break.
Breakfast included.
From €82, book at
hotels.easyJet.com.
to a host of designer
stores, there’s also
a free viewing dome
which gives you a
great view of the city
(1 Victoria Square,
tel: 028 9032 2277).
SEE Although St
Patrick’s Day has
traditionally been
a low-key aff air in
Belfast, recently the
celebrations have
become more high
profi le. On 17 March
this year there will be
a parade from the
City Hall to Custom
House Square leaving
at noon, followed by
a free concert.
GO Often described
as Belfast’s Notting
Hill, Ormeau Road is a
great place to eat and
drink. It’s dotted with
fantastic inexpensive
restaurants and great
traditional bars. The
Errigle Inn comes highly
recommend for a pint
and Soul Food is great
for a spot of lunch.
ESCAPE Less than
an hour’s drive from
Belfast, the beautiful
seaside town of
Portaferry is well worth
a visit. Enjoy a pint in
one of the many bars,
then take the short
ferry ride across to the
equally charming town
of Strangford.
NO WAY!
Belfast’s Sirocco
Works invented air
conditioning, and
the city’s Royal
Victoria Hospital was
the world’s fi rst air
conditioned building.
Chris Sherry/
Ulster Tatler
Berlin
Germany
DIALLING CODE +49
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
Amsterdam,
Athens, Barcelona,
Basel-Mulhouse, Bristol,
Brussels, Budapest,
Cagliari, Copenhagen,
Corfu, Crete (Heraklion),
Dubrovnik, Geneva,
Glasgow, Gothenburg,
Ibiza, Lisbon, Liverpool,
London (LGW, LTN), Lyon,
Madrid, Majorca, Málaga,
Milan (MXP), Naples,
Nice, Olbia, Paris (ORY),
Pisa, Rome (CIA), Split,
Thessaloniki, Venice
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €35.
Express route
SXF1 runs from
outside Terminal A to the
Südkreuz. Tickets: €6.
The S-Bahn train
leaves from the
airport. Tickets: €2.80.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15 Ohlàlà
Tartes-shop (18 Mainzer
Strasse) On a street
where squatters once
battled police sits a
pretty little shop run by
a young French lady who
bakes beautiful fresh
quiches and sweet tarts
every morning. Perfect
for lunch after the nearby
weekend Boxhagener
Platz market.
UP TO €30 Bar-
Celona (2 Hannoversche
Strasse, Mitte, tel: 030
282 9153) This was the
fi rst tapas bar to open
in the eastern half of
the city following the fall
of the Berlin Wall, and
it still pleases a wellheeled
clientèle
with its off erings of
tempting Spanish
delicacies and wines.
UP TO €50 Gat
Kitchen (81–82
Mauerstrasse, tel: 030
2067 1747) In
a new Spanish designer
hotel tucked away down
a side street not far from
Checkpoint Charlie,
this retro yet futuristic
little eatery actually
serves some delicious
Catalonian-style dinners
conceived by trendy
Spanish chefs Paula
and Flip. The menu is a
mix of seafood, which is
normally hard to fi nd in
Berlin, and quality meats
such as entrecôte,
served with good
Spanish and German
wines. Reservations
are recommended.
EXCLUSIVE Paris
Moskau (141 Alt-Moabit,
Tiergarten, tel: 030 394
2081) Hidden in a
small, half-timbered
house in Tiergarten
Park, near the massive
new central station,
this elegant yet
unpretentious treasure
boasts a winning
combination of central
European cooking
and haute cuisine.