There’s a lot more to Munich than the Oktoberfest beer festival and a legendary football team –this city of 1.5 million people is one of Europe’s most important cultural centres, while also boasting a very complete menu of entertainment and recreational options, every day of the year. Here are a few proposals for a weekend getaway to this liveliest of German cities.

Amongst it many attractions, Munich is easy to get to and to get around in, thanks to its huge international airport, excellent rail connection, and the super-modern public transport systems serving the city and its outskirts. Most of the key places for sightseers are concentrated in a relatively small area, and the city is thronged with visitors all year round. Keep in mind that the Alps are nearby, and the city is a staging point for skiers in winter and for climbers, hikers, mountain bikers, and paragliders in summer.

The city’s cultural life is intense, and no tourist should neglect to visits the cluster of three classical art museums collectively known as the Pinakothek –a show of El Greco is now in progress in one of them and will remain open until 12^th April. Not far away is the Brandhorst museum of modern art. On the bank of the Isar river is the fascinating Deutsches Museum of science and technology. It has a branch in Schleissheim to the north of the city that specialises in airplanes, and another in Theresienhöhe dedicated to every imaginable type of land transport vehicle. You may also enjoy the recently opened ZNT, New Technologies Centre, with its focus on nanotechnology and biotechnology. Car aficionados will love the BMW Welt museum –BMW is a Bavarian brand, afer all! To learn more about Munich itself, and its long and curious history, check out the Stadtmuseum, and don’t miss the permanent “Typically Munich” exhibition. For insights into the Bavarian people, there’s the incredible Residenz, the old palace of the Bavarian royal family, located in the city centre, and Germany’s largest urban palace. Today it is one of Europe’s leading museums of decorative arts, and its richly furnished and adorned spaces evoke many centuries of history under the Wittelsbach dynasty (1180-1918). At a short distance is the dynasty’s first Munich home, the Alter Hof, later used as law courts, and now the site of the Bavarian Museums Information Office and of a small museum devoted to the Wittelbachs, whose most famous king, Ludwig II, was born in the Nymphenburg castle standing in the western part of the city, next to the entrance to the Nymphenburg park. But just two hours southwest of Munich is one of Germany’s most celebrated castles, Neuschwanstein, at the foot of the Alps, which was Walt Disney’s inspiration for the castle in the cartoon classic Sleepìng Beauty.

Munich, by the way, has three top-ranked orchestras, numerous music festivals in many genres, and dozens of concert halls.

Design
Design is something else Munich is famous for, and this is evident in the way people dress –in style and good taste, like the people of Milan. The city centre is the best place to shop for designer clothes and decorative items, for antiques, and for books. For luxury goods, jewellery, silverware, etc., look for shops labelled as Königlich Bayerischen Hoflieferanten, or “suppliers to the royal household of Bavaria”.

A Bite to Eat, Sports…
It’s almost impossible not to eat well wherever you go in Bavaria, and Munich’s dining is unrivalled for quality and variety. Local specialities include the famous Weisswurst or veal sausages, accompanied by a salty soft or crisp pretzel and sweet mustard; a ration of pork or beef with mash; and a spicy Obatzder cheese sauce with black bread. When it comes to eating, the locals prefer the biergärten –especially in summer—and the friendly beer halls found throughout the city.

For the sports-minded, we recommend a tour of the Olimpiastadion stadium where the main events of the 1972 Olympic Games were held, a milestone in stadium architecture, and still in almost continual use, as is the Allianz Arena, built for the 2006 World Football Cup, and now home to FC Bayern -a team with five Champions League titles to its credit- and the less well-known TSV 1860.

Munich awaits! Check out our fares here!

Text: Isabel y Luis Comunicación

Photos: Deutschland Tourismus, Haydar Koyupinar/ Museum Brandhorst

To start, let’s recall that Edinburgh is both a World Heritage Site and also the first place to be designated by UNESCO as a “City of Literature”, because of its numerous well-preserved buildings and monuments and its age-old literary traditions.

The city is best seen at a walking pace, and as a pedestrian you’ll find its hidden nooks and crannies and perchance the spirits of the city’s famed authors and even more famous creations, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his shrewd detective Sherlock Holmes, Robert Louis Stevenson and the two-faced Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or Sir Walter Scott and his heroic Ivanhoe and Rob Roy characters. And there’s even a chance you’ll see some of the city’s literary figures in the flesh, for we shall start our tour in the café with the red façade where the contemporary author J. K. Rowling penned many of her early stories and planned her books about the boy wizard Harry Potter.

1. Few people noticed the young Rowling scribbling in her notebooks at a table in the unprepossessing Elephant House café. The establishment, which opened in 1995, remains a favourite of literary types, thanks to its selection of the city’s best coffees and teas, which continue to stain many pages of manuscript. Huge breakfasts are also served, as well as hot midday and evening meals, plus the usual sandwiches and cakes, etc. And there’s an excellent wine list, too. No excuse for not sitting down and writing your book!

2. Or you might prefer to take a stroll down Edinburgh’s legendary Royal Mile, linking the city’s two most popular monumental sites, Edinburgh Castle, standing above the city atop the towering volcanic basalt plug known as Castle Rock, and, at the other extreme, Holyrood Palace, the official Scottish residence of the British monarch. A slow and attentive walk down the four stretches of the Royal Mile, called Castlehill, Lawn Market, High Street, and Canongate, will infuse you with the unique, friendly atmosphere and stony charm of this historical city.

3. If you appreciate the macabre, on your walk down the Royal Mile you must stop at Mary King’s Close, a warren of gloomy underground streets and enclosures widely believed to be haunted by the ghosts of the past. Once a thriving market, the close was named for a woman who lived there and traded in cloth in the early 1600s. According to urban legend, when the plague struck the area in 1645, the authorities walled it off, leaving scores of people inside to die. Since, then reports of strange lights and noises have fuelled beliefs that the zone remains haunted. Visitors often brings dolls to calm the ghost of the legendary Annie, a child plague victim thought to have been left by her parents to die in the Close, and whose heart-rending cries can still be heard. Perhaps.

4. For a Facebook-worthy selfie showing Edinburgh Castle in the background, the place to go is Princess Street, Edinburgh’s main shopping street, which featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting. Apart from the shopping opportunities there, the street happens to be the best place from which to capture a panoramic view of the castle, since there are no buildings on the castle side of the street, but only gardens and monuments.

5. If you’re looking for quirkier and more out-of-the-way shops, head for the wildly picturesque Victoria Street, a curving slope just off the Royal Mile that is a favourite of photographers because of its colourful specialised shops selling liquors, cheeses, handicrafts, and all sorts of treasures. You’re sure to find bargains in the several charity shops selling used clothing and other items, the proceeds from which are donated to worthy causes. Harry Potter’s creator J.K. Rowling acknowledged that this street was her inspiration for Diagon Alley, where her wizards bought their magical gear.

6. Edinburgh is not made entirely of stone, despite initial impressions. It also features expansive green zones, such as the parks of Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat, where the city’s joggers, cyclists, and dog-walkers go. Both offer fantastic views of the city from on high. The 251-metre Arthur’s Seat is the peak to which, according to legend, King Arthur used to repair when he needed time alone to think. Atop Calton Hill are two monuments to British victories over the French, Nelson’s Tower, commemorating the battle of Trafalgar, and Scotland’s National Monument, an unfinished construction modelled on the Parthenon in Athens, built in the 1820s to honour Scotland’s dead in the Napoleonic wars.

7. At Ocean Terminalin the Port of Leith, Edinburgh’s harbour, stands the Royal Yacht Britannia, used by the British royal family from 1954 until 1997 when it was converted into a floating museum that is well worth a visit –don’t miss the little bedroom where Queen Elizabeth II slept during her nearly 1,000 state voyages.

8. To finish up, you might visit Greyfriars Cemetery and have your picture taken next to the statue of one of Edinburgh’s heroes, Bobby, a Skye terrier traditionally believed to have stood watch by his master’s grave for no less than14 years, until his own death in 1873, after which he was buried next to his master.

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Text and Photos: Nani Arenas

It’s hard, and maybe impossible, to find a bad bakery in Paris. Expert bakers using plenty of butter produce goods that rarely disappoint. But some are especially good. Every year the city honours one of them for making the city’s best baguette or rod-shaped loaf, and the winner gets to supply bread to the President of the Republic for a year. Past winners constitute a roll of honour, and a good indication that they’re worth a visit. Here are a few:

LE GRENIER A PAIN (Abbesses, 38)

Michel Galloyer has 30 branches in Paris and the provinces, but the original in Montmartre is the one awarded the 2010 Best Baguette prize. There’s no room to sample the fare in the shop, but the nearby stairway to the gleaming white Sacré Coeur Basilica is a good alternative, thanks to the incomparable view of the city. The bakery boasts a large variety of breads that are baked in sight of the customer, as well as sandwiches starting at 3€ pizza or a bit more than 2€, and wonderful fougasses (flat bread roll stuffed with savoury ingredients). The goat cheese and tomato version costs only 2.20€. The croissants are out of this world, as are the chausson aux pommes, or apple turnovers.

PAIN DE SUCRE (Rambuteau, 14)

The success of the boulangerie-patisserie that opened a decade ago in Le Marais necessitated the opening of additional premises almost next door, with two tables indoors and five outdoors for sampling the sweet pastries. The main shop sells bread, sweet and savoury pastries, quiches, pain roulé (bread stuffed with spinach, bacon and cheese, spicy sausage and plums, etc.), focaccias (special flat bred topped with herbs and other ingredients), homemade creamy soups (try the pumpkin and chestnut!), and other treats. The décor is avant-garde, the food itself is colourful (check out the marshmallows), and you can order coffee. It’s a bit pricy –like almost everything in Paris—but worth everysou. You should consider the roule au pistaches (breakfast snail with pistachios) and the pain au chocolat.

LEGAY CHOC (Ste. Croix de la Bretonnerie, 45)

Le Marais is one of the city’s most gay-friendly district and the owner of this little bakery is not only gay and proud, but his surname is Legay. And indeed, his shop is famed for its penis-shaped loaves and brioches (2.30€), but everything in the shop is of the highest quality, including the hot dogs, wraps, and pizza, as well as the bread, pastry, quiches, and small pies. There are no tables, so it’s a take-away, but not at all expensive.

MURCIANO (Rosiers, 14)

This is a charming traditional Jewish bakery in Le Marais, featuring a menorah (Hebrew candelabra) in the window. The speciality is apple and cinnamon strudel (2.80€ per portion), as good as it gets. There are also traditional Jewish bread like the braided challah eaten on the Sabbath and other holy days, or rogallah, a sort of croissant with chocolate edges.

ERIC KAYSER

This boulangerie now has about a hundred branches all over the world, thanks master baker Eric Kayser, whose latest honours are for “Best Croissant” and “Best Bread” in Tokyo. His first bakery stands on rue Monge, 6, near Notre Dame cathedral, and features a bar and outdoor table –all branches have some seating facilities. A 100% ecological branch now operates at number 14 of the same street. Aside from bread and pastries, there are sandwiches, salads, tarts,quiches, and various combination for the lunch menu.

POILÂNE (Cherche-Midi, 8)

There are often long queues outside this little bakery in Saint-Germain des Près, one of the most celebrated in all Paris. The bread is believed to taste exactly the same is it did when the shop was opened in 1932 by Pierre Poilâne. The recipe calls for sea salt from Guérande, stone-ground organic flour, and fresh yeast, and baking is done in a wood-fired oven. There are two more branches in Paris and two in London. Don’t fail to try the delicious nut and raisin bread!

DES PAIN ET DES IDEES (Yves Toudic, 34)

Paris’ most “hipster” bakery, near the Canal Saint Martin, has a one large wooden table for all in front of the shop. With a lovely interior and show windows filled with charming knick-knacks, the shop features baked goods made with top-quality organic ingredients, and the bread is called “des amis” (for friends), Though his background is in fashion, proprietor Christophe Vasseur was named Paris’ best boulanger by the prestigious guide Gault&Millau. He offers traditional product, but also likes to experiment, and he also sell croissants made with matcha tea, Mouna (brioche with orange blossom), and even escargot made with lemon and almond nougat.

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By Isabel Loscertales / Gastronomistas.com

Who hasn’t spent hours enjoying the adventures of Tintin and his dog Snowy (Milhou in the original French)? Do you remember the lonesome cowboy Lucky Luke astride his horse Jolly Jumper, being pursued by the dreadful Dalton brothers? What about the office boy Spirou and his inseparable pals Fantasio and the squirrel Spip? And the little blue Smurfs in their mushroom houses, fleeing from the evil Gargamel and his cat Azrael? What do they all have in common? All their authors are from Belgium, which boasts its share of the Franco-Belgian comic publishing industry, the world’s biggest after those of the United States and Japan. Visitors to Brussels are soon aware of the importance of comics, dubbed “the ninth art” (the first eight, as everyone knows but forgets, are architecture, sculpture, painting, dance, music, poetry, cinema, and television), since comics are all over the place, in museums, shops, outdoor murals, and festivals.

Museums

In the heart of Brussels (rue des Sables, 20), in the sumptuous Art Nouveau building designed by Victor Horta in 1906, is the Belgian Comic Strip Centre (popularly know as the CBBD, standing for Centre Belge de la Bande Dessinée), with a steadily expanding permanent collection and numerous temporary exhibitions that draw thousands of people to this popular venue.

Just down the rueis the Marc Sleen Museum, with a permanent exhibition, a reading room, and a programme of temporary shows focusing on the work of the Flemish cartoonist Marc Sleen, best known for his series “The Adventures of Nero & Co.”

Some 30 km. distant, in Louvain-la-Neuve, we find the Mecca of all Tintin fans, the Hergé Museum, in a building designed by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc. The museum displays original drawings, photographs, objects, films and other documents having to do with Tintin and his creator Hergé, whose real name was Georges Remi (1907-1983), the most celebrated Belgian cartoonist of all time.

A more relaxing spot is the Moof Museum (“Museum Of Original Figurines” spells MOOF –get it?) with three-dimensional representations of a host of comic book figures, and well as other collectors’ items, original artwork, and prints.

Comic Strip Route

Thanks to an initiative of the Belgian Comic Strip Centre in the 1990s, you can also enjoy cartoons in Brussels’ streets, where some 50 painted murals on buildings depict scenes from Lucky Luke, Tintin, the Smurfs, Nero, Asterix, and many more comic book series.

Shopping for Comics

Understandably, Brussels is a must for collectors of original comic artwork and for published comics. To start with the biggest, there is Brüsel (Boulevard de Anspach 98), three whole floors of comics, objects, silkscreen prints, and original drawings. For something a little more special try the Maison de la Bande Dessinée (Boulevard de l’Impératrice, 1), a bookstore featuring an ample selection of old comics, special editions, reprints, a Manga departments, and Dutch- and English-language sections. Tintin fans will not want to miss La Boutique de Tintin, (rue de la Colline 13) for every sort of Tintin memorabilia. Lastly, we recommend the Huberty-Breyne Gallery (rue Bodenbroeck, 8ª Place du Grand Sablon), with exhibitions of illustrations, and where original drawing are on sale.

Fairs and Festivals

Devoted comic fans should schedule a visit to the bi-annual Brussels Comic Strip Festival and the Strip Turnhout, specialising in Dutch-language comic strips. There’s also the even merrier Belgium Comics Festival, with a varied activity programme ensuring fun for all, including the Balloons’ Day Parade, a procession of giant inflated cartoon characters.

If comics are your passion, Brussels is the place to be. Check out our fares today!

Text: Isabel y Luis Comunicación

Photos:
Wallonie-Bruxelles Tourisme
Bruxelles, parcours bande dessinée (Stéphane Colman, Billy the Cat)_© CBBD - Daniel Fouss
Bruxelles, parcours bande dessinée (Jacobs, Blake et Mortimer)_© WBT - J.P. Remy
Bruxelles, parcours bande dessinée (Hergé, Quick et Flupke)_© WBT - J.P. Remy
Hergé Museum
Hergé Museum frontage - Nicolas Borel