YOU’RE GOING… WHERE?
Paris too pricey? Credit card can’t cope with Copenhagen? Switch your favourite city break for a lesser-known (harder to pronounce), but equally chic getaway this autumn
COME OFF IT… HOW ARE THESE TWO EVEN REMOTELY SIMILAR?
We hear you. But what they lack in geographical confluence they make up for in a shared emphasis on awesome street art, great cocktails and a buzzing-but-compact city centre. Oh, and it’s pronounced ‘Tim-ee-shwa-ra.’ Because we know you were wondering.
BUT ISN’T IT LACKING A FEW THINGS, LIKE A GIANT FERRIS WHEEL, COFFEE HOUSES, FAMOUS RIVER, MOZART?
This place is full of coffee shops. We can vouch for KIOSK, Mokum and Jolie Bistro (who do strangely addictive peanutbutter cappuccinos). And OK, you’re right, there’s no giant Ferris wheel – but there is Parcul Copiilor, a huge park full of giant pirate ships, a replica lighthouse with a slide (go in the day… not on your way home from the club, like I did) and dystopian Disney-style castles everywhere you look. You want a river? There’s Bega – which runs all the way through Timișoara to Serbia. That enough for you?
SOUNDS GOOD, BUT IS IT REALLY THAT CHEAP?
Hell, yeah! My flight out there (£17) cost less than an Uber, and you can get a hotel room (that doesn’t look like the set from
Hostel) for under £50 a night. Going out is equally cheap. Avoid Epic Society nightclub, the door staff are epically rude, and instead, try Fratelli, where the entry fee translates to around £2, and the locals top up your ‘champagne’ (it’s dark – you can pretend, OK?) with a liberal hand. Cocktails in the city are only £4! And eggs Benedict at KIOSK is less than £3 if you’ve got wine head the next day.
NOW WE’RE THINKING FOOD. WHAT ELSE IS GOOD TO EAT?
The cheese dumplings (also at KIOSK) are actually more like sweet, mascarpone doughnuts laced with chocolate (and taste every bit as good as they sound). Or, to work up an appetite, take a 45-minute stroll from the centre to Musiu and reward yourself with a bowl of fresh pasta and Mediterranean charcuterie. After, wander around the two famous squares – Union and Liberty – the former is the one you’ve probably seen on Pinterest, with its brightly coloured buildings and bullseye-patterned floor. There’s also the Orthodox Cathedral, which is surrounded by rows of trinket stalls.
OK, I’M CONVINCED. WHERE SHOULD I STAY?
The NH Timisoara, which is not only within walking distance of pretty much everywhere, but is really fun to sing in the tune of Hotel California. It offers free bicycles, prosecco alongside the breakfast buffet (which lasts until midday on weekends), and has a spa offering decent sports massages for your aching calves.
AAR-WHAT’S THAT NOW? It’s pronounced ‘arr-hoos,’ and no, it doesn’t get any easier to say after three days there.
WHAT’S ITS SHTICK? Small yet mighty (imagine the Nicola Adams of Europe), Denmark’s second city has spent recent years quietly amassing stellar foodie credentials and a host of cultural hot spots – in particular art gallery Aros (around £15), with its none-more-Instagrammable rooftop walkway of rainbow glass. Now, thanks to its status as a European Capital Of Culture 2017, and our love affair with all things Danish-cool, it’s sitting very pretty in the pantheon of desirable minibreak locations – all in a compact, highly walkable package.
CAPITAL OF CULTURE? SOUNDS LIKE A SCHOOL TRIP… WHY
SHOULD WE BELIEVE YOU? Firstly, there’s the Latin Quarter, a crossword of picture-postcard cobbled streets just designed for your dawdling pleasure. Head to Bloomers for its tasteful edit of lesser-known Scandi labels. Then, because all those minimal lines are exhausting, it’s practically a medical necessity to pick up a pastry at tiny Nummer 24. Try the cinnamon bun (or ‘kanelting’ – write that down, it’s pretty much the only word you need to know) for £1.40.
HOW ABOUT THE FOOD SCENE –
MICHELIN OR MACCY D’S? Let’s be clear – the Danes are really good at food. For a cosy-but-delectable dinner among the locals, try Mefisto. We ate white asparagus, ray (fish is a speciality) with fried cauliflower, and undid our top buttons to squeeze in bitter chocolate cake with passionfruit sorbet. Gastronomes: do not miss the Street Food market – a global culinary safari, served up from storage containers in a disused bus garage (if you’re playing hipster bingo – FULL HOUSE). The locals queue for falafel at The Pita Corner, but take your rumbling stomach to the more authentically Danish Stegen og Dellen for a sandwich of meltingly tender roast pork, crunchy crackling, red cabbage and pickled cucumber, nestling in a pillowy brioche (£7.50).
THE DANES ARE HOT. WHERE
CAN I MINGLE? Try Gedulgt, a sleek cocktail bar that lies behind an anonymous doorway in an unpromising courtyard. At Mikkeller, join the bearded natives sipping a carefully curated roster of craft beer and spirits, or let the evening unwind at supper club/night club/pony club (OK, not the last one) Castenskiold.
AND THE HOTEL SITUATION?
The Scandic Aarhus City is simple, modern and minimalist everywhere except the breakfast buffet (praise be). It’s also slap-bang central, with most things a leisurely 10-minute walk, so you can leave negotiating with local taxi drivers and battling with public transport to some other minibreak. You’ve got more stylish things to do.