24 hours in the City of Light

If the strong euro put paid to your holiday in France this year and even a long weekend on French soil is looking out of the question, how about a 24-hour trip to Paris either this month, while the city is empty, or next month as an end-of-summer treat?

Now that Eurostar has beaten back its journey time from London to two-and-a-quarter hours, the idea of nipping to the City of Light for the night has suddenly become not only feasible, but positively enticing. And since you will be there for such a short time, you can devote yourself to fun. Paris may have lost its edge as a city of global significance but it is still all about l’art de vivre, great views, classic food and wine, and shopping.

Forget the set-piece sights like the Louvre. Instead, concentrate on getting to know one area of the city well. In 24 hours you will have time for no more than two meals, an afternoon of leisure and a night’s sleep. For such a short trip to be memorable, all those elements need to be even more carefully chosen than for a longer one. You may have a favourite quartier, where you would prefer to base yourself; if not, here is my recipe for a stay on the Rive Gauche (and note that it’s best to avoid Sunday/Monday as you’ll find many shops and museums closed then).

 

LUNCH

Leave London at breakfast, and you will arrive in Paris with plenty of time to check into your hotel and relax there before setting out for that all-important first French meal of the trip. It had better be good. Simple, but good. Which means knowing where to go in advance rather than just plunging into the nearest restaurant you see.

You have to look much more carefully these days. Brasseries, in particular, are no longer to be relied on. Most are now run by chains and their food is at best predictable, or, at worst, dire. Instead, seek out well-established, privately owned bistros that still have integrity, and for the crop of tiny restaurants run almost single-handed by young, committed chefs.

Two such places can be found in Montparnasse. Le Timbre (3 rue Sainte-Beuve; 0033 1 4549 1040; closed Sunday and Monday) is just that, a postage stamp of a restaurant, its kitchen open to view at one end. Here, a modest self-taught Mancunian, Chris Wright, cooks for up to 24 people entirely without help, in domestic French manner, with admirable results. Choose from his changing weekly menu of three to four starters, main courses and puddings; nothing will disappoint you, but you shouldn’t miss the lambs’ kidneys if they are on the menu or the millefeuille de la maison.

We met the owners of La Cerisaie (70 boulevard Edgar Quinet; 4320 9898) at Le Timbre. “Cyril [Lalanne] cooks like a dream,” Chris told us. “You must go there.” This is another one-chef/one-waitress operation, with Cyril Lalanne producing delicious regional dishes, including cochon de Bigorre – pork like you’ve never tasted before — from his native south-west France out of a kitchen no bigger than a large cupboard. His wife Maryse works front of house, and everyone chats.

THE AFTERNOON

Paris is made for walking, with a constant stream of diversions as you stroll. Close at hand is the Jardin du Luxembourg, a sheer delight, as appealing to lovers as to mothers with children to entertain — who will enjoy the model boats, Shetland pony rides, playgrounds and puppet shows. It makes the perfect start to a stroll along the elegant rue Servandoni to place St.-Sulpice and on into the fashionable St.-Germain district, perfect for shopping.

In rue de Grenelle, you could visit the refreshingly cool Musée Maillol (closed Monday), and afterwards the diminutive cheese shop Barthélémy (closed Sunday and Monday), where white-coated ladies dispense cheeses which

M. Barthélémy has criss-crossed France to find. Odour-proof bags are provided for the return journey on Eurostar.

If you want culture, the Musée d’Orsay (1 de la Légion d’Honneur; closed Monday) and Musée Rodin (79 rue de Varenne; closed Monday) are both nearby. Little-known curiosities in the neighbourhood, off the tourist track but well worth seeking out, include the silent, richly ornamented Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul and his eerie shrine in rue de Sèvres, the bucolic Jardin Catherine Labouré, entered via rue de Babylone, and Notre Dame de la Médaille-Miraculeuse, in rue du Bac, which reveals Catherine Labouré’s story.

 

DINNER

If you lunch simply at either Le Timbre or La Cerisaie, it would be fun to dine in style, maybe in the new clothes you’ve bought that afternoon. Of the famous grands cafés of Montparnasse, La Closerie des Lilas (171 boulevard de Montparnasse; 4051 3450; www.closeriedeslilas.fr) is the one that feels most like a special occasion. Choose from the brasserie or the more formal restaurant, and be sure to have a drink in the piano bar before you eat.

Alternatively, La Coupole (102 boulevard de Montparnasse; 4320 1420) still packs them in, especially for birthdays, while Le Dôme (108 boulevard du Montparnasse; 4335 2581) is the place to go for those fruits de mer platters one dreams of back home.

 

THE HOTEL

A perfect reason for basing yourself in Montparnasse and exploring the Left Bank is the new Hôtel des Académies et des Arts (15 rue de la Grande Chaumière; 4326 6644; www.hotel-des-academies.com; doubles from £165 to £214 per night, including breakfast). The best hotel, in my opinion, to have opened in the city for some time, it is happy proof that the small, charming Parisian bolthole is alive and well.

Husband and wife Laurent and Charlotte Inchauspé have created a spotless, highly individual haven – cosy yet contemporary and full of artistic flair – right opposite the art school where Gauguin and Modigliani took courses, and a few steps from the famous artists’ cafés of Montparnasse.

Two artists have deftly created the hotel’s unique look: Jerôme Mesnager, whose joyous white silhouettes are painted directly on to bedroom walls and all the way up the lift shaft (making this the most intriguing glass lift-ride in town) and sculptor Sophie Watrigant, whose equally endearing figures climb a dainty steel ladder from the bottom to the top of the five-storey stairwell.

As for the 20 bedrooms, they are compact but have the classy feel of a top hotel and come in four distinct designs, all cleverly lit with stone-lined bathrooms, sculptured taps and exceptional beds. Room service is provided by the well-regarded restaurant, Wadja, opposite.

In the morning, take breakfast (all fresh) in the tiny “petit bistrot” or on a velvet sofa beside shelves stocked with art books. Or take a seat facing the wall screen and watch an art video as you eat. Service is from smiling, smartly uniformed waiters, while receptionists are relaxed and warm. A perfect fusion of quality and character. There is even a little Moroccan-style spa downstairs, where treatments can be arranged at short notice.

 

OTHER PLACES TO STAY

Two other alluring hotels in the same area are the intimate Le Sainte-Beuve (9 rue Sainte-Beuve; 4548 2007; www.hotelsainte beuveparis.com), with double rooms from £132 to £282 per night, including breakfast, and the romantic Duc de St. Simon, set round a pretty, secluded courtyard (14 rue de St-Simon; 4439 2020; www.hotelducdesaintsimon.com), with doubles from £188 to £305 per night).

 

• Eurostar (08705 186186; www.eurostar.com) operates up to 17 daily services from St. Pancras International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International to Paris, from £59 return.

• ‘Paris Walks’ by Fiona Duncan and Leo Glass is published by Duncan Petersen Publishing, £8.99.

Hidden gem: Steephill Cove, Isle of Wight

I really shouldn’t do this, because it is a true secret, but the travel writer in me urges me to tell you about the most wonderful place I went to yesterday…. and it wasn’t even sunny at the time. Steep Hill Cove, with no access by car, only down steep steps or a gently winding path to the bottom of the cliff, is a small cove just along from Ventnor, in the south of the Isle of Wight with vegetation and mico climate (the Botanical Gardens are next door) that feels more Mediterranean than British. Most of it is owned by one family of fishermen who have been crab and lobster fishing from there for many generations; if you arrive early enough you’ll see your lunch brought ashore. 

 

The place is divine: a row of pretty houses, old fashioned deckchairs (put the money in a slot in the wall to hire them), a safe, secure environment for children with buckets and spades and prawn nets, and two places to eat, a crab pasty cafe and a wooden restaurant for platefuls of fresh crab and whole lobster and bottles of ice cold wine. Perfect. It’s all straight from the pages of an old fashioned book, and there are three lovely houses to rent too. Visit www. theboathouse-steephillcove.co.uk for full details. Has anyone else discovered this paradise?

Weekend Off

Peace in the early morning and an hour at my disposal to frantically make attempts to get the garden in a fit state for my best friend, a garden designer and superb natural gardener, to inspect it when she comes to lunch tomorrow. Why do I bother? Surely a 40 year friendship can survive my utter uselessness in her eyes. Or possibly not. I’ve got people for lunch today, too… my 86 year old mother and her toy boy – a stripling at 82. They are great companions… he lives in Cornwall, she in Wiltshire, and they meet for outings and the odd cruise or weekend in Prague. The perfect relationship I would say!

 

Meanwhile, Leo and I are busy increasing the entries on the Hotel Guru … we now have well over 600 hotels for you to choose from. Lists for Dublin, both in the city and outside in the surrounding countryside, are going up over the next few days following my inspection trip there, and Brighton is beginning to take shape… I’m going there to suss out the hotel scene for you next week. David Atkinson, one of our contributors, is currently looking at more hotels in North Wales for us and I will be going to South Wales, including the newly revamped Hurst House on the Marsh, part owned by actor Neil Morrissey, in the next fortnight.

But for now….back to the gardening. I live in fear.

 

By the way, if you are thinking of going to Venice, consider the Metropole for its fantastic position and its charming idiosyncracy, not to mention its Michelin starred restaurant, the only one in that peerless city.  I’m glad to see that a couple who use our Hotel Guru online guide agree with us about this long standing, family owned hotel… go to http://www.thehotelguru.com/best-hotels/Italy/Venice and click on the entry for the Metropole to read their glowing review.

Provence out of Season

Does anyone out there have husbands like mine? When I’m not reviewing hotels for the Sunday Telegraph or working on my website, I try to be a half decent wife and mother and run the family show, which in my case consists of a flat in town and a bolthole in the countryside, plus an assortment of dinghies for sailing on our river, a large garden and two sons, in roughly that order (the sons being old enough to fend for themselves…though they don’t). Last Sunday the husband set off for the river, promising to be back in time to leave for a smart party we were invited to, and leaving me to cook a large and expensive fillet of beef as our contribution to the festivities. All would have been well, had he not a) fallen in the river and set off for home an hour late b) run out of petrol on the way home and c) failed to tell me that he had turned the Aga right down to its lowest setting to save fuel, forgetting about the beef and resulting in one absolutely raw piece of meat for me to deliver to our long suffering hosts. In his rush to get ready in time, he couldn’t find his bow tie and arrived at the party (black tie) in an open neck shirt. I could go on…but I won’t. Instead I’ll tell you a great trip to make this autumn.

Provence Out of Season

We know about Provence in summer. Fields of lavender under Van Gogh’s fierce yellow sun; terraces of vines and olives rolling to blue horizons; white light reflecting off chalky hillsides; old men playing boules or drinking pastis under the shade of plane trees.

 

Idyllic, perhaps, but I shan’t go again. Not in summer. After recent trips in early spring and late autumn, Provence has joined my list of short break destinations that are tailor made for visits out of season.

 

Take November. Or, to be precise, the first of December, which found me swimming lazy lengths in an outdoor pool. Admittedly it was a chilly business getting from changing room to water, agreeably heated to 29º, but though sunbathing on one of the stylish grey poolside loungers wasn’t an option, there was easily enough warmth in the midday sun to want to relax afterwards in a curtained cabana with a glass of chilled rosé wine.

 

We were in Crillon-le-Brave, staying at the Relais & Château hotel of the same name, while for our spring visit we lodged at the no less charming guesthouse, Villa Noria – also with a pool – of the hotel’s head chef, Philippe Monti. Both places are just half an hour or so from the quiet little airport at Avignon where we landed. Two nights were all we spent away, and all that were required to revive our rain-soaked British spirits: in the manner of successful breaks, they felt more like ten. If it had been summer we would have spent our time flopping uselessly by the pool; our unseasonal visits, by contrast, were packed with interest ­– as well as an intriguing new experience.

 

But first, the hotel . The view, or rather panorama, from our cabana encompassed the giant of Provence – Mont Ventoux – rising from the green and brown valley below, and we could trace its gentle slopes all the way from the summit, across the horizon to the distant Lubéron hills. Down in the valley, bonfires were being made of the post harvest clippings in the vineyards, and the intoxicating smell of wood smoke perfumed the air.

 

Crillon Le Brave itself is one of those picturesque but improbable Provençal villages where every stone house is a restored second home and the handful of concrete ones belong to the few remaining locals. By the end of the 19th century, it had a population of 800; by the mid 20th century, without its own water supply, it was in ruins, with almost no inhabitants. Now affluent incomers have breathed new life, albeit of a different kind, into the hilltop village, and the statue of its most celebrated feudal lord, a bellicose 16th century general dubbed Le Brave Crillon, surveys a cat’s cradle of pristine streets and alleys that tumble downhill from the dramatically set village square and the church (now defunct, though the bells still strike the hour during the day).

 

As for the hotel, it discreetly encompasses several adjoining village properties, both large and small (the finest of which, housing the inviting restaurant, is a beauty). It may be a luxury hotel, with restrained, coolly lovely, subtly coloured bedrooms, but it is also a place full of quirky character, with a foxing layout and plenty of surprises: a grand stone balustrade here, sunken terrace there, a tucked-away mini spa, easy-going, café-style bistro and sleek swimming pool. A flight of steps leads in one direction, a tiny pathway in another. It’s never easy to remember the way to one’s room, but that’s half the fun. There are bicycles to borrow and well-described walks from the door and Philippe’s deliberately simple yet inventive and delicious food makes the perfect foil to the excesses of haute cuisine.

 

We ate truffles. Brandade de morue with truffles, breast of chicken with truffles, omelette with truffles, salad with truffle flavoured dressing, croutons of bread served with truffle pâté or generous shavings of raw truffle, a dish of steaming potatoes liberally anointed with truffle oil, even truffle ice cream and chocolate gâteau with truffle flavoured crème anglaise. You can’t go wrong with a truffle (I even loved the ice cream, although I was in the minority). 

 

And you can’t go wrong with a truffle hound. Just one delicate gesture with a paw indicated to his master, Eric Jaumard, and to us fascinated onlookers, that the dog had found another knobbly black ‘diamond of the kitchen’ under the oak trees. “The dog is never wrong”, said Eric.

 

The region round Carpentras, you see, is renowned for its truffles, and Hotel Crillon-le-Brave hosts truffle weekends during the season, with truffles for dinner and a truffle-hunting expedition with Eric Jaumard, plus the chance to buy the very truffles, or truffle oil, that he produces for top restaurateurs, such as Michel Roux. During a perfect lunch of truffle omelette and salad, cooked by his wife Dominique and served at a big wooden table in front of a roaring fire, Eric explained to us the mystery of the tubers and the extreme difficulty of cultivating them. Though not too much difficulty in the training of the hound, it would appear. “When the dog is a puppy, I put truffle flavouring in its mother’s milk”, said Eric. “I don’t bother with that”, said his friend. “I just go to a dogs’ home with a truffle and hold it out. The first dog to come and have a sniff, I take home”.

 

If autumn is for truffle hunting, then spring is for taking one of the hotel’s delicious packed lunches and heading for a perfect picnic spot over the hills. But both seasons are likely to find you, as they did us, happily browsing in the famous outdoor Sunday antiques market at Ile-sur-la-Sorgue and the many little shops tucked down alleyways all over town. And if the prices make you feel faint, then the simple three course set lunch, served in the garden almost all year round, at Le Jardin du Quai (0033 4 90 20 14 98) will restore your strength.

 

All right, I’m lying. You won’t have to force me to Provence in summer, but out of season, thanks to the weather, it’s even more enjoyable.

 

Essentials

 

Flybe operate several flights a week throughout the year from Southampton and Exeter to Avignon, from £34.99 one way; alternatively British Airways fly from Gatwick to Marseille daily from £34.00, and Easyjet from Gatwick and Bristol from £24.99.

 

Hotel Crillon Le Brave (0033 4 90 65 61 61; www.crillonlebrave.com) offers doubles rooms from £165 (standard room in low season) to £330(premier room in high season). Its November Truffle and Wine Weekends (Thursday to Sunday) cost £1,015 for two people sharing a deluxe room, including dinner, bed, breakfast and all events.

Double rooms at La Villa Noria in Modène (0033 4 90 62 50 66; www.villa-noria.com), open all year, cost from £57 to £108 per night, including breakfast; dinner on request.

 

Afternoon tea in the park

Call me a Londoner. I’ve lived in this city all my life, but can still be taken by surprise at its attractions. Having cycled from Clapham, I met a friend for tea in St James’s Park, which could not have been more beautiful. Gone were the old fashioned flowerbeds of clashing begonias and petunias; instead the park was awash with lush herbaceous borders filled with country flowers and shrubs, with the lake shining in the background. Even the tea house was attractive, a subtle building made of wood. And the ice cream stall was irresistible. My friend makes wonderful audio guides, read by actors, that you can download on to your i-pod to lead you round cities, revealing their most charming aspects including (in one of their London walks, the delights of St James’s Park). Check them out: www.strollon.com. Brilliant idea. 

Where the Venetians Eat

It’s often said that Venice is a poor place for food, and that its restaurants are a disappointment, especially compared to other Italian cities. But that’s only true if you are prepared to look no further than your nose ­­– or rather no further than the main tourist trails around St Mark’s and the Rialto. Armed with the right addresses, you’ll find a rapidly growing clutch of gastronomic eateries specialising mainly in the local cuisine, not slick, trendy places as in other cities but tiny ones with a great neighbourhood feel about them. Fish, from the superb market in Chioggia) is often the speciality. As for fine dining, there are only a handful of places worthy of your money; the two best, described below, are both hotel restaurants close to St Marks. The neighbourhood osterie,  trattorie  and bacari (wine and snack bars) where the Venetians themselves go to eat and drink are often buried deep in quiet backwaters amongst a maze of calli and canals. Many are tiny: it’s best to book in advance at any time of the year. Here’s a selection.

 

Agli Alboretti Rio Terrà Foscarini, Dorsoduro 884 (0039 041 5230058).

Back in the 1950s Agli Alboretti, just along from the Accademia, was a haunt of artists and art aficionados, including Peggy Guggenheim. After years of closure, the charming Anna Linguerri brought the restaurant and its adjoining hotel back to life and made it popular once more with well-heeled Venetians. In 2006, the chef, Pierluigi Lovisa, took over the management, and the restaurant’s reputation for innovative yet well balanced combinations of colour and taste has never been higher. A perfect venue for a low-key yet sophisticated family celebration, either inside in the pretty dining room or, in warm weather, outside under the pergola. The interesting wine list, created by Anna, remains strong on grappa and vini da meditazione (dessert wines).

 

Alla Madonna Calle della Madonna, San Polo 594 (0039 041 522 3824; www.ristoranteallamadonna.com).

This famous trattoria, tucked down a side street by Rialto Bridge, was opened in 1954 and makes a great choice for a large group of friends. Always busy, often with a queue outside, it’s memorable not so much for it’s traditional dishes as for the bustle, the old-fashioned ambience and the swift service from uniformed waiters. Speed is the essence: you can be in and out inside an hour.

 

Al Portego 

Calle la Malvasia, Castello 6015 (0039 041 522 9038).

For a typical, and good value Venetian bacari, try this upper floor, wood-lined place with prettily curtained windows and a separate eating area for those who want to be one remove from the buzz. Choose from the range of cicheti (snacks) or hot dishes such as pasta e fasioi or bigoli in salsa, or simply stand at the bar with the locals and have a glass of wine.

 

Anice Stellata

Fondamente della Sensa, Cannaregio 3272 (0039 041 720744).

On a romantic canal side in a slow-moving corner of Cannaregio, this simple, family-run osteria, opened in 1999, has gained a strong reputation for traditional dishes that are carefully cooked and often subtly flavoured with herbs and spices (the name of the restaurant means star anise). You might try carpacci di pesce (thin slices of raw tuna or salmon dressed with olive oil and fragrant herbs, or tagliatelli with prawns and courgette flowers or the fish risotto. Whichever, you’ll find excellent cooking at very reasonable prices.

 

Antiche Carampane

Rio Terrà de la Carampane, San Polo 1911 (0039 524 0165; www.antichecarampane.com).

Don’t even think of venturing to Antiche Carampane, not far from  Rialto yet buried in an almost impossible network of dark calli, sottoportegi  and courtyards, without first working out the route (details on the website). A long-time favourite with politicians and city dignitaries and their fur-wrapped wives, the white-walled restaurant, hung with pictures, is both cosy and elegant and the seafood, especially the outstandingly delicate fritto misto di pesce con le moeche (soft-shell crabs) is beautifully cooked. Service is brisk, but warm. There are tables on the pavement in summer.

 

Corte Sconta

Calle del Pestrin, Castello 3886  (0039 041 522 7024). Despite its cult status, especially amongst British visitors, no recommendation of Venice restaurants would be complete without this well- hidden courtyard (as its name translates) specialising in Venetian lagoon fish dishes. Choose the tasting menu and expect a seemingly endless parade of little fish dishes: marinated anchovies, soft-shell crab, spider crab paté, schie (tiny shrimp) with polenta, garusoli (spiny-shelled snails), sarde in soar, latti di sepie and more. Then perhaps a primi patti of pasta made on the premises; you are unlikely to have room for more. In summer you eat under a thick canopy of vines in the courtyard; the indoor restaurant is nothing special.

 

Dalla Marisa

Fondamente di San Giobbe, Cannaregio 652b (0039 041 720 211).

Marisa comes from a family of butchers (becheri) and her wonderful menu is mainly meat-based, an antidote to the many fish restaurants in Venice. Dishes include the unusual risotto con le secoe, made with a cut of beef around the backbone, bollito misto, tripe and succulent ragouts. A small, no nonsense place with tables inside and on the pavement. Once found, it will become a favourite.

 

De Pisis Hotel Bauer Campo San Moisè, San Marco 1459 (0039 041 520 7022; www.bauervenezia.com).

With sensational views, perhaps the best in Venice, of both the Grand Canal with its church of Santa Maria della Salute and St Mark’s Basin overlooked by Palladio’s church of San Giorgio, there is simply no more romantic place to dine than the terrace of De Pisis. Not only is it seductive, by candlelight and under moonlight, but the food lives up to the setting. Chef Giovanni Ciresa is responsible and his delicate, widely influenced dishes make a refreshing change from the usual Venetian diet. Choose from seasonal tasting menu (highly recommended), the traditional Venetian menu or the short à la carte menu – you are unlikely to be disappointed, and the desserts are particularly delicious.

 

Met

Hotel Metropole, Riva degli Schiavoni, Castello 4149 (0039 041 520 5044; www.hotelmetropole.com).

Of the half dozen or more hotels along the Riva degli Schiavoni, with its matchless views of the lagoon, this is my favourite. Still in private hands, it has endearing touches (the owner is a collector: everywhere you look are carved angels, lecterns, church pews, crucifixes, fans) and a core of twinkle-eyed staff who have been there forever. But while this privately owned hotel retains its personality, it has also kept up with the times with the arrival of the Zodiac bar and the Met restaurant, where rising star Corrado Fasolato has achieved the only Michelin star in Venice. You can dine in the intimate wood-panelled former chapel where Vivaldi taught orphan girls to sing, the velvet-hung salone or the shady garden.

 

Vini da Gigio

Fondamente San Felice, Cannaregio 3628a (0039 041 528 5140; www.vinidagigio.com).         

Vini da Gigio is not secret, and nor should it be, for it is one of the best value restaurants in Venice, filled with locals, with a cosy yet buzzing atmosphere and colourful owner. The comfortable dining room and small tables are ideal for groups of four or five, and though it’s always busy, the service is courteous and you never feel hurried. Specialities include raw fish antipasto, beef carpaccio, meatballs and masorino alla buranella (Burano style duck). You must leave room for a dessert.

 

 

 

Marrakech

Just back from a great five days in Marrakech and then in the foothills of the Atlas Mountains, doing a Branson double act: that’s staying at Richard Branson’s Kasbah Tamadot an hour’s drive out of Marrakech, and Vanessa Branson’s riad in the heart of the medina: Riad El Fenn. Both highly recommended. On the way back through Marrakech we stayed in Riad Si Said, part of Angsana hotels new Riad Collection (they are all at it, the big hotel groups, moving in on Marrakech as if their lives depended on it). Here’s a description of the Angsana properties…. read about Riad El Fenn and Kasbah Tamadot on the hotel guru website (under, respectively, Marrakech Medina and Marrakech Environs). Angsana Riad Collection, Marrakech

 Thailand meets Morocco in the depths of the Marrakech medina. Angsana, the boutique branch of Banyan Tree resort hotels, with its own signature spas, has taken over six riads, each within spitting distance of the other and each with between five and eight bedrooms and suites set around a leafy courtyard full of birdsong and soft music. Though every riad is different in style and decoration, they are all memorable, whether contemporary, historic or dramatic, and all united by subtle, harmonious Asian touches. Ask for descriptions – or take pot luck. Each has its own treatment room, and most have hammams, but for the full Angsana experience, head for luxurious Riad Bab Firdaus.  The name means gateway to heaven, which is exactly where you’ll be after a Thai style hammam (calmer and more gentle than the traditional Moroccan roughing up) followed by an Angsana massage from expertly trained Thai or Moroccan therapists. The spa itself, with a spacious whirlpool, is intimate (perfect for couples who should opt for the sole-use Hammam Romance package) and traditionally Moroccan in its intricate decoration, like the rest of the lovely old riad. Afterwards – if you can – drag yourself to the rooftop restaurant for a choice of Moroccan or Thai dishes. Service in all the riads is exceptionally friendly: chefs will give cookery lessons in their cosy kitchens, and staff offer to guide you through the souk, or take you to bake bread in the communal ovens.

   

New Paris Hotels

Check out the Paris lists (Chic/Hip/Character/Budget) on our Hotel Guru website (www.thehotelguru.com) to find our new discoveries. One in particular, the Académies et des Arts in Monparnasse, stands out, but there are others too: the Serrs, Daniel, Le A, Murano Urban Resort to name but four. If you want a blow out and a serious treat, look no further than the Meurice, which we prefer to all the other deluxe city hotels. And the 360º view from the roof terrace of the Belle Etoile Suite is quite simply staggering.

 

Hotels in Vienna

Leo and I are now in Vienna, having been flown over for the opening of a brand new five star called The Ring, owned by Sheik Muhamed bin something al Jaber, who is busy buying up hotels all over the place, including The Scotsman in Edinburgh and 42 The Calls and Quebecs in Leeds, the Berners, Threadneedles and the Colonnade in London amongst many others. Just a business operation, of course, and the hotels in general lack heart, including The Ring, I’m afraid. Still, the special forces policemen who agreed to absail down the building with the front door key (on Vienna’s famous Ringstrasse, opposite the Grand, also owned by the Sheik) made the opening party memorable, if briefly. We stayed the very first night of the hotel’s (a former bank) life… extremely comfortable, but standard issue if truth be told.Now we are trawling Vienna to find the nicest hotels for you. As usual, the ones that have had most exposure are in many cases the least interesting, and as usual we have found some little known gems. My favourite luxury hotel here is most definitely the Sacher, with a splendid history, still privately owned and sensitively renovated by the owner along with the  interior designer Pierre Yves Rochon, who so brilliantly brought the George V in Paris back to prominence. We’ll have our complete list of Vienna hotels for you soon. Vienna is lovely, though we’ve not seen many sites…too busy looking at hotels! The National Library, next to the Spanish Riding School, though is not to be missed….an awe-inspiring Baroque interior of absolute perfection. 

Florence continued

Tipped off by a friend, I’ve just discovered another great find, a b&b overlooking the San Lorenzo leather market and run by a charming, cultured Iranian lady. Simple, fresh and half the price of a halfway decent hotel. Why waste one’s money on anything else, I wondered while we sat drinking tea and chatting in her homely kitchen/breakfast room, where guests take breakfast at a large table at whatever time they choose. She doesn’t live there herself (it’s on the second floor, up two steep flights of grotty stairs, which only adds to the charm) but gets up at six every morning and cycles from her home to greet her guests and prepare a delicious breakfast spread for them. The name of it? You’ll have to wait till it’s added to our favourite hotels in Florence on the website…keep checking!I’ve also taken the opportunity to revist several favourite hotels during my whistlestop stay in Florence, and reminded myself what a great, Italian-sexy hotel JK Place is at one end of the price scale, and also Residenza d’Epoca in Piazza della Signoria, with its warm-hearted staff and owners, at the other. I’ve also managed to pack in lunch and dinner on the Oltrarno with friends (try Trattioria Giusto in Calle del’ Orto) and a quick whip round the Duomo museum for a reminder of just how amazing Ghiberti’s panels for the Baptistry doors are. Not to mention Michelangelo’s Pietà and Donatello’s Mary Magdalene. Sickening to have to leave, but needs must. And it’s going to be a long journey, because (call myself a travel writer) I was taken in by Ryanair’s description of ‘Bologna Forli’ airport being anywhere near Bologna. In fact it’s an hour and a quarter by bus from Bologna, which itself is an hour by train from Florence….. must dash.