Best holiday destinations

[Tredman]

And in which district exactly (map co-ordinates, please) is the red light district? So I can be sure to avoid it, you understand.

As far as I could work out it was literally everywhere. That might not have been helped by the 9% beer though.

 

[So Long Architect]

Heh there. My first question would be where are you staying? If it's the Crowne Plaza - you will be literally in the middle of a six lane highway (they are the busiest in Europe in that part of town). Getting anywhere in Antwerp is easy either in a cab, on the tram ( 4 euro will take you anywhere - you pay the driver but don't expect a conversation in English) or on foot. Get a map of the town centre from your hotel, makes it easier to get your bearings, they will mark out the tram stops and number for you, especially as all the street names are very similar in places. Antwerp is a lovely old city that has a really laid back vibe and I find it impossible not to relax when I visit. If you ask the reception staff they will make bar recommendations and because they're Belgians and generally a nice bunch they won't steer you wrong.
If you are staying centrally in the theatre district you are within walking distance of the main square and centre of the town - Grote markt. There are literally hundreds of bars and little restaurants in the streets here. It's very difficult to eat out badly in Antwerp - I haven't managed it in 5 years. They serve the best beef I have ever had and triple fried chips.... talking of which, if you've had a bit of a night out do stop by the Frituur No 1 on Hoogestraat (loads of bars here)and have Maria the owner casually insult you and serve you chips. She's a bit gobby but the chips are immense.
If you head to the main square there are bars and cafes all around the periphery. My favourite here is t'Elfde Gebod (11th Commandment) on Torfbrug 10 near Groen Plaats in the shadow of the cathedral. It's a bar that serves food and beer (lots of beer) and has lots of religious statues stacked up on shelves all over the walls. Sounds weird but it's a good night out. Billie's beer kafateria on Kammenstraat is good too but you have to book in advance if you want to eat there. Also if you want a nice place to take clients The Square at Koningin Astridplein 7 in the Radisson Blu Astrid Hotel near Grand Central station is nice (I don't normally like hotel restaurants but this one is decent enough). For drinking you should visit The Old Arsenal or Het Oud arsenaal (head towards Graanmarkt it's on your right next to the main theatre) - follow the cobbled walkways away from the main square designed for cyclists. Down by the river there are some very foody restaurants - we went to one in the old customs house there. Lovely but expensive. Finally - you can actually have dinner at a brewery - and why not - it's Belgium - beer isn't going to get better than it is here. Huisbrouwerij 't Pakhuis at Vlaamsekaai 76, - try blonde, dark and scary beer. The place name is a bit of a mouthful but a great experience... try all the beer they make and have dinner. Hope you have a great trip. I love Antwerp. If you are flying to Mortsel airport it will cost you between 15 and 20 euros to your hotels depending on where they are. Do go in the cathedral - it's gorgeous, take a walk down by the river, sit in the main square and watch all of human life go by, visit the Zoo, go to Rubens house (Rubenshuis) located at Wapper 9-11 and Steen castle. Meir (this is a tram stop and very central also) is your best bet for shopping on Kipdorpvest. have a great time!

Fantastic. Thanks Squeeze. Printed out to take with me. We're staying in an AirBnB apartment which may or may not have heating and may or may not exist. We will see.

 

[Squeeze]

As far as I could work out it was literally everywhere. That might not have been helped by the 9% beer though.

:icon_biggrin: if you're after a hooker you will invariably meet one down by the docks .... "Ah that was lovely, my Mom used to tell me stories like that.... Now, how much for a good hard shag?"

 

[Squeeze]

Fantastic. Thanks Squeeze. Printed out to take with me. We're staying in an AirBnB apartment which may or may not have heating and may or may not exist. We will see.

If you get stuck go to the Alfa Theatre Hotel on Arenbergstraat 30, Antwerp 2000, Belgium. They will look after you there.

 

[So Long Architect]

:icon_biggrin: if you're after a hooker you will invariably meet one down by the docks .... "Ah that was lovely, my Mom used to tell me stories like that.... Now, how much for a good hard shag?"

I'll see how adventurous Mrs SLA is feeling. hnoes:

 

[So Long Architect]

Antwerp is awesome. Not actually a great deal to do or see but very pretty and I've never been to a place with so many bars and cafes, and pretty much all of them lovely. Well, the ones we went into anyway. Lots of beer, coffee, chocolate, frites and waffles. Highly recommended for a couple of days.

 

[Penk Wolf]

My brother's currently in Iceland and just posted this on Facebook.

 

[Penk Wolf]

 

[lemonjelly]

WOW! How lucky.
I really want to do a northern lights seeing holiday at some point.

 

[Kenny]

Any recommendations for Bars and Restaurants in NYC (including anything near the Yankee Stadium). Just over 2 months till I am taken there so best start to do some planning

 

[North West Wanderer]

Yep.

I love Stout which is by MSG
Great bar

Where are you stopping?

 

[North West Wanderer]

Ruth Chris is an exceptional top end steak place.

 

[North West Wanderer]

http://www.msg.stoutnyc.com/

 

[Kenny]

Yep.

I love Stout which is by MSG
Great bar

Where are you stopping?

Need to check that. I know its by Central Park and Broadway

 

[Kenny]

http://www.msg.stoutnyc.com/

Not going to be far from that I think. Cheers

 

[Johnny75]

Any recommendations for Bars and Restaurants in NYC (including anything near the Yankee Stadium). Just over 2 months till I am taken there so best start to do some planning

They used to run a boat from the Port Authority (NJ side) to Yankee Stadium on game days where you can buy beer and it's a good way to get to and from the stadium, especially for night games.

The Jekyl and Hyde here is fun. Washington Sq has some great bars as does the East Village (pricey mind you).

If you can get to Little Italy for the lunchtime menu you'll get better value and service than at night. And the food is outstanding.

 

[Kenny]

Ta. Will look up the Ferry.

Think the game I am watching has moved from a 7pm to 4pm start

 

[Kenny]

"We will not be selling any Yankee tickets until further notice. A tug boat unfortunately ran into the dock we use near the stadium and has damaged it. The City of New York is in the midst of fixing it. This leaves us without anywhere to pull the boats into, and we may have to cancel all trips for this season if the dock cannot be fixed in time."

Fooking tug boats

 

[Johnny75]

Danny Batth gets the blame for everything these days.

That's bad luck Kenny. Still you can get the tube across the river and there is a couple of very famous bars in and around the ground like a numpty I've forgotten their names).

Stan's sports bar is the most famous but there are better around there.

 

[Stan Hullis]

Erm I don't have any bars over there