It’s a myth that Europe’s big cities become ghost towns in August, save for
misguided tour parties of perspiring Americans. After all, not everyone
wants to go to the beach and the city still needs to keep running – even
Paris has a skeleton staff of locals. To keep the stay-behinds and the
occasional tourists happy, most cities put on festivals or attractions, as
well as encouraging the creation of city beaches where you can cool off.
Going in summer can work out better value than leaving it until later: there
are fewer business travellers clogging up hotels, which means prices fall,
and getting there is cheaper too, as city flights tend to cost less than
resort ones (in August, Madrid is half the price of Malaga, for instance).
So here is our guide to the summer – the hottest cities, the coolest hotels
and the best of the fiestas.
Lisbon
Head straight for the Baixa district, where every weekend throughout August
into September there are events (circus, dance, music and just plain
weirdness) along Rua Augusta, in a series collectively known as the
BaixAnima street festival (although it’s not so much a festival as a series
of spontaneous “happenings”). And then there’s Lisbon’s long-running jazz
festival, Jazz em Agosto (Jazz in August, of course), which specialises in
what we might call “rough jazz” – muscular improvised music, played by some
of the world’s key exponents, although not always in a key you’ll recognise
(this is Ornette Coleman and Albert Ayler’s year). It’s inspiring – unless,
of course, you’re after the likes of Alexander’s Ragtime Band or that
hideous soporific synthesis known as smooth jazz.
The festival is already under way (it runs until August 11), but you can catch
the finale this coming week if you move sharpish, with draws such as
Norway’s rumbustious Crimetime Orchestra and the Quartet Noir (from
Switzerland, France and the USA), as well as Ornette himself. The event, in
its 23rd year, is mostly held in the beautiful grounds of the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation. For programme, tickets and further information, call
00 351 21 782 3000 or see www.musica.gulbenkian.pt
(which has pages in English).
Next weekend also sees the climax of the city’s water-themed Ocean Festival,
with a spectacular nighttime parade of floats, lights and flying
inflatables, which is well worth seeing. It takes place in Parque das Nações
from 9.45pm until 11pm (see www.festivaldosoceanos.com
) on Saturday night (August 11).
Cool down: take one of the frequent trains west from Cais do Sodre
station to the beaches of Cascais (about 40min; £1.90), where you’ll find
sand, sea and plenty of fish restaurants. But it’s a popular destination and
you won’t be alone – so, after a cooling ice cream at Santini (Avenida
Valbom 28), reckoned to be the best in town, you might want to jump on a
free hop-on, hop-off bike and cycle, or jump in a cab (£8-£10) to Guincho,
where you’ll have a little more space and the Atlantic breezes will
certainly chill you down. It’s very popular with wind- and kitesurfers,
though swimming can be treacherous.
Stay put: the NH Liberdade (00 351-21 351 4060, www.nh-hoteles.com
), on Avenida da Liberdade, is a member of a smart Spanish-owned chain.
Centrally located on a glitzy shopping street, and not far from the Calouste
Gulbenkian, it comes with a small rooftop pool. Double rooms at weekends
from £105, including breakfast.
Alternatively, try the small, excellent Heritage Lisboa chain (21 321 8200, www.heritage.pt
), with hotels such as As Janelas Verdes (Green Windows), a boutique hotel
with a small garden, next to the National Art Museum, with rates from £120,
room-only; the Avenue Liberdade; or the Hotel Britania (both from £112).
Note that last-minute offers for August (see website) sometimes include a
breakfast.
Getting there: airlines include British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com
), TAP (0845 601 0932, www.flytap.com ),
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com ), Monarch
Scheduled (0870 040 5040, www.flymonarch.com
), BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com
) and, from Ireland, Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com
).
Rome
Ever since Roberto Rossellini, Fellini and Cinecitta (not to mention Gregory
Peck and Audrey Hepburn) put it on the cinema map, Rome has been synonymous
with European movies. For the past few years, the Romans have been
celebrating their celluloid heritage with the Isola del Cinema movie fest.
Situated on Isola Tiberina (Tiber Island) and reached by the Ponte Rotto
(Broken Bridge), this year’s bash, the 13th, has a more international feel,
with work by Hitchcock, Spielberg and Kubrick as well as more local heroes.
Most films are in Italian (but does that matter when you are watching one of
Leone’s Spaghetti westerns, For a Few Dollars More?) because the Italians
are expert dubbers. However, the movies are just part of the attraction, as
there is a real party feel on the island, with cafes, bars and restaurants
open till the wee cool hours. The island opens at 6pm, showing films right
through August into September, and entry is free. For further information,
see www.isoladelcinema.com
(runs until September 3). Cool down: they don’t like you paddling in the
fountains à la Anita Ekberg any longer, and Rome’s beaches are never
appealing, but you could try the open-air Piscina delle Rose (00 39-06 592
6717, www.piscinadellerose.it )
swimming pool (Viale America, metro Line B to EUR Palasport) in the EUR, a
district full of Mussolini’s fascist architecture (Bryan Ferry would love
it). A whole day costs about £11.
Some hotels allow nonresidents to use their pool facilities: the Radisson SAS
(06 444841, www.radissonsas.com )
has a rooftop pool with an adults-only section, and, space permitting,
admits visitors for about £3 per half-day. And don’t neglect the cooling
effects of a tub of the Alongi Brothers’ exquisite ice cream from Gelato di
San Crispino (Via della Panetteria 42), near the Trevi Fountain. Stay put:
the Hilton Rome Cavalieri (06 35091, www.cavalieri-hilton.it
) is a large, swish resort-style hotel, some way from the centre but with
frequent shuttle buses and a very good pool. Prices actually drop in August,
from £318 to £220 per room, with breakfast.
If you can’t afford somewhere with the luxury of a pool, try a rooftop garden
for a cool breeze, such as the one at the Hotel San Francesco (00 39-06 5830
0051, www.hotelsanfrancesco.net
), a former seminary in Trastevere with a pleasant rooftop bar: doubles from
£92 in August (rising to £140 in September), including breakfast. Or go for
a balcony, found in four of the 11 rooms at the well-located Il Piccolo di
Piazza di Spagna hotel (06 6920 0560, www.hotelpiccolo.it),
near the Spanish Steps, which also treats August as low season and so has
rooms from £97, B&B (£10 extra for a balcony).
Getting there: airlines include Air One (020 8939 2434, www.flyairone.it
), Alitalia (0870 544 8259, www.alitalia.com
), BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com
), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com ), Ryanair
(0871 246 0000, www.ryanair.com ) and,
from Ireland, Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com
).
Berlin
Every year since 1997, Berlin has designated one night “the Long Night of the
Museums”. This year, it falls on August 25. Covering an area of almost 400
square kilometres – from the grounds of Glienicke Palace and the
Friedrichshagen Waterworks Museum to the Reinickendorf Museum of Local
History – about 100 museums (don’t worry, it includes the biggies, such as
the Pergamon) and cultural institutions take part, keeping their doors open
until 2am.
To help you get around as many as possible, the various sites are served by 11
different shuttle-bus routes (City Hall is the hub for all of them, so you
can’t get too lost). Most people call it a night after they have hit about
five, though some get well into double figures. Insomniac under12s go free,
otherwise tickets cost about £8 (2007 price tbc), and include the admission
and the bus rides. There are readings, concerts and recitals at many venues
to keep the evening rolling along.
A word of warning – this year’s hot ticket has been MoMA at Neue
Nationalgalerie: 150 paintings and sculptures by French artists of the 19th
century (Manet and Monet to Degas and Van Gogh), which are usually at New
York’s Museum of Modern Art. It is not taking part in the Night this year,
but ask your hotel concierge to get you tickets, to save queuing. Full
information will be available at www.lange-nacht-der-museen.de
, or contact the German Tourist Board (020 7317 0908, www.germany-tourism.co.uk
).
Cool down: summer sees the arrival of dozens of Strandbars – artificial
beaches with bars and sand – along the Spree. One where you can actually
take a dip is the Badeschiff Spreebrücke an der Arena (Eichenstrasse 4,
Treptow), a pool floating on the river, which is actually an old boat, more
than 30 metres long and 8.2 metres wide, filled with chlorinated water; it
also has two cocktail bars, yoga sessions and DJs. It costs about £2 to get
on board; details at www.arena-berlin.de/badeschiff.aspx
.
The Bundespressestrand (Kapellufer 1, Mitte), opposite the Reichstag, also has
a couple of pools for cooling off, plus deckchairs and palm trees. For a
list of others, see www.berlin-tourist-information.de
. Stay put: the Westin (00 49-30 20270, www.westin.com/berlin
), on Unter den Linden, has a special offer of double rooms for £131
throughout August, including a gourmet breakfast. The Radisson SAS (30
238280, www.radissonsas.com ) is
very handy for Museum Island, the cultural heart of the city. Featuring an
amazing central circular aquarium in the atrium, the hotel offers a special
summer rate of £100, room-only. The 22-bed Art Nouveau (30 327 7440, www.hotelartnouveau.de
) has interestingly themed rooms, an eclectic clientele, excellent owners
and decent prices: doubles from £85, B&B.
If you want economy with some fun, there is a lively, freewheeling atmosphere
on the good ship Eastern Comfort (30 6676 3806, www.eastern-comfort.com
), a permanently moored hostel-boat near Oberbaumbrücke bridge. Doubles with
shower cost from £36, room-only.
Getting there: airlines include: Air Berlin (0870 738 8880, www.airberlin.com
), BA (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ), EasyJet (www.easyjet.com
), Jet2 (0871 226 1737, www.jet2.com )
and, from Ireland, Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com
).
Paris
Those Parisians who haven’t left on the murderous migration south tend to turn
their eyes Seine-ward during August. The Paris Plage, a beach with cooling
showers, swimming pool and deckchairs, is set up along the Seine between
Pont Neuf and Pont de Sully, with 3,000 tons of sand and things happening
every night till late, until the deckchairs are folded away on August 20.
Then the action shifts down the river to the Domaine National de St-Cloud, a
large area of open fields, forest and gardens, which at various times has
belonged to Catherine de’ Medici, Marie Antoinette, Napoleon Bonaparte and
Napoleon III. But for three days it will belong to the rock fans – it is
here the Rock en Seine festival takes place on August 24, 25 and 26. The
site is a short walk from Boulogne-Pont de St-Cloud Métro, and all concerts
finish in time for people to get back by public transport (you can camp, but
space is restricted and only available to three-day ticket holders). Tickets
cost £28 per day (or £66 for three days); the music begins at about 3pm and
goes on till 11pm. The lineup includes Arcade Fire, Dizzee Rascal and
Dinosaur Jr (Friday), Jarvis Cocker, Amy Winehouse and the ace Gallic
crossover trumpeter Erik Truffaz (Saturday), and Björk, Kings of Leon,
Faithless and Mark Ronson (Sunday), plus all the usual festival bells and
whistles. See www.rockenseine.com
for further details of how to buy electronic tickets online.
Cool down: don’t swim in the Seine, that’s for sure. Try the Piscine
Pontoise (19 Rue de Pontoise; 00 33-1 55 42 77 88, www.clubquartierlatin.com
; Métro Cardinal Lemoine or Maubert-Mutualité), an ornate glass-roofed
confection from 1933, usually open from seven in the morning until midnight.
Admission is about £2.60 and you need to wear a swimming cap. Otherwise,
spend some time in the subzero Ice Kube bar at Kube (1-5 Passage Ruelle; 1
42 05 20 00, www.kubehotel.com ), a
hotel not far from the Gare du Nord. It costs £26, but that gives you free
vodka for half an hour, as well as warm clothing. Of course, it’s possible
that after 30 minutes of hitting the Grey Goose, you won’t be feeling the
cold anyway.
Stay put: the festival itself is out on a limb, but if you want to stay
nearby and just need a room to flop, the Mercure Paris Porte St-Cloud (1 49
10 49 10, www.mercure.com ; doubles
from £89, breakfast £10pp) is modern, clean and efficient, if a little
soulless. The Trocadéro Dokhan’s (1 53 65 66 99, www.sofitel.com
) is just up the Métro; it might be a Sofitel but it is also a Haussmann
building, and has nice, quirky details and real character (which you pay for
at £243 per room; breakfast £10pp). Back in the centre, Regents Hôtel (1 45
48 02 81, no dedicated website, but find it on www.france-hotel-guide.com
) is in St-Germain-des-Prés, near St Sulpice Church and the Luxembourg
Gardens. It’s a smart, cheerful hotel, where the best rooms, on the top
floor, come with small balconies. Rooms from £84; breakfast, served in the
small courtyard in fine weather, £4.70pp.
Getting there: Eurostar (0870 518 6186, www.eurostar.com
) has 17 daily services from London Waterloo and Ashford International to
Paris, with return fares from £59. Airlines include Air France (0845 082
0162, www.airfrance.co.uk ), BA
(0870 850 9850, www.ba.com ), BMI Baby
(0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com ),
EasyJet (www.easyjet.com ), Flybe (0870
567 6676, www.flybe.com ), Ryanair (0871
246 0000, www.ryanair.com ) and, from
Ireland, Aer Lingus (0818 365000, www.aerlingus.com
).
Amsterdam
The Dutch city is well stocked with events in August, kicking off this weekend
with Gay Pride. This is followed by the more serene Grachtenfestival (August
11-19), when more than 70 classical concerts and recitals are performed, in
historic buildings, boats and gardens, mostly in the area around
Prinsengracht, with many of them free or nearly so. You’ll have opera, piano
concertos, string quartets – the full range. There’s also a children’s
festival, with shows aimed at toddlers and youngsters. For further details,
call 00 31 20 421 45 42 or see www.grachtenfestival.nl
.
Later in the month, Uitmarkt (August 24-26) takes place on Leidseplein and
Museumplein, with hundreds of free concerts and performances. It marks the
beginning of the new “cultural year” of the city, so includes classical and
jazz performances as well as drama and dance. Further details from the
Netherlands Board of Tourism (020 7539 7950, www.holland.com/uk
or www. visitamsterdam.nl ).
Cool down: there are a variety of beach bars on the river. Blijburg, or
“Happyville”, is a man-made temporary swimming beach complete with a
restaurant-bar, DJs and live bands at weekends. Catch Tram 26 from Centraal
station. Call 00 31-20 416 0330 or check blij@blijburg.nl
.
Stay put: some of the concerts in the Grachtenfestival take place on a pontoon
outside the Hotel Pulitzer (20 523 5235, www.luxurycollection.com/pulitzer
), which overlooks the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals. It has a
“Summer Choice” offer through August until September 3, for stays from
Friday to Sunday, with double rooms from £179 a night, B&B. The
Lloyd (20 561 3636, www.lloydhotel.com
), a 1921 building on the water in the Eastern Docklands, has rooms from one
to five star, which range from £68 to £303 per night, room-only. The Hotel
de Filosoof (20 683 3013, www.hotelfilosoof.nl
) is near the Vondelpark and has rooms from about £85, including breakfast.
Or, for a real Amsterdam experience, you could stay on a canal houseboat:
they sleep two to eight and cost from £40pp up. See www.houseboathotel.nl
.
Getting there: airlines serving Amsterdam include BMI (0870 607 0555, www.flybmi.com
), BMI Baby (0871 224 0224, www.bmibaby.com
), British Airways (0870 850 8950, www.ba.com
), KLM (0870 507 4074, www.klm.com ),
Thomsonfly (0870 190 0737, www.thomsonfly.com
), VLM (0871 666 5050, www.flyvlm. com) and, from Ireland, Aer Lingus (0818
365000, www. aerlingus.com ). Or you
can travel by train via Brussels: contact Rail Europe (0870 830 4862, www.raileurope.co.uk
).
