march-2011

148 | DESTINATION GUIDES
Liverpool
UK
DIALLING CODE +44
CURRENCY £
FLY FROM
Alicante,
Amsterdam, Barcelona,
Belfast (BFS), Berlin,
Bodrum, Bordeaux,
Brussels, Faro,
Fuerteventura, Geneva,
Gibraltar, Grenoble,
Ibiza, Innsbruck, Isle of
Man, Jersey, Krakow,
Lanzarote, Lisbon, Lyon,
Madrid, Majorca, Málaga,
Malta, Menorca, Naples,
Nice, Paris (CDG),
Rhodes, Salzburg, Tallinn
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI
Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs £15.
The 500 departs
every 30 minutes
for the city centre.
Tickets: £2.60.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €15
Mangetout (21–23
Old Hall Street, tel:
0151 227 4878) In an
area fast becoming the
city’s commercial hub,
Mangetout is an ideal
refuelling point, with
porridge for breakfast
and sandwiches,
soups and hot food for
lunch. Daytime only.
23 - 27 March
35 stands of Art,
Silver, Glass,
Porcelain,
Furniture,
Jewellery etc
Wednesday 2-8
Thurs-Sat 11-6
Sunday 11-5
UP TO €30 Lunya
(18–20 College Lane, tel:
0151 706 9770) Set in a
converted 18th-century
warehouse in Liverpool
One, Lunya sources
fi ne artisan Spanish
ingredients, fusing food
from Catalonia and the
north west of England
to produce tapas such
as Iberico ham and leek
croquetas with Lake
District pickle.
UP TO €50 Da Piero
(5 Mill Hill Road, Irby,
Wirral, tel: 0151 648
7373) The Michelin
Guide speaks well of
this homely, family-run
business. Italian
chef-proprietor Piero di
Bella pours all his Latin
passion into the food,
with emphasis on Sicilian
country cooking. It’s half
an hour from Liverpool,
but you’re unlikely
to be disappointed.
EXCLUSIVE The
Exchange (3 Thomas
Steers Way, tel: 0151 708
4200) Seasonal and
local cuisine is a priority
at one of the newest
branches of the Hilton
hotel chain, overlooking
the historic Albert Dock.
Try braised and roasted
Pennine venison with
mulled pear.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY The Beer
House (Contemporary
Urban Centre, 41–51
Greenland Street) Close
to the docks, the bar
of this charity-run arts
centre has a welcoming,
lived-in atmosphere plus,
an excellent selection
of world beers and bar
food. Profi ts help the
socially disadvantaged.
LIVE MUSIC The
Zanzibar Club (43 Seel
Street) The Zanzibar
Club’s customers lend
this small independent
venue with an easy-going
ambience. An intimate
environment for
watching live gigs from
both established and upand-coming
bands.
LATE & LIVELY The
Magnet (45 Hardman
Street, tel: 0151 709
7560) Close to the
city’s cultural quarter,
the instinctive cool
generated by The
Magnet attracts the art
crowd. Repose in velvetladen
booths upstairs,
or join the dancing
and DJs downstairs.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Aside from
continental produce,
Delifonseca stocks
a wide range of British
foodstuff s, such as prizewinning
local bacon
and Stinking Bishop
cheese. Both branches
feature award-winning
sandwiches to take
HEYWOOD
HOUSE HOTEL
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
This elegant hotel
blends old with new,
having once been the
fi rst bank in the city,
now providing a chic
place to stay. From
€78, book at hotels.
easyJet.com.
away and restaurants
attracting rave reviews
(12 Stanley Street).
SEE The neo-classical
Walker Art Gallery
hosts an exhibition
throughout the month
featuring 60 stunning
paintings spanning fi ve
centuries and normally
unseen in public. Works
by Old Masters Rubens,
El Greco and Delacroix
are featured alongside
those by impressionists
Pissaro and Sisley
(William Brown Street).
GO Few manage to walk
the length of Lark Lane
without stopping at
one of the myriad bars,
restaurants and quirky
independent shops
inhabiting this attractive
slice of south Liverpool,
10 minutes by cab from
the city centre. At one
end is Sefton Park,
which has undergone
a multi-million
pound regeneration.
ESCAPE More than
eight million visitors
head for the rugged
peaks and tranquil lakes
of Cumbria every year.
Created in the Ice Age,
the Lake District is one of
the UK’s most beautiful
regions, with England’s
highest mountain and
deepest lake. Reach the
southern slopes in under
two hours from the city.
NO WAY!
The Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic
Orchestra was the fi rst
to play underwater
– performing below
the River Mersey to
celebrate the road
tunnel’s 60th birthday.
Gerry Corner
Both events in
Chelsea Old Town Hall,
Kings Road, SW3 5EE
Mention “Traveller” for
Complimentary Entry
Ljubljana
Slovenia
DIALLING CODE +386
CURRENCY €
FLY FROM
London (STN),
Paris (CDG)
FROM THE
AIRPORT
TAXI
Pre-book your taxi
at easyJet.com.
A local taxi costs €45.
Buses leave every
hour till 8pm.
Tickets: €4.10.
Visit the Europcar
desk for special
easyJet rates.
BON APPETIT
UP TO €30 Joe
Pena’s Cantina y
Bar (6 Cankarjeva,
tel: 01 421 5800) For
a Mexican vibe, make
a beeline for this fun
cantina. Enjoy cool
cocktails and
all manner of wraps
and spicy sauces.
EXCLUSIVE River
House (31 Gallusovo
Nabrezje, tel: 01 425
4090) Recline by the
river in the Old Town
and enjoy a glass of
excellent Slovenian
wine as you savour
pasta laced with
Istrian truffl es or white
fi sh freshly plucked
from the Adriatic at
one of the trendiest
of the city’s more
expensive restaurants.
AFTER DARK
LOW KEY Salon
(23 Trubarjeva) Not as
trendy as it once was,
which makes this Old
Town option is a great
bolthole for a creamy hot
chocolate or something
with a bit more of an
alcoholic hit as you kick
off the evening.
LATE & LIVELY Ultra
Club (6 Nazorjeva)
This is where the locals
come to dance to
happy house and trance
sounds. Some decent
local DJs and an upfor-it
vibe help get
the party started.
THIS MONTH
SHOP Midas is a
fashion treasure-trove
off ering great bargains
for those looking to burn
their euros. It describes
itself as a “multidesigner
store”. If you want to
dress to impress for
a night out, this is the
place to stock up (3
Ajdovsina, tel: 01 300
4600, midas.si).
GO Break south of
the centre and enter
another world, where
old ladies tend their
allotments and the river
idles lazily by in Krakovo.
There are some decent
eating options here too.
NO WAY!
Slovenia has its very
own tragic romantic
poet. When not penning
evocative words, Francè
Preseren was wrapped in
the passions and torture
of unrequited love, as
his dramatic statue on
the city’s main square
demonstrates.
robinmckelvie.com
1 - 3 April
35 Galleries of
Contemporary &
Modern Paintings
& Sculptures.
Friday 11-8,
Saturday 11-7,
Sunday 11-6.