SERGI AROLA GASTRO—Located near the Museo Sorolla (see p. 267), the flagship of rocker-turned-star-chef Sergi Arola is Madrid’s ultimate destination for foodies from around the globe. Arola deftly combines just a few intense flavors per dish, cooking with great imagination but never over-the-top. The contemporary minimalist décor lets the artistically prepared plates take center stage. There’s a choice of three menus at dinner with no à la carte ordering. INFO: Tel 34/91-310-2169; www.sergiarola.es. Cost: dinner $150.
DAY TRIPS
TOLEDO—Let the painter El Greco guide you through his adopted hometown, an ancient treasure house of Moorish, Jewish, and Christian history. About 30 of his paintings hang in the sacristy of the 13th-century cathedral, and his most famous work, The Burial of Count Orgaz, is mounted in the entry to nearby Iglesia (Church) de Santo Tomé. The Museo de Santa Cruz, housed in a magnificent 16th-century building, features a dozen El Grecos, and you can stand close enough to see the brushwork. Recharge at Toledo’s best-known restaurant, Hostal del Cardenal, housed in an elegant 18th-century cardinal’s palace. Visit in June to catch the celebration of Corpus Christi, when a 500-pound gold reliquary made in 1595 from New World gold is paraded through the streets. WHERE: 43 miles/69 km south of Madrid. Tel 34/92-522-0862; www.hostaldelcardenal.com. Cost: dinner $50.
SEGOVIA—Segovia is bookended by its two main attractions: the soaring arches of the Roman Aqueduct and its Alcázar Palace, rebuilt in the 19th century as a fantasy version of a medieval castle (it’s said to have inspired the castle in Disney’s Snow White). Gastronomes come to Segovia to eat cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) at Mesón de Cándido, possibly the best in Spain. It is rivaled only by the cordero lechero asado (roast baby lamb), another regional delicacy. WHERE: 48 miles/68 km northwest of Madrid. Tel 34/92-142-5911; www.mesondecandido.es. Cost: dinner $55.
Architecture, Paella, and Big Bangs
VALENCIA
Spain
With architecture that rivals Bilbao’s (see p. 252), dining that rivals Barcelona’s (see p. 260), and a penchant for Europe’s most extreme celebrations, Valencia ranks among the world’s most dynamic small cities.
You quickly grasp Valencia’s wit at L’Hemisfèric, the 1995 planetarium building of the 86-acre City of Arts and Sciences, where native son Santiago Calatrava constructed the glass-and-metal shell of the building to open and close like the blinking of an eyelid. Set into a dry riverbed, the complex’s monumentally scaled buildings have biomorphic forms: the fish-shaped performance halls of the 2005 Palace of Arts, the underwater coral-reef organization of the 2002 L’Oceanogràfic Aquarium, even the rib-cage entrance walkway and gardens of the 1995 L’Umbracle. So striking are the pools, walkways, and abstract views of shapes and forms that you could easily spend hours walking around without ever entering a building.
Before there was the vision of Valencia, there was the taste. The Mercado Central is a temple of food in a vast 1928 modernista building. Valencia is the birthplace of paella—not surprising, since it is also where rice was first cultivated in Spain in the 8th century. If you prefer the seafood paella served in the U.S., order arroces con mariscos; purists will prefer the paella valenciana, filled with fresh vegetables, rabbit, and chicken and dotted with snails. Try it at informal La Pepica, still as good as when Ernest Hemingway ate here in the 1950s. For a cutting-edge contemporary take on classic Valencian dishes, visit Ca’ Sento, where El Bulli (see p. 264) alumnus Raúl Aleixandre has revolutionized his parents’ seafood restaurant with deftly contemporary touches.
Valencia becomes a madhouse during Las Fallas, which takes place on the days leading up to the feast of St. Joseph (March 19), as huge statues and scenes are erected in every square in the city, long processions of people in 18th-century costumes bring flowers to a six-story-high effigy of the Virgin Mary, and every child and childlike adult sets off endless piles of firecrackers and Roman candles. On March 19, the ninots (the huge figures), constructed of colored papier-mâché over elaborate wooden frames—some 20 feet tall—are set afire in a pyromaniac’s equivalent of Mardi Gras.
WHERE: 188 miles/302 km east of Madrid. CITY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES: Tel 34/902-100031; www.cac.es. MERCADO CENTRAL: Tel 34/963-829101; www.mercadocentralvalencia.es. LA PEPICA: Tel 34/963-710366. Cost: dinner $35. CA’ SENTO: Tel 34/963-301775. Cost: dinner $50. WHERE TO STAY: The luxurious beachfront Hotel Santos Las Arenas, has a seaside spa. Tel 34/963-120600; www.hotel-lasarenas.com. Cost: from $190 (off-peak), from $270 (peak). BEST TIMES: week leading up to Mar 19 for parades and fireworks of Las Fallas; 3rd week of Jul for Festival Eclèctic, when free outdoor performances fill the City of Arts and Sciences.
Riding the Rails
THE ALPS’ MOST SCENIC TRAIN TRIPS
Switzerland
The Swiss have taken train travel to new heights. Over the past century, Swiss engineering expertise has created an elaborate system of narrow passes, viaducts, and tunnels that make even the most dramatic Alpine scenery accessible to all. You can ride the rails between Zermatt and St. Moritz on the ever-popular Glacier Express, touted as the slowest express train in the world (it averages 25 miles an hour). This red little-engine-that-could passes through the heart of the Swiss Alps and offers an up-close look at riveting scenery on its roller-coaster journey. It passes over 291 bridges, many trestled high above dramatic gorges, through 91 tunnels, and crosses the Oberalp Pass at 6,706 feet—the 7.5-hour, 180-mile trip’s highest point.
Quintessentially Swiss, chocolate and cheese are both served onboard the Chocolate Train, a day-long journey that runs in summer and fall. Climb aboard in Montreux (see p. 282), overlooking Lake Geneva on the Swiss Riviera, for the nearly 10-hour roundtrip journey to Broc. As you roll northeast in a Belle Époque Pullman car, feast your eyes on the Lavaux vineyards, especially vibrant just before October’s harvest. In medieval, car-free Gruyère, you can visit the enchanting turreted castle and tuck into fondue at the cheese dairy before continuing on to Broc’s world-famous Cailler-Nestlé chocolate factory for a tour and a sampling of the 65 tons of chocolate produced on-site each day.
Completed in 1910, the Bernina line is the highest railway crossing in the Alps. From St. Moritz to the charming northern Italian town of Tirano, the vertigo-inducing Bernina Express goes past the Morteratsch Glacier, with its jaw-dropping views and the highest peak in the Eastern Alps, the Piz Bernina (13,284 feet), before arriving in Italy on a famous corkscrew viaduct. The 90-mile, 4-hour trip reaches an apex of 7,391 feet then descends 5,905 feet before coming to the end of the train line in Tirano. In summer, you can continue by bus along the banks of Lake Como to Lugano (see p. 279).
The 213-foot-high Landwasser Viaduct, stretching nearly 500 feet, is a highlight of any trip on the Glacier Express.
HOW: Book online at www.raileurope.com or locally upon your arrival at any Swiss rail station. In the U.S., contact Rail Europe, tel 800-622-8600 or 914-682-2999; in Canada, tel 800-361-7245. GLACIER EXPRESS: between St. Moritz and Zermatt. Cost: one-way $195. SWISS CHOCOLATE TRAIN: between Montreux and Broc. Cost: one-way $115, first class only. When: May–Oct. BERNINA EXPRESS: between St. Moritz (via Tirano, Italy) and Lugano. Cost: one-way $35. BEST TIMES: May–Jun and Sep–Oct for most colorful scenery from the Chocolate Train; Jun for ideal weather for the Bernina Express; Sep–Oct for lighter crowds on the Glacier Express.
Crossroads of Creativity
BASEL: ART CITY
Switzerland
On the banks of the Rhine, where the Swiss, French, and German borders meet, Basel shines as a world-class capital of art. Among its 30-plus museums are the impressive Kunstmuseum of fine art, the Museum Tinguely with its playful mechanized sculptures, and the Fondation Beyeler’s superb 20th-century art collection in a Renzo Piano–designed building.
Every June, this pocket-size city hosts Art Basel, the world’s leading international art show for modern and contemporary works. Bringing together painting and drawing, sculptures, installations, photography, videos, and multimedi
a works, nearly 300 galleries display works by more than 2,500 artists—from the great masters of modern art to the latest emerging stars. Beyond the main event, culture vultures canvas the town for smaller exhibitions, film screenings, concerts, and parties during this art-rich week. Book your hotel well in advance or consider finding lodging an hour away by train in Zürich, whose own cultural delights make the option an appealing one (see p. 283).
Art lovers are naturally drawn to Der Teufelhof Basel, whose minimalist guest rooms (nine in the Art Hotel, 24 in the adjoining Gallery Hotel) are regularly redecorated by different Swiss artists, and exhibitions feature contemporary artists in the wine cellar and medieval finds in the archaeological cellar. The gracious, riverside Hotel Krafft has the medieval Old Town at its doorstep and 45 spacious and simply furnished rooms, many with river views.
Epicureans have long revered Restaurant Stucki Bruderholz, whose erstwhile master chef, Hans Stucki, was one of Switzerland’s culinary giants until his premature death in 1998. Today, the trailblazing restaurant continues to hit new heights under chef/owner Tanja Grandits—a rising star in the culinary world. The décor, mood, and menu have lightened up, but the culinary style remains assertive: Grandits applies a hint of the exotic to regional ingredients, earning her food the label “Filigree Art.” For a great simple meal—fondue, sliced veal with rösti; (hash browns)—the Löwenzorn’s snug, wood-paneled rooms and airy courtyard feel part bistro and part beer hall, and all wonderfully convivial.
The great 20th-century Swiss artist Jean Tinguely’s kinetic sculptures are on permanent display at the museum bearing his name.
WHERE: 53 miles/86 km northwest of Zurich. ART BASEL: Tel 41/58-200-2020; www.artbasel.com. Cost: tickets $45–$100. When: mid-Jun. DER TEUFELHOF BASEL: Tel 41/61-261-1010; www.teufelhof.com. Cost: from $265 (off-peak), from $550 (peak); dinner $70. HOTEL KRAFFT: Tel 41/61-690-9130; www.krafftbasel.ch. Cost: from $300 (off-peak), from $430 (peak). RESTAURANT STUCKI BRUDERHOLZ: Tel 41/61-361-8222; www.stuckibasel.ch. Cost: dinner $130. LÖWENZORN: Tel 41/61-261-4213; www.loewenzorn.ch. Cost: dinner $55. BEST TIMES: late Feb or early Mar for Fasnacht carnival-like festival (begins Mon after Ash Wednesday); mid-Jun for Art Basel.
Magnificent Mountain Playground
GSTAAD
Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
At the confluence of four Alpine valleys and dubbed the Aspen of the Bernese Oberland, Gstaad reigns as one of the world’s best winter playgrounds. With its 155 miles of downhill runs, 60 miles of cross-country trails, and a host of year-round activities, this is where royalty and the world’s celebs ski, yet an unspoiled and unpretentious air prevails.
Gstaad is so low-key and quiet you might even find it a tad boring, unless you’re staying at the Gstaad Palace Hotel, one of the most sought-after hideaways in Europe. Towering over tiny Gstaad like a neomedieval castle, this 104-room hotel, built in 1913, bills itself as Switzerland’s largest family pension (meals are included), but don’t let the classic but cozy rooms fool you: This hotel is the epicenter of the local social scene. The pace is more subdued at the family-owned Hotel Alphorn, a traditional chalet that offers 30 Alpine-style guest rooms with balconies overlooking the slopes. For local wintertime gemütlichkeit (homeyness) and a view you’ll never forget, take the cable car to the mountaintop terraced Berghaus Eggli restaurant or gravitate to the fireside charm and the best fondue in the village, at Saagi Stübli, the cozy eatery of the Hotel Gstaaderhof.
Come January, the nearby village of Château d’Oex takes on a carnival ambience during the annual Winter Alpine Balloon Festival, when as many as 80 colorful balloons from more than 18 countries fly over the rugged mountain peaks, drifting above the snow-covered valleys. Summertime flights take in the softer rolling hills of the Emmental valley, over picture-perfect farmland and flower-decked rural wooden chalets.
Gstaad can be enjoyed on skis and snowshoes.
WHERE: 42 miles/67 km southwest of Interlaken. GSTAAD PALACE HOTEL: Tel 41/33-748-5000; www.palace.ch. Cost: from $695 (off-peak), from $775 (peak), inclusive. When: closed mid-Sep–mid-Dec, Apr–mid-Jun. HOTEL ALPHORN: Tel 41/33-748-4545; www.gstaad-alphorn.ch. Cost: from $185 (off-peak), from $245 (peak). BERGHAUS EGGLI: Tel 41/33-748-9612. Cost: dinner $38. SAAGI STÜBLI: Tel 41/33-748-6363; www.gstaaderhof.ch. Cost: dinner $40. HOW: Contact the U.S.-based Bombard Society for Balloon Festival and nonfestival trips, tel 800-862-8537 or 561-837-6610; www.bombardsociety.com. Cost: 8-night festival trip $17,988, land only, all-inclusive. Originates in Geneva. When: mid-Jan. BEST TIMES: Jan–mid-Mar for skiing; mid-Jul–early Sep for Gstaad’s annual Musiksommer, founded by Yehudi Menuhin.
Walking on Top of the World
HIGH-COUNTRY HIKING
Bernese Oberland, Switzerland
Early-19th-century visitors put Switzerland on the map as a summer destination prescribed for its invigorating and bracing Alpine air. The Bernese Oberland, or Highlands, with its 1,553 miles of trails, is Switzerland’s most popular choice for hiking, thanks to idyllic mountain villages, dramatic peaks, and deep, verdant valleys, offering plenty to rejuvenate both body and soul.
The steep-sided ravines of charming Kandersteg are a rambler’s paradise. Head for the cable car that lifts walkers to the historic Gemmi Pass, or to Lake Oeschinen, one of Switzerland’s most striking natural wonders. Color-coded signposts throughout town point hikers on their way, indicating the time needed round-trip. The handsome Royal Park Hotel, Kandersteg’s finest lodging, has been in the same family since 1893. Its popular restaurant and spa await weary hikers at the end of the day.
Facing the dramatic Jungfrau massif from its perch on a ledge above the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Mürren is the highest year-round inhabited village in the canton and is accessible only by cog railway or cable car. Even if you don’t stay at the homey Hotel Bellevue, whose 17 balconied rooms have breathtaking views, stop in for hearty Swiss fare by the fireplace in its cozy Jägerstübli restaurant. Outside, choose from hundreds of hiking trails or ride the cable car to the Schilthorn’s 9,742-foot summit, Piz Gloria; enjoy the panorama of some 200 peaks from the summit’s revolving restaurant, made world famous by the 1969 James Bond thriller On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Descend by cable car one stop and exit at Birg to take a high-country hike, serenaded by cowbells and waterfalls, down to the storybook-quaint village Gimmelwald.
For staggering mountain scenery and views of the Mönch and Jungfrau peaks and 14-mile-wide Aletsch Glacier, put your boots up and ride the rails to the 11,400-foot Jungfraujoch terminus, the world’s highest railroad station. Visit the chilled depths of the famed Eispalast (Ice Palace), then vary your return trip by taking the route to the picturesque mountain town of Grindelwald, dramatically set beneath the towering Eiger peak and especially favored for high-terrain hiking. Top off your adventure in Interlaken, at the refined Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, a faultless monument to luxury built in 1865.
Rising more than 13,000 feet, Mönch (monk) Mountain forms part of the great north wall of the Bernese Oberland.
WHERE: Kandersteg is 28 miles/45 km southwest of Interlaken; Mürren is 9 miles/31 km south of Interlaken; Interlaken is 90 miles/145 km southwest of Zürich. VISITOR INFO: Kandersteg: www.kandersteg.ch. Mürren: www.muerren.ch. Interlaken: www.interlakentourism.ch. ROYAL PARK HOTEL: Tel 41/33-675-8888; www.royalkandersteg.com. Cost: from $430 (off-peak), from $580 (peak). HOTEL BELLEVUE: Tel 41/33-855-1401; www.muerren.ch/bellevue. Cost: from $185 (off-peak), from $225 (peak); dinner at Jägerstübli $50. PIZ GLORIA: Round-trip from Mürren via cable car, $125. JUNGFRAUJOCH RAIL TRIP: full-day round-trips offered daily from Interlaken and Grindelwald. Cost: $245 round-trip from Interlaken. When: Jun–Sep. VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU GRAND HOTEL: Tel 41/33-828-2828; www.victoria-jungfrau.ch. Cost: from $590 (off-peak), from $660 (peak). BEST TIMES: mid-Jun–Aug for alpine flowers; Sep–Oct for cooler weather.
A Pair of Peak Performers
DAVOS-KLOSTERS
Graubünden, Switzerland
Offering top-of-
the-line skiing for all levels, Davos is Europe’s largest ski resort. At 5,120 feet, it is also its highest city, great for cold-weather sports even in warm winters. Long, scenic valley trails make it second only to the neighboring Engadine region for cross-country skiing (see next page).
Davos shares a sweeping network of lifts and slopes with its (barely) lower twin city Klosters, whose more attractive Alpine village is where you want to unpack your bags (Swedish and British royalty return here faithfully). Almost intimate compared to Davos, Klosters still nurtures its sobriquet of “Hollywood on the Rocks” because of the international movie set it attracts. VIP or not, they all come for the exemplary Parsenn-Weissfluh ski area, which many experts agree is one of the finest in Europe. Its famous descent from Weissfluhgipfel (9,331 feet) to Küblis (2,658 feet), a magnificent 8-mile piste over vast, open snowfields, is a thrill for even the accomplished skier.
You won’t need royal connections to be treated as such at the atmospheric Chesa Grischuna. Housed in a handsome wooden chalet in the very center of town, Klosters’s preferred inn offers traditionally furnished rooms with ornately carved ceilings and the area’s finest restaurant, where specialties include rack of lamb and shrimp-stuffed crêpes. The aptly named Rustico Hotel, a mountain retreat near the Gotschnabahn ski lift, has simple but spacious guest rooms with duvet-plumped beds and Alpine warmth; the timber-ceilinged loft rooms are a special treat. In a 226-year-old chalet next door is the hotel’s Prättiger Huschi, serving up bubbling fondue to the après-ski crowd that fills the cowhide benches.
1,000 Places to See Before You Die Page 45
