Cruises - Azores Cruise Club

elfAst, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland’s capital was catapulted into the limelight back in 1912, when
it built the most advanced piece of technology of the time – the RMS Titanic.
Today, though, Belfast is all about the craic. It’s got a bubbling nightlife and
music scene, and hundreds of traditional old pubs where it’s a rite of passage
to order a proper Irish breakfast – soda bread and all – and a pint of Guinness.
• The Giant’s Causeway is made up of around 40,000 interlinked basalt columns
– picture a really long church organ and you’re pretty much there. The result of
an ancient volcanic eruption, it’s one of the country’s most spectacular sights.
• Catch a glimpse of Stormont Castle. With its fairytale turrets and snarling
gargoyles, it’s like something out of a storybook.
bergen, Norway
Bergen is famous for being the birthplace of the great Norwegian composer,
Edvard Grieg. With its brightly-coloured houses and maze-like cobbled streets,
one thing’s for sure, this city was made for strolling.
• Don’t miss one of Bergen’s main attractions, Troldhaugen, Grieg’s home.
Beautifully set on Lake Nordaas, the Swiss-style house was built back in 1885.
Every summer from then until his death in 1907, Edvard Grieg lived and
worked here. As well as the house itself, you can visit the Edvard Grieg Museum.
There’s even a concert hall where you can listen to some of his finest work.
bornholm, Denmark
Thought to have been formed by volcanic activity millions of years ago, the
Danish island of Bornholm rises up from the icy Baltic Sea. Rocky crags and
sheer cliffs sidle up to its shores, giving way to untouched sandy beaches.
Inland, the scene becomes one of deep, emerald-green valleys and glassy lakes.
• The Medieval fortress of Hammershus is perched on a rock face at the
northern tip of the island. Built back in the 12th century, it’s the largest castle
ruin in Northern Europe, and it offers up fantastic views of the Baltic Sea.
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.
Akureyri, Iceland
Alesund, Norway Bryggen, Bergen
Blarney Castle, Cork Bornholm, Denmark
Cobh, Ireland
Crowned by the spectacular St Colman’s Cathedral, Cobh sits on Great Island,
which is joined to the mainland by road. Lined with houses in every colour of
the rainbow and boasting the world’s second largest natural harbour in the world,
this oh-so pretty town is your gateway to the emerald-green Cork region.
• Don’t miss the moving Queenstown Story at the railway station in Cobh.
This imaginative visitor attraction tells the story of the emigration from the
town during the 1845 famine, right up to the era of the great liners in the 1950s.
On the quayside you’ll also find a memorial to the victims of the Lusitania,
sunk in 1915 by a German submarine.
• Looking down proudly over Cobh, St Colman’s cathedral is well worth a visit. Built
in a French Gothic style, it took 47 years to build, between 1868 and 1916. Check
out its famous tower which has 49 bells – the heaviest weighing a hefty 3.6 tonnes.
dublin, Ireland
Joyce, Yeats and Oscar Wilde all fell head over heels for the fair city of Dublin –
and it’s easy to see why. Fringed with shops, sights and, of course, pubs, its cobbled
streets buzz with life and laughter all year round. The spirit of the city will capture
your heart from the word go. That’s before you’ve even begun to explore what this
vibrant, good-humoured hub has to offer…
• Find out how they make the black stuff at the Guinness Storehouse. A tour takes
you round huge vats of fermenting malt and hops before a trip to the top-floor
Gravity Bar for a complimentary pint.
• Stand in the shadow of Dublin Castle, the city’s historical centrepiece. Only the
Record Tower remains of the original 13th-century fortress - most of what you
see today has an 18th-century birthdate.
• Don’t miss Trinity College, Ireland’s oldest university. Past pupils include
renowned playwrights Oliver Goldsmith and Samuel Beckett and its hallowed halls
are one of Europe’s most respected seats of learning.
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