Cruises - Azores Cruise Club

36
WeSTern MediTerranean
porTS of Call
Ceuta, Spain
Although it’s attached to the Moroccan mainland, the city of Ceuta actually
belongs to Spain. It’s a meeting point for two continents, two seas and a
cluster of religions. As such, it’s home to a fascinating mish-mash of cultures.
The whitewashed, balcony-bedecked houses to the east of town feel typically
Spanish, but, head west, and sand-coloured mosques offer a taste of Africa.
• If you join a guided tour around the city’s peninsula, you’ll tick off the
Monte Hacho Fortress. Said to be the southern Pillar of Hercules, it’s perched
at the headland’s summit, commanding spectacular views over the city.
• Trace a route around Ceuta’s old City Walls. They’ve been lovingly restored
to their 16th-century origin, and feature information boards that tell the
story of a city once overwhelmed by plague and famine.
Cherbourg, France
It’s synonymous with cross channel ferries and hypermarkets. But there’s
actually a lot more to Cherbourg than meets the eye. Take the town’s main square
for instance, the flower-freckled Place General de Gaulle. It’s a gorgeous meeting
point surrounded by traditional French town houses.
• See the World War II D-Day landing grounds, where cemeteries, memorials and
the remains of the famous ‘Mulberry Harbour’ make for an emotive visit.
• From Cherbourg, foodies can make a pilgrimage to Saint Vaast La Hougue.
The harbourside is lined with restaurants, and the dish of the day is always oysters.
CivitaveCChia (for Rome), Italy
Few cities on earth have the power to bowl you over quite like Rome. Discover a
city packed with historical wonder, artistic splendour and culinary temptation at
every turn. Not to mention enough designer shops to keep you browsing for a year.
• Relive the days of the gladiators at the eye-popping Colosseum. Big enough
to hold 50,000 bloodthirsty spectators, it’s stood the test of time and remains
Rome’s most famous landmark.
• All pillars and triumphal arches, the Roman Forum is another ancient showstopper.
Wander among its ruins – it’s like leafing through the pages of a living history book.
• Head for the Vatican City, the heart of the Catholic Church. Feast your eyes on
treasures like St Peter’s Basilica, the Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel,
where Michelangelo’s ceiling masterpiece awaits you.
• Stroll down Rome’s most exclusive shopping street, the über-chic Via Condotti.
Here you can hit the shops, taking in big name boutiques like Fendi, Valentino and
Gucci. Stop for a caffeine fix at Caffe Greco, a Victoriana-fest of a coffee house.
• Follow the Da Vinci trail across the city, calling in at the Baroque beauty that is
Piazza Navona and the citadel-fortress of Castel Sant’Angelo.
dubrovnik, Croatia See page 62 for details
gibraltar, Gibraltar See page 155 for details
kalamata, Greece
This quiet, quaint pocket of Greece is the place to escape modern life. Hugging
the coast along Messinia and the Main peninsula, it’s a collection of great beaches
and small towns. Central squares are lined with flowers and tavernas. And locals
congregate to play backgammon, sip ouzo and tuck into bowls of the famous
Kalamata olives. Best of all, it’s a place where tour parties come in sprinkles
not spades. Walk around the jumble of ruins that makes up Nestor’s Palace.
This place dates back to the 12th-century BC and it even got a name-check
in Homer’s The Odyssey. Weaving through the columns and storage rooms
will give you a real feel for ancient Greece.
• Standing guard on a rocky outcrop, the Ottoman fortress is Methoni’s big draw.
Get to it by crossing a weather-beaten stone bridge and you’ll find parapets,
ruined churches and the octagonal ‘bourtzi’ tower cast out in the water.
• Beach-lovers will find plenty of places to unravel their towels. The beaches in
Kalamata and nearby Yialova are all buttermilk sands and turquoise seas.
Visit your local travel shop | 0871 230 2800 | thomson.co.uk/cruise
Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras. The cost of calls was correct at the time of publication.
See page 3.