3 QUICK TRIPS
Find culture and cuisine in these arty hotspots
Lyon
Long considered a gastronomic hotspot thanks to legendary chef Paul Bocuse, its atmospheric ‘bouchon’ bistros and Michelin stars, this elegant city at the edge of the Alps is now home to a bold new culinary destination, Cité Internationale de la Gastronomie
(citegastronomielyon.fr). Opened last October, this is a state-of-the-art cultural centre that celebrates all things food. Inside, you’ll find dozens of exciting, interactive exhibits and a tasting kitchen, all of which employ inventive ways to tell the story of Lyon, French gastronomy and food culture around the world.
Set on the banks of the Rhône, close to where it converges with the Saône just south of central Lyon, the Cité is set in a wing of the Grand Hôtel-dieu, a former hospital. Once the gateway to the city, it’s a palatial edifice that features cloisters, courtyards and bell towers, and is home to restaurants, shops, a food hall and a 144-room hotel. The heritage of the hospital, closed since 2010, is celebrated in many of the exhibits dedicated to the link between food and health. Indeed, in the museum’s central atrium where your visit starts, the altar from the former hospital chapel sits under a giant pharmacist’s spoon sculpture that hangs from the soaring dome.
The galleries span out from here, each representing a di erent element of food culture. The children’s Miam! Miam! gastro playroom includes bold, colourful, interactive exhibits, such as a cartoon cow on a giant milk carton that teaches kids about dairy products. In the Bon Appetit gallery, you can learn more about Lyon’s culinary history, including how chef Paul Bocuse introduced the world to classic French cuisine – you can even stand over the stove he cooked on for 25 years, a big red-and-gold range. Other charming, tactile exhibits show how the Michelin guide was born and teach about the generations of female cooks – the mères de Lyon (or ‘mothers of Lyon’) – that put the city on the culinary map. The chance to sate your appetite comes on the top floor, where a team of chefs create tasting plates based around an ingredient or regional cuisine.
While the city is home to around 4,000 restaurants, Lyon’s latest dining concept is the Food Traboule
( foodtraboule.com) – a food hall set in a historic space in Vieux Lyon, where the cobbled streets feel a bit like Harry Potter’s Diagon Alley. ‘Traboules’ are a hidden network of corridors and passageways that weave between the streets of the old town, and were created for the silk industry in the 18th century to protect the fabrics from the elements. Founded by chefs Tabata and Ludovic Mey, the Food Traboule opened in January of this year and sees the city’s top chefs o er sample menus from their successful restaurants. Try the ultimate in gourmet fast food with a lobster roll at Lobs (£15, facebook.com/lobslyon), classic Lyonnaise quenelles – a kind of fish dumpling – with lobster sauce at La Meunière (£8, lameuniere.fr), or a Neapolitan pizza at Chez Ludo (£6). Its creators’ passion for food makes it more than an upmarket food hall – and what could better sum up the new generation of chefs working in France’s culinary capital? Carolyn Boyd
How to do it
The Intercontinental Hôtel-dieu has doubles from £295 a night. ihg.com
Vieux Lyon’s cobbled streets feel a bit like Diagon Alley
Breakfast includes Lorne sausage and eggs benedict with Arbroath ‘smokies’
Dundee
The recent regeneration of the coastal city of Dundee has given this buzzy Scottish destination added cultural clout. It’s by the shimmering river Tay that you’ll find the newest branch of the v&a (vam.ac.uk/ dundee), an architecturally striking design museum that opened in 2018. Visit for permanent displays of works by Scottish designers – the heart of the galleries – along with rotating exhibitions, plus scones and co ee served in the ground floor café; if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to nab a seat by the window overlooking the river.
Stay at the boutique hotel Indigo Dundee
(hotelindigo.com), located on the edge of the city centre in a sensitively renovated former jute mill. The décor includes exposed brick walls and industrial details, and it’s unpretentious accommodation is informal yet smart, with warm service and lovely local touches – you’ll find copies of The Beano in rooms (the comic was started in the city), and a mini bar filled with local beers and snacks, like Tunnock’s teacakes. Breakfast choices include a fry-up featuring Lorne sausage, the traditional Scottish square sausage, plus a ri on eggs benedict using Arbroath ‘smokies’ – beautiful smoked haddock produced just up the coast.
Hit the city centre for more culture: Dundee
Contemporary Arts (dca.org.uk) has two vibrant galleries, cinemas screening accessibly arty movies, and a café with outdoor seating. Head to one of Dundee’s many bars and pubs serving local brews. At the innis & Gunn Brewery Taproom (innisandgunn. com) enjoy fresh I&G beer and games of shu eboard, or try duke’s Corner (dukescorner.co.uk) for an impressive choice of keg beers from Scottish breweries, including Fyne Ales and Tempest. Grab a bite from its snacky menu – we recommend the rich poutine fries (£6.50) and sticky Sichuan chicken wings (£6.95). For an o -kilter take on a brewing tour, head to 71 Brewing (71brewing.com). You’ll get a welcome pint or schooner – choose from beers like passion fruit sour and apricot pale ale – before taking a walking tour for a jocular lesson on the beer-making process (£12 per hour). If a pie-and-a-pint is your bag, head around the corner for a post-tour trip to Clark’s Bakery (clarksbakery.co.uk). This local institution o ers a dizzying selection of bakes, including warm Scotch pies (£5.20 for four). Back at Hotel Indigo, house restaurant daisy Tasker, named after the 14-year-old weaver who once organised the social events in the jute mill, serves pub-style favourites like burgers and fish & chips, but go for the local dishes. Start with oysters on the half shell (£6 for two), followed by juicy scallops (starters £5-10). For the main course, enjoy haggis in chicken Balmoral, a rolled chicken breast wrapped in bacon (mains £12-25). And a trip to the city wouldn’t be complete without sampling Dundee marmalade – Daisy Tasker’s sticky to ee pudding is unctuously spiked with the zesty preserve. Natalie Hardwick
How to do it
Hotel Indigo Dundee has doubles from £48 a night.
Vienna
With grand baroque palaces, a collection of the world’s most revered art galleries and concert halls on practically every corner, it’s clear to see why Vienna is often touted as Europe’s capital of culture. As the home of Mozart and Schubert, Vienna is inseparable from classical music, and the city remains one of the best places in the world to see operas and classical performances, with thousands of events happening each year. This reaches something of a peak in 2020, with many performances celebrating the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth (musik2020.wien.info).
Although famous venues such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus are the standout options for large orchestral shows, it’s at the city’s concert cafés where two of Vienna’s best traditions collide: music and co ee houses. Vienna’s co eehouse culture has been part of daily life here since the 19th century, o ering a social meeting place with a hearty dose of co ee and cake. Many of the best, such as the nearly 160-yearold Café Schwarzenberg (cafe-schwarzenberg.at) and the elegant Café Sperl (cafesperl.at) also o er regular live music in more relaxed surrounds than the grand opera houses.
Food and culture come together at Vienna’s best galleries. Top of most visitors’ agendas is the Kunsthistorisches Museum (khm.at), a stunningly ornate building dedicated to fine arts in the heart of the Museumsquartier. Along with its formidable collection of renaissance artworks by the likes of Bruegel and Titian, the museum café is well worth a visit, too. Set in a glorious octagonal room, the menu features comforting Viennese classics such as schnitzel and apple strudel (mains from £12). Located in an old Habsburg royal residence, The Albertina (albertina.at) is another of Vienna’s cultural gems, with a collection of modern artworks by French impressionists as well as the city’s native son, Gustav Klimt. There’s also the smart Do & Co restaurant, which has chocolate-coloured leather booths and patterned ceilings worthy of royalty. The menu features sachertorte from The Demel
(demel.com), a baking landmark since the 1700s. Vienna has a nascent and exciting dining scene centred around natural and biodynamic wines, of which there are several excellent producers in Austria. Newly opened Bar Krawall (krawall.at) o ers an
excellent introduction to Austrian grape varieties beyond the classic grüner, such as the red blaufränkisch. Sleek wine bar Mast (mast.wine) wouldn’t look out of place in London or Paris with its whitewashed walls and modern furniture. The food is some of the best in the city, with creative dishes such as sprouts with lardo & fried shallots, and black pudding dumplings with cabbage, as part of a six-course set menu (£55). Then, there’s O boufés (konstantinfilippou.com), the relaxed sibling to Konstantin Filippou’s eponymous two-michelin-starred restaurant next door. Here, natural wines from Austrian producers are served alongside inventive dishes such as ox tartare with egg, dashi, hazelnut & cauliflower (mains from £19). Set within the Museumsquartier, the 25hours Hotel is a perfect base for sightseeing. There’s bold design throughout – huge murals and neon lights – plus a rooftop bar, and breakfast bu et stocked with Austrian cheese and charcuterie. Joel Porter
The city remains one of the best places to see operas