Come On In, The Water's Lovely

The Romans are rebelling. A famous fast food giant has just opened its eighth burger outlet in the Eternal City, just yards from the Trevi fountain. The arrival of

Nevertheless, Rome's mayor Walter Veltroni is happy-the number of foreign hotel guests is growing. In the first six months of 2007, more than 6 million stayed in the capital, up 11% from the year before. And, while many of them will want to enjoy a hamburger with the locals, my guess is that the pizzerias, restaurants, and endless pasticceria in the city are not going to disappear; food is one of the main draws of this ancient city. Remember, if you do go, best to avoid going in the teeming summer months.

For details on equally worthy but less-visited parts of Europe, and to find out where winter starts much later, read on.

Bests,

Leigh Fergus
Editor, The European

Swimming in October

by Leigh Fergus
 

Seeking sun and warmth for a few days after a city-bound summer in Paris, I boarded the TGV for Marseille at the Gare de Lyon, and three hours later stepped out blinking into the golden glow of a late September evening in the south.

You can smell the south here, in the heat, the dust, even some of the spices, for this is the first-and sometimes the only-port of call for most immigrants from North Africa. You can also smell something fractionally marine that reminds you, even high up at St Charles station, that you are in a real port.

Marseille has got itself a bad name, either from those suspicious of different customs and looks, away from the familiar glamour of the Riviera, or from the canny character of the people here who play up to the image of the lovable rogues on the quayside, irrepressibly chatty and always on the lookout for an opportunity to make a quick buck, legally or otherwise. Interacting with the locals is so different from the formal exchanges customary in Paris. Here everybody jokes or fills you in on details you didn't realize you'd missed, generous with themselves and their time.

First inhabited by the Phoenicians who noted the conveniently rectangular-shaped natural harbor, this port has always looked to the sea for its future, and now that the shipping industry is in decline, is having to find its land-legs-not an easy transition. The port is in the throes of a real makeover with two new tram lines and more infrastructure promised.

One of the trendiest streets

I took bus route 83 from the port along the coast, and as the weather is still fine, I decide to try one of the city's 21 beaches, le Prado. Several little coves and rocky outlets also offer swimming, but if you want a little more space, the fine gravel of Prado beach is best. An arm of rock, keeping the water warmer and safer than out at sea, protects this man-made beach. Imagine being able to swim on October 1!

For food, avoid the bars and restaurants on the harbor front offering "genuine" bouillabaisse, and head inland. Just a couple of streets away you can do better, even in the busy Cours Julien area. Rue Sainte is one of the trendiest streets on which to eat, with a great variety of modern Italian cuisine, traditional French fish, bistro cuisine, and fusion in among the independent designer shops and old-fashioned barbers and bathroom-fittings suppliers, but for a view and people watching, try L'Oliveraie (10 Place aux Huiles, tel. +33 (0)4 91 33 34 41). The evening three-course menu including fish and wine for 25 euro is excellent value and the dining room is packed to bursting by 9.30 p.m. The best tables are inside by the door-the views of the street without the wind cooling your dinner faster than you can eat it.

The Storybook villages of Alsace

by Neil P Harkins

On every visit to France, the Alsace-Lorraine region lures us with its delicious local wines, hearty meals (thanks to its Germanic past), friendly people happy to speak either French or German, and well-preserved, pastel-painted medieval and Renaissance villages. Alsace-Lorraine is divided into five départements, and our favorite is the Haut-Rhin, bordered on the east by the Rhine river and Germany's Black Forest. Here's our pick of the best.

Colmar, the Haut-Rhin's main town, is a good place to start. Return to the 16th century here while meandering along the lanes of colorful half-timbered houses, shops, and restaurants. Be sure to see the decorated façades of the Koifhüs, Maison des Têtes, and Maison Pfister. Simple to navigate, Colmar has ample parking, and the historic Vieille Ville, predominantly a pedestrian zone, is easily explored. In Petite Venise (Little Venice) flow the canals once used by the wine merchants to transport their wares. Leisurely boat trips are offered from the Quartier des Tanneurs.

A few miles south of Colmar is the tiny ancient village of Eguisheim, whose geranium-adorned houses with exposed beams and cobblestone passages are laid out in three concentric circles around a unique octagonal feudal castle and Renaissance fountain. Eguisheim has even more of a fairytale feel in the evening when lit by street lanterns. The Romans started making wine here in the 4th century, and vineyards still surround the village. Signs indicating Caves and Dégustation point the way to where you can sample the grands crus (fine wine) in several vintner-owned courtyards. For a typical meal, try the regional dish of Choucroute (a mixture of sauerkraut, boiled potatoes, sausage, and ham.) Best time to visit? The fourth weekend of August for the Wine Growers' Festival, or late spring, to see storks nesting on the rooftops.

Three miles northeast of Riquewihr lies the equally photogenic village of Ribeauvillé. Although wine is important here too, this village is known for Kougelhopf, a local almond-flavored cake: The restaurant within the Pfifferhüs is a good place to try this and other local specialties. On top of a hill, beyond the vineyards, three ruined 12th- and 13th-century castles watch over the village and offer an excellent panorama. A Minstrels Festival is held here on the first Sunday of September.

Bargains in Brussels

by Allison Lightwine

Residents of Paris and its surrounding areas for over eight years, our expanding family and skyrocketing property values were forcing us to reassess our housing options. The idea of squeezing into a miniscule, overpriced apartment didn't appeal to us, so we resorted to Plan B-B for Brussels.

Once dismissed as Paris' countrified cousin, Brussels is now coming into its own. Thanks to the expanding European Union, Brussels is home to a flourishing international community and serves as the overseas headquarters for several multinational companies. Belgian design is taking center stage on the global fashion and architectural scenes, while local beers and chocolates are making a splash as far away as Park Avenue and Kuwait.

You get much more for your euro here than in London, Paris, or Copenhagen. A fully renovated 750-square-foot penthouse apartment in the prestigious city center of Ixelles will set you back approximately 160,000 euro ($218,000), whereas a similar-sized duplex apartment in Paris' ultra trendy Marais district will cost 589,000 euro ($815,000). A typical three- to four-bedroom house of 2,000 square feet in Uccle, a posh, family-friendly neighborhood, can run anywhere from 350,000 euro to 500,000 euro ($478,000 to 682,000).

Go farther north to less-sought-after areas such as Jette and Laeken, and you can get even better value: a 2,150-square-foot maison de maître turn-of-the century townhouse with original moldings for 300,000 euro ($409,500). Add about 100,000 euro ($136,000) for a complete renovation including electricity and roofing, and you'll have a jewel.

If fresh air and pastoral landscape is more your style, check out Linkebeek, Alsemberg, Waterloo, and Rhode-St.-Génèse, all small suburbs to the south of Brussels, but just a few minutes' commute by car or train-and still affordable.

Twenty-two fish a day

by Graham Mole

Given the chance to create Utopia, any fly fisherman would opt for the ideal stream.

Cool, clear water would rush from snowcapped mountains, tumbling through rocky gorges into deep eddies, then slide serenely through wildflower meadows… and it would be brimming with hungry trout. Added to this might be a perfect climate and some fabulous food and wine.

A classic example of this dream-come-true is the river Irati-a onetime haunt of Ernest Hemingway-which skids down from the Pyrénées toward Pamplona. Hemingway fished it, and immortalized the river in his novel The Sun Also Rises, in which two of the characters take a break from the Fiesta de San Fermin, also known as "the running of the bulls," in Pamplona and the heady social life of San Sebastian, to go fishing. A statue of the great novelist resides in Pamplona's center, where restaurants serving his favorite dish, trout bleu, abound.

While Hemingway fished the river with a worm, the locals employ a metal spinner. Using a dry fly is a huge challenge since the river is so rapid and the fish are quick. The locals have devised a method that involves hanging up to five wet flies from a plastic sphere called a boya, or buldo-from the French bulle d'eau meaning "water bubble." It's cast out and retrieved just like a metal spinner. You have to be careful in assembling the cast, as it's easy to put it on upside down. But it's effective-why else would the limit be 22 fish a day? IL