Go really deep
Krakow
50
Reaching 300m below
ground and 800 years
in the making, the Wieliczka
Mine is a man-made marvel.
Everything inside is carved
from salt, from the detailed
statues to the chandeliers.
wieliczka-
saltmine.com
Stay in a Hobbit house
Bari
49
No mere hotels, South-
eastern Italy’s trulli
are beehive-like stone
dwellings, built without
cement or mortar that
provide an enviable escape
from real life.
From €49;
trulliholidayresidence.eu
Get in beer
Prague
48
We may not get
the science, but a
detoxifying beer spa at
the Augustine Hotel is one
of the most soothing – if
strange – experiences out
there.
3,900
CZK (€155),
theaugustine.com
Go winter swimming
Llubljana
47
Hailed as a miracle
cure, cold-water
swimming is also a darn
bracing challenge. Head
to Lake Bled, where the
World Winter Swimming
Championships are held, for
a fine taster.
lakebled.co.uk
Imbibe liquid gold
Brussels
46
Some call him the
world’s greatest
chocolatier. Certainly, Pierre
Marcolini’s flagship store in
Brussels is like an upmarket
jewellery boutique. But drag
yourself away and head to
his smaller branch (
39
Place
du Grand Sablon
)
for surely
the tastiest hot chocolate
in the world: pure melted
blocks of the dark stuff, a
dash of milk and whipped
cream (€8.90).
1
Rue des
Minimes, Brussels; tel +32
2514 1206,
marcolini.be
Sparty on, dudes
Budapest
45
It’s a simple, but
effective concept: take
a spa, add a party and you’ve
got Sparty, the riotous
discos held in Budapest’s
iconic baths. Promising (and
delivering) nights of pure
hedonism, we've certainly
seen nothing like them
anywhere.
€40; cinetrip.hu
Walk across continents
Reykjavik
44
In the Thingvellir
National Park in
Iceland, there’s a long
crevice that signifies the
place where the continental
plates of Europe and
America once met. That
means you can hop on a
tour bus from Reykjavik
and then walk to the New
World without ever getting
your feet wet, taking
in the magical volcanic
landscape in the process.
From 6,500ISK (€40);
goldencircleiceland.com
Ski then sunbathe
Paphos
43
No need to choose
between snow and sun:
Mount Olympus is home
to the four-lift, tree-lined
pistes of Troodos ski resort
(
day pass, €23). Head there
in March for a morning
shred, then it's just an hour
in the car to the beach in
Limassol.
skicyprus.com
Drink in the view
London
42
Already one of our favourite cocktails, the Old Fashioned
has been elevated even further by the London branch of
fusion restaurant SushiSamba, thanks to the addition of tonka
bean. This South American seed gives a spicy vanilla kick to
the mix of five-year-old rum and sours. Throw in the fact that
you’re drinking it in a venue with the best view of the city bar
none – nearly 200mup – and it could just be 2012’s perfect
cocktail experience.
£11.50 (€14.50); sushisamba.com
Win your spurs
Montpellier
41
The salty marshlands
of the Camargue don’t
feel like France at all, but
some alien world, where
wetlands and dunes are
home to flapping vees of
flamingos and stout black
bull herds. The only way
to traverse this wilderness
is on the back of one of the
Eat the world’s best pizza
Naples
40
It’s no surprise that the world’s best pizza comes from
the city where the first Margherita was made in 1889.
Gino Sorbillo learned the trade young and has turned it into
an art form, sourcing all his ingredients from amazing local
artisan producers.
Margherita €3.30; 32 Via dei Tribunali
5 0
G R E A T E S T E X P E R I E N C E S
famous white stallions, so
emulate the local
gardians
(
cowboys) and saddle up for
the ride of your life.
From
€35 for a two-hour ride;
brendatourismeequestre.com
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