march-2011

132 | DESTINATION GUIDES
Düsseldorf
Germany
DIALLING CODE +49
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
Basel-Mulhouse,
London (LGW), Rome (FCO)
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI
Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €20.
Trains to the
Hauptbahnhof
leave every 10 minutes.
Tickets: €3.30.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €30 Curry
(2 Hammer Strasse,
tel: 0211 303 2857)
Top-notch sausages,
twice-cooked chips
and a range of sauces
from fruity curry to
aioli ensure the simple
and inexpensive fare at
Curry is very chic.
EXCLUSIVE
Tafelspitz 1876 (42A
Grünerstrasse, tel: 0211
171 7361) A former cake
shop reworked by Daniel
Dal-Ben as a Michelinstarred
gourmet
restaurant, Tafelspitz
1876 is the place to feast
on goose liver praline,
oxtail soup with rare ribeye
steak or line-caught
zander with warm Black
Forest ham gelée.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Brauerei
Schumacher (123
Oststrasse, tel: 0211 828
9020) You won’t get the
Schumacher brewery’s
traditional Düsseldorf Alt
beer fresher than on the
site where it’s brewed.
LATE & LIVELY
Anaconda Lounge (11
Andreasstrasse, tel:
0172 272 7252) Original
1960s design meets
cocktails and electro
to create a club in
miniature at Anaconda
Lounge, open until
5am on Fridays
and for Saturday’s
Elektromeisterei.
THIS MONTH
SHOP This month
the GDS international
shoe fair is in town, but
unless you’re a trade
visitor you won’t get in.
Head instead for Jerry’s
Exclusiv, where you’ll fi nd
luxurious Lobb footwear
for men and fi ne Italian
shoes for women (Kö-
Galerie, 58 Königsallee,
jerrys-exclusiv.de).
SEE Carnival is known
as the “fi fth season”
here. It climaxes with
Rosenmontag on 7
March, when a giant
parade makes its way
through the city, and
costumes and silliness
are the order of the day
(comitee-duesseldorfercarneval.de).
NO WAY!
It was here in 1970
that Ralf Hütter and
Florian Schneider
came together to form
celebrated synthesizer
pioneers Kraftwerk.
Neville Walker
Edinburgh
UK
DIALLING CODE +44
CURRENCY £
FLY FROM
Alicante,
Amsterdam, Basel-
Mulhouse, Belfast (BFS),
Bristol, Cologne, Cyprus
(Paphos), Geneva, Krakow,
Lisbon, London (LGW,
LTN, STN), Lyon, Madrid,
Milan (MXP), Munich,
Majorca, Nice, Paris (CDG)
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI
Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs £15.
The Airlink 100
service goes to
the centre. Tickets: £6.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15 Illegal
Jack’s South West Grill
(113–117 Lothian Road,
tel: 0131 622 7499) This
is a big, plainly set-out
eatery that gets its Tex-
Mex style exactly right.
It isn’t sophisticated, but
it’s certainly fi lling, fresh
and friendly, with the
accent as much on the
food as it is on being fast.
UP TO €30 The
Magnum Restaurant
& Bar (1 Albany Street,
tel: 0131 557 4366) The
Magnum delivers strong,
old-fashioned service
and a Scottish menu
that gives a modern
twist to the suitably
traditional element that’s
in keeping with its New
Town setting. Satisfyingly
comfy dining on all levels,
with a great wine list.
UP TO €50 Calistoga
Restaurant & Sideways
Wines (70 Rose Street
North Lane, tel: 0131 225
1233) Bang in the heart
of the New Town, but
hidden away down a tiny
lane, this is Californian
dining of the kind that
likes local sourcing and
Pacifi c Rim fl avours.
The choice isn’t vast so
the attention to detail is
strong, with the steamed
bass particularly piquant.
The wine list is long
but aff ordable.
EXCLUSIVE Castle
Terrace (33–35 Castle
Terrace, tel: 0131 229
1222) It only opened
last July, but a “rising
star” in the 2011
Michelin Guide marks
out this uncluttered,
sophisticated restaurant
for future greatness.
Chef and patron
Dominic Jack holds true
to mentor Tom Kitchin’s
from-nature-to-plate
philosophy, bringing
techniques learned
in starred French
restaurants to
Scottish produce.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Hyde
Out (2 Fountainbridge
Square, tel: 0131 221
0632) A classy newstyle
bar on the canal
waterfront at Edinburgh
Quay, where the bespoke
designer trimmings are
as noteworthy as the
superior menu. A cool
place to lounge with
cocktails and fi ne wines.
LIVE MUSIC
Bannerman’s Bar (212
Cowgate, tel: 0131 556
3254) Barrel-vaulted
ceilings don’t improve
the acoustics of this
vibrant haunt for local
bands, but they help
keep the enthusiasm
levels high. There’s live
music most evenings,
for those who like it loud.
LATE & LIVELY Pivo
(2 Calton Road, tel: 0131
557 2925) Edinburgh’s
up-and-coming DJs
display their mixing skills
every night at this stylish
and lively bar that’s open
from 4pm to 3am. It’s
a good central pre-club
hangout, or a great place
to stay all night.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Threadbare is an
Aladdin’s cave of retro,
kitsch and collectable
clothing, tucked away
in a basement at the
bottom of Broughton
Street. Perfect for a
TEN HILL
PLACE HOTEL
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Find a little peace and
quiet among the
hustle and bustle
of the city at this
stylish and tastefully
decorated hotel.
From €74, book at
hotels.easyJet.com.
unique bargain item
to set off an outfi t – or
a piece of designer
cashmere (66A
Broughton Street).
SEE There’s sensuality
all month at the Royal
Lyceum Theatre, with
Stella Quines’ genrebusting,
sexy ensemble
piece Age of Arousal
until 12 March, and Sue
Glover’s Marilyn – about
Monroe and Simone
Signoret – from 15
March (Grindlay Street,
tel: 0131 248 4848,
lyceum.org.uk).
GO South of the city
centre, on the 41 bus
route, Blackford Hill
is home to the Royal
Observatory and its
visitors’ centre. One of
the city’s better places to
blow away the cobwebs,
with stunning panoramic
views of the city.
ESCAPE Linlithgow,
20 minutes east of
Edinburgh by train, was
a favoured stopping
place for Scottish
royalty on the road
to Stirling. Linlithgow
Palace was the nursery
for Scottish royalty
in the 16th century,
including Mary Queen
of Scots, although this
impressive building in
beautiful parkland is
now largely ruined.
NO WAY!
Hyde Out’s toile
wallpaper, originally
designed for the
Edinburgh International
Festival, caused
outrage with its realistic
depiction of vagrants
and drunks among of
the city’s monuments.
Thom Dibdin