Why go?
Do you need a reason? It is a glorious city that looks, feels and tastes good. From the castle poised over the Old Town, through the sweep of the Royal Mile, to the elegance of the Georgian New Town and the contemporary tang of Leith, it tantalises the eyes and calms the spirit. Take your pleasure - art galleries, swanky shopping, quirky museums, grand history - then indulge. There are three Michelin-starred restaurants and drinking venues range from whisky-fuddled pubs to designer bars. From June 7 to June 10, the "Taste of Edinburgh" food festival showcases the best.
Getting there
The train wins, hands down. From London, GNER (08457 225225, www.gner.co.uk ) runs more than 20 trains a day, taking, on average, four and a half hours and gliding through York, Durham and Newcastle and across Robert Stephenson's magnificent viaduct at Berwick-upon-Tweed. The finest coastal views are north of Newcastle; book a right-hand seat. Step out into the heart of Edinburgh: Castle to the left, Princes Street to the right. Perfect. From £25 return booked in advance. Standard return, £98.20.
Staying there
The three Georgian townhouses of The Howard (0131 557 3500, www.thehoward.com ) offer old-fashioned luxury. Soft carpets, plump sofas, thick curtains wrap you in country-house comfort with a butler to sort every whim. Doubles from £160, room only.
2 Cambridge Street (0131 478 0005, www.wwwonderful.net ), in the shadow of the Castle, has deluxe hotel quality but b & b warmth. The two rooms are cocoon-like, with purple walls and brass bedsteads. No televisions but gourmet breakfasts. Doubles from £95.
Ten minutes from Princes Street, Ten Hill Place Hotel (0131 662 2080, www.tenhillplace.com ) offers a clean, contemporary style. Doubles from £122 including full Scottish breakfast.
Getting around Edinburgh is biggish and hilly but, if you have time, a delight to walk around. Otherwise, buses are frequent; single journey £1, day ticket £2.50. Biketrax (0131 228 6633, www.biketrax.co.uk ) offers half-day bike hire for £12, full day £16. Taxis stop on request.
What to see and do
First-time visitors should start at the Castle (0131 225 9846, 9.30am-6pm daily, adult £11, child £5.50), but if history isn't your thing, head to Nelson's Monument (0131 556 2716) on Calton Hill, which commemorates the admiral's victory at Trafalgar. Climb its 143 steps to enjoy the city's finest view. Open Tues-Sat, 10am-6pm, Mon 1pm-6pm. £3.
If it's Saturday, wander the Farmers' Market (9am-2pm), officially the UK's best, on Castle Terrace, where you can pick up smoked salmon, organic bacon and lemon balm soap and snack on gingerbread and oysters. At the Camera Obscura (0131 226 3709), Castlehill, play Peeping Tom via a periscope that projects an image of the city's comings and goings on to a hidden white screen. Open daily 9.30am-6pm (7.30pm July/August). Adult £7.50, child £5.
From August 4 to October 7, catch Andy Warhol at the National Gallery, adding to an impressive permanent collection which includes works by Titian, Raphael, Canova and the Impressionists. At the National Portrait Gallery - another handsome collection with an excellent café - The Naked Portrait runs from June 6 to September 2. Open daily 10am-5pm, Thurs 7pm (0131 624 6200). Free admission, charge for exhibitions.
Stroll the Water of Leith Walkway to the Royal Yacht Britannia (0131 555 8866) to marvel at the Royal G-Plan furnishings, the Queen's single bed, the cramped crew's quarters and the 1950s' operating theatre. Open daily 9.30am-4.30pm. Adult £9.50, child £5.50.
Walk
Circumnavigate the globe at the Royal Botanic Garden (0131 552 7171), from Chinese hillside to Himalayan rhododendrons, Scottish heathland to Alpine rock gardens. Open daily 10am-7pm. Garden free, glasshouses, adult £3.50, child £1.
Don't bother…
…with the tartanalia shops of the Royal Mile. For inspirational Scottish shopping try West Bow and Victoria Street (Old Town) or Stockbridge in the New Town.
Where to eat and drink
Seasonal, Scottish produce is cooked with imagination - home-cured salt-cod mousse with Highland Burgundy potatoes, saddle of rabbit stuffed with spinach, kidneys and shallots - at The Kitchin (78 Commercial Quay, Leith, 0131 555 1755 ), where Tom Kitchin is Scotland's youngest Michelin-starred chef. Main courses about £23.
At tiny Iglu (2b Jamaica Street, 0131 476 5333 ) unfussy food, cooked with a conscience might include Arbroath smokie fishcakes and wild boar saddle chops. Main courses about £16.
Urban Angel (121 Hanover Street, 0131 225 6215, www.urban-angel.co.uk ) is a relaxed, anytime eaterie with organic credentials. Lunch costs about £10.
For classic Italian food - Parma ham with chargrilled polenta, pasta with meatballs - in buzzy surroundings, try Vin Caffè (11 Multrees Walk, 0131 557 0088 ). Mains £10-£19.
Always Sunday (170 High Street, www.alwayssunday.co.uk) and Plaisir du Chocolat (251-253 Canongate, www.plaisirduchocolat.com) are great pit-stops for a pastry hit.
The Café Royal (17 West Register Street) is a classic Victorian pub, while the bars of George Street - The Dome, Le Monde, Tigerlily and Tempus - vie for designer gorgeousness.
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Grasse The Perfume Capital of the World
Why go?
The recent film adaptation of Patrick Süskind's novel Perfume put Grasse back on the map as the world capital of perfumery. Where else can you walk through fields of roses and jasmine, design a signature perfume and eat at one of the Côte d'Azur's best two-star Michelin restaurants?
Bastide St Antoine Jacques Chibois - a stylish manor house
Visit its three major perfume houses (Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard), see the beautiful villa once owned by a grand perfumier, decorated with paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, wander through the medieval streets of the old town, or join Grasse Tourist Office's Le Parfum weekend.
Travel by...
Plane to Nice from Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle with easyJet (0871 244 2366, www.easyjet.com) from £58 or from Heathrow and Gatwick with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) from £80. Hire a car from Holiday Autos (0870 400 0010, www.holidayautos.co.uk). Grasse is a 45-minute drive from Nice Airport or an hour's bus journey; Line 500 from Nice Terminal 2 to Grasse.
Sleep in...
The Bastide St Antoine Jacques Chibois (0033 493 709494, www.jacques-chibois.com), a 20-minute walk or three-minute drive into town. This is the most stylish 18th-century manor-house hotel in the region, with chic, Provençal-style bedrooms and contemporary suites, fabulous gardens, a pool and a gastronomic restaurant. Doubles from 285 euros.
The recently renovated "Chambres Romantic" at the central Hôtel Le Patti (0033 493 360100, www.hotelpatti.com) are pretty with light Provençal boutis (bedcovers), and modern wrought-iron and glass furnishings. "Chambres de Charme" are more dated, with traditional Provençal furniture. Doubles from 69 euros.
Hotel Mandarina (0033 493 361029, www.mandarinahotel.com), a former Carmelite Hospice atop a steep gradient, is a good central choice if you're fit or four-wheeled. Renovations are making this bright terracotta, two-star hotel with contemporary artworks a smart option, if you can ignore bits of scaffold and tiling on the terrace. Doubles, 75 euros.
Spend the morning in...
Galimard's Studio des Fragrances, concocting your own perfume. During a two-hour course (in English), tutored by a Galimard "Nez" (perfumier), create your perfume from more than 120 essences, while learning the difference between head, heart and base notes (the aromas that remain longest on the skin). The 39-euro fee includes tuition and 100ml of perfume (plus the cost of the bottle).
Lunch in...
Le 10 (0033 493 408145), Grasse's most fashionable local, run by a former French footballer (number 10). Try the plat du jour or a flavoursome coquelette with roasted garlic and puréed potatoes on the terrace in Place de la Foux (mains 12-15 euros).
Order the plat du jour (12 euros) - usually a bowl of fresh pasta or a grill - and a glass of rosé on the tiny, leafy terrace at the cheerfully decorated Café des Musées (1 rue Ossola).
Stroll around...
The higgledy-piggledy, cobbled streets of Grasse old town. The Musée Fragonard displays exquisite glass and silver pomades, bergamots, enamel and crystal perfume bottles from the 16th-19th centuries, and provides the best free perfume factory tour in English. Glance inside the Musée Provençal to see how 18th-century noble Grassoise families lived. Wander up to the 11th-13th-century Notre Dame du Puy, a grandiose cathedral of La Turbie stone, containing works by Rubens, Louis Brea and a stunning Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting, The Washing of the Disciples' Feet.
Buy....
Sugar-covered rose and violet petals, chocolate-coated figs and cherries, truffles, rose confit, fruit sirops and wines from local vineyards, at Vallauri (2 rue Dominique Conte), purveyor of delicious Provençal specialities. Pick up a bouti, stylish linens and multi-coloured terracotta casserole dishes at O Bastidon (17 rue Jean Ossola). Taste speciality olive oils and vinegars, decanted into beautiful stacking glass bottles at Palais des Olives (Bd du Jeu de Ballon). And, of course, perfume.
Have dinner at...
Bastide St Antoine Jacques Chibois (0033 493 709494, www.jacques-chibois.com), a two-star Michelin restaurant serving divine food in chic dining rooms and on romantic candlelit terraces. Chibois uses fresh, 70 per cent organic produce and minimal fat and sugar, to create perfectly balanced dishes such as delicate lobster and giant prawns on a cep and Champagne risotto, or "Marvellous Roast Quails" with chestnut truffle purée. Menus 59 euros (lunch), from 139 euros evenings.
Three months ago, chef Alexis Mayroux (who trained under Michel Guérard) and his wife, Sophie, opened Lou Candeloun (5 rue des Fabrieres, 0033 493 600449), the only "semi-gastronomic" restaurant in the heart of Grasse. In their simple dining room, they serve affordable gastronomic food using the freshest produce. Delight in layers of squid-ink pasta with seafood, or stuffed courgettes and heavenly desserts. Menus 15 euros (lunch), from 24 euros evenings.
Stay up late at...
The Casino - it's not Monaco, but it's the only place that stays open beyond dinner. Local youths head for Jimmy'z in Cannes; I prefer Baioli (www.lebaoli.com).
Recover by...
Smelling the roses at Domaine de Manon (0033 493 601276) in Plascassier, whose flower essences are used in Chanel, Guerlain and Hermés perfumes. Roses are gathered from May to early June (3pm tour) and jasmine throughout August to October (9am tour). Watch the pickers and learn how the flowers are propagated (6 euros).
The recent film adaptation of Patrick Süskind's novel Perfume put Grasse back on the map as the world capital of perfumery. Where else can you walk through fields of roses and jasmine, design a signature perfume and eat at one of the Côte d'Azur's best two-star Michelin restaurants?
Bastide St Antoine Jacques Chibois - a stylish manor house
Visit its three major perfume houses (Galimard, Molinard and Fragonard), see the beautiful villa once owned by a grand perfumier, decorated with paintings by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, wander through the medieval streets of the old town, or join Grasse Tourist Office's Le Parfum weekend.
Travel by...
Plane to Nice from Stansted, Luton, Gatwick, Bristol, Liverpool and Newcastle with easyJet (0871 244 2366, www.easyjet.com) from £58 or from Heathrow and Gatwick with British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com) from £80. Hire a car from Holiday Autos (0870 400 0010, www.holidayautos.co.uk). Grasse is a 45-minute drive from Nice Airport or an hour's bus journey; Line 500 from Nice Terminal 2 to Grasse.
Sleep in...
The Bastide St Antoine Jacques Chibois (0033 493 709494, www.jacques-chibois.com), a 20-minute walk or three-minute drive into town. This is the most stylish 18th-century manor-house hotel in the region, with chic, Provençal-style bedrooms and contemporary suites, fabulous gardens, a pool and a gastronomic restaurant. Doubles from 285 euros.
The recently renovated "Chambres Romantic" at the central Hôtel Le Patti (0033 493 360100, www.hotelpatti.com) are pretty with light Provençal boutis (bedcovers), and modern wrought-iron and glass furnishings. "Chambres de Charme" are more dated, with traditional Provençal furniture. Doubles from 69 euros.
Hotel Mandarina (0033 493 361029, www.mandarinahotel.com), a former Carmelite Hospice atop a steep gradient, is a good central choice if you're fit or four-wheeled. Renovations are making this bright terracotta, two-star hotel with contemporary artworks a smart option, if you can ignore bits of scaffold and tiling on the terrace. Doubles, 75 euros.
Spend the morning in...
Galimard's Studio des Fragrances, concocting your own perfume. During a two-hour course (in English), tutored by a Galimard "Nez" (perfumier), create your perfume from more than 120 essences, while learning the difference between head, heart and base notes (the aromas that remain longest on the skin). The 39-euro fee includes tuition and 100ml of perfume (plus the cost of the bottle).
Lunch in...
Le 10 (0033 493 408145), Grasse's most fashionable local, run by a former French footballer (number 10). Try the plat du jour or a flavoursome coquelette with roasted garlic and puréed potatoes on the terrace in Place de la Foux (mains 12-15 euros).
Order the plat du jour (12 euros) - usually a bowl of fresh pasta or a grill - and a glass of rosé on the tiny, leafy terrace at the cheerfully decorated Café des Musées (1 rue Ossola).
Stroll around...
The higgledy-piggledy, cobbled streets of Grasse old town. The Musée Fragonard displays exquisite glass and silver pomades, bergamots, enamel and crystal perfume bottles from the 16th-19th centuries, and provides the best free perfume factory tour in English. Glance inside the Musée Provençal to see how 18th-century noble Grassoise families lived. Wander up to the 11th-13th-century Notre Dame du Puy, a grandiose cathedral of La Turbie stone, containing works by Rubens, Louis Brea and a stunning Jean-Honoré Fragonard painting, The Washing of the Disciples' Feet.
Buy....
Sugar-covered rose and violet petals, chocolate-coated figs and cherries, truffles, rose confit, fruit sirops and wines from local vineyards, at Vallauri (2 rue Dominique Conte), purveyor of delicious Provençal specialities. Pick up a bouti, stylish linens and multi-coloured terracotta casserole dishes at O Bastidon (17 rue Jean Ossola). Taste speciality olive oils and vinegars, decanted into beautiful stacking glass bottles at Palais des Olives (Bd du Jeu de Ballon). And, of course, perfume.
Have dinner at...
Bastide St Antoine Jacques Chibois (0033 493 709494, www.jacques-chibois.com), a two-star Michelin restaurant serving divine food in chic dining rooms and on romantic candlelit terraces. Chibois uses fresh, 70 per cent organic produce and minimal fat and sugar, to create perfectly balanced dishes such as delicate lobster and giant prawns on a cep and Champagne risotto, or "Marvellous Roast Quails" with chestnut truffle purée. Menus 59 euros (lunch), from 139 euros evenings.
Three months ago, chef Alexis Mayroux (who trained under Michel Guérard) and his wife, Sophie, opened Lou Candeloun (5 rue des Fabrieres, 0033 493 600449), the only "semi-gastronomic" restaurant in the heart of Grasse. In their simple dining room, they serve affordable gastronomic food using the freshest produce. Delight in layers of squid-ink pasta with seafood, or stuffed courgettes and heavenly desserts. Menus 15 euros (lunch), from 24 euros evenings.
Stay up late at...
The Casino - it's not Monaco, but it's the only place that stays open beyond dinner. Local youths head for Jimmy'z in Cannes; I prefer Baioli (www.lebaoli.com).
Recover by...
Smelling the roses at Domaine de Manon (0033 493 601276) in Plascassier, whose flower essences are used in Chanel, Guerlain and Hermés perfumes. Roses are gathered from May to early June (3pm tour) and jasmine throughout August to October (9am tour). Watch the pickers and learn how the flowers are propagated (6 euros).
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