Athens
Craggy coves and sandy bays make up the resplendent combine that’s the Athens Riviera. So it was that on the finish of an autumn day I discovered myself with a not disagreeable query: the place to move to appease bones nonetheless aching for a final splash of summer season solar. For Athens gives one thing that different European cities can not: a shoreline of greater than 40 miles dotted with seashores many a Greek island would covet.
Out of season, the shores of Attica nonetheless have a magnetic attract, as I found when swimming into a fading solar throughout the bay of Vouliagmeni. For these searching for rejuvenation in marine blue waters primed to show orange pink because the solar units, bathing off one of many Riviera’s public or non-public seashores doesn’t disappoint.
With sea salt nonetheless clinging to my pores and skin, I sat at Sardelaki, a tavern whose Mediterranean fare is pretty much as good because the spectacular view of the bay it sits on. In a nod to occasions previous, the meze is served on giant picket trays.
Athens is as celebrated for its hills as its shoreline: pure elevations inside view of the Acropolis that make it a treasure trove for amblers when temperatures are cooler. For individuals who need to escape a metropolis that sprawls throughout virtually 200 sq. miles, these rocky outcrops – bearers of fabulous names such because the Hill of the Nymphs and the Hill of the Muses – are a should.
For my part, this historic capital is additionally Europe’s most soulful and elegant. In the event you attain the highest of Mount Lycabettus, the town’s highest level, both by foot or on the funicular rail automotive, the reward is a spectacular vista of your complete Argo-Saronic Gulf and the islands past.
If you wish to keep centrally, the traditional Plaka district stays the very best base. The old-school Adrian resort has doubles wanting on to the northern face of the Acropolis from about £120 B&B. In the identical space, Zorbas is a favorite restaurant with locals and serves the most succulent lamb chops. With views of the Acropolis, Athens’ rooftop eating places are splendidly atmospheric and excellent for heat autumn evenings – for an actual deal with head to Kuzina or the Michelin‑starred Macris.
Helena Smith
Palermo
Assume Neapolitan margherita is the final phrase in pizza? Assume once more. In Palermo they like sfincione, a mushy, well-risen rectangle of dough topped with intense, onion-heavy tomato sauce and sprinkled with caciocavallo cheese and oregano. Savoury, filling and comforting, it’s bought in bakeries, kiosks and carts all around the metropolis (By way of Maqueda within the historic centre normally has a number of distributors).
We strive it at a kiosk on Piazza della Kalsa, close to the place we’re staying. Panineria Chiluzzo usually has lengthy queues, however they transfer shortly as younger workers dish out slices of sfincione, in addition to arancini and panelle (chickpea fritters). There are a few tables beneath the bushes exterior, however we eat as we stroll into city alongside slim By way of Alloro. That is a nice stroll in October however wouldn’t all the time be. As heatwaves rolled over Europe this 12 months, temperatures in Palermo topped 40C within the shade. On the finish of July one sunbaked nook hit a record 70C at floor stage.
Now, as temperatures creep to 24C by mid-afternoon, we will wander the town and savour how its lengthy historical past is written in its streets. Passing baroque and artwork nouveau palaces, and Casa Stagnitta, the town’s oldest espresso roastery, we take within the Arab-Norman domes of the Twelfth-century church of San Cataldo; Piazza Pretoria, with its Sixteenth-century fountain, put in beneath Spanish rule; and the spectacular cathedral, constructed on the situation of a ninth-century mosque.
On the best way again we detour to Vucciria market, the origins of which additionally stretch again over 1,000 years. Some decry its touristification, however it’s nonetheless noisy and brilliantly theatrical. Feeling courageous, we cease for a conventional pani câ meusa (spleen roll), which is surprisingly OK, with its barely candy “meat” set off by grated cheese. The stallholder is especially happy with his grilled goat’s intestines however, I’m sorry, no quantity of salt and lemon could make these a deal with for me.
We’re glad to move again to quieter La Kalsa, the previous Arab quarter to the east, which was bombed within the second world warfare and languished for many years earlier than being revitalised this century. Maison Butera (sea-view doubles from €161 B&B) is a four-room B&B with tons to see close by. Up the road is Palazzo Butera, a Seventeenth-century baroque pile restored and reopened in 2021 to accommodate the Valsecchi artwork assortment, which incorporates works by Gilbert & George and Andy Warhol.
Subsequent day we stroll 10 minutes to Palermo’s Botanical Garden, with its record-breaking multi-trunk fig tree. Birds are singing their hearts out because the solar pours down. Quickly we’ll be in London, the clocks will return and winter will begin. We relish a final week within the mild.
Liz Boulter
Vienna
Whereas lamenting the top of summer season and hanging out at seaside bars and bathing spots on the tributaries of the Danube, I’m now chasing a brand new hue. Vienna is a metropolis of parks and manicured gardens, meadow sweeps and woodland belts, which swap their emerald halo for a rusty amber and ochre glow the Austrians name Goldener Herbst (golden autumn).
I go away behind the grandiose structure and cobblestones of the historic centre. South-west of it, Schloss Schönbrunn Park splays from the grand Habsburg summer season residence, the place the gilt isn’t reserved for the inside, and makes its approach into corridors of towering bronzed hedgerows and arched tree terraces that result in the butter-yellow palace.
To the east, within the metropolis’s Prater Park, I stroll beneath the chestnut bushes of the Hauptallee, an avenue that’s virtually three miles lengthy and centuries-old. On the sting of the park, the retro-styled Superbude Prater hotel (doubles from €78 B&B) is a completely positioned retreat.
In a metropolis with lots of of city farms (due to a long-standing dedication to selling inexperienced areas and fostering group spirit), autumn brings a feast of contemporary produce on menus. Pumpkin cream soup is the seasonal staple – greatest devoured in a wood-panelled Beisl (Viennese gastropub) such because the art-splashed Am Nordpol 3 – and adopted with a Wiener Schnitzel.
Unbeknown to many, Vienna is the solely European capital to develop wine inside its metropolis limits, with 700 hectares (1,723 acres) of vineyards. There are 14 designated metropolis climbing trails, generally known as Stadtwanderwege. Observe 1 leads you thru the vintner lands of Nussdorf. Settle in a hillside Heuriger (wine tavern) corresponding to Wieninger am Nussberg, sipping a citrussy grüner veltliner with a Brettljause (a platter of chilly cuts and cheese), whereas absorbing the chic metropolis vista.
The times are getting shorter, however now’s the proper time to wander amongst Vienna’s stately palaces, museums and historic abodes – a cultural crop in gilded gallery wings, mirroring nature’s showcase exterior.
Becki Enright
Budapest
After the warmth and crowds of excessive summer season, autumn brings a much less intense ambiance to Budapest, and it’s the season I most love to go to the town. The solar mellows, inexperienced leaves drain to golden, and a delicacies that’s all about consolation meals actually comes into its personal. Even the Hungarian phrase for autumn – őszi – has a comfy, laid-back sound to it.
That’s to not say it’s a spot to hunker down. Few capitals are higher suited to strolling, and early autumn guarantees a Goldilocks candy spot of temperatures, neither too sizzling nor too chilly. It’s a pleasure to wander the cobbled streets of the Citadel District with out sidestepping vacationers, to observe the Danube promenade with out melting, and to meander amongst whisky-coloured bushes on Margaret Island.
Lots of the five-star accommodations – such because the splendidly styled Kimpton BEM and the Dorothea Lodge, with its oasis of a courtyard restaurant – supply reasonably priced shoulder-season offers. However if you happen to don’t want heaps of services, strive Giselle Vintage Doubles (doubles from €87 room-only), an 18th-century royal mansion close to Elizabeth Bridge brimming with yesteryear class that’s surprisingly mild on the pockets.
From right here, Budapest is your oyster. I all the time head to the Central Market Hall, a hovering masterpiece of Nineteenth-century industrial structure with stalls promoting Hungarian merchandise corresponding to wealthy, candy tokaji wine and lace tablecloths. The must-visit House of Music Hungary in Metropolis Park (itself beautiful for an autumn stroll) leads guests on an absorbing journey by means of the nation’s musical heritage. And close by Széchenyi baths is a favorite for a soak afterwards: the out of doors swimming pools are notably atmospheric because the air cools and steam curls from the thermal water.
after publication promotion
There are autumn festivals and occasions aplenty too. Liszt Fest (9–22 Oct) on the Müpa live performance corridor celebrates not solely works by the Hungarian composer however up to date music and dance.
Budapest Design Week (8–19 Oct) showcases movers and shakers in jewelry, clothes and artwork. For one thing extra lively, time your go to for the Budapest Marathon weekend (11–12 Oct) or go skating in the shadow of the fairytale Vajdahunyad Citadel on the out of doors City Park Ice Rink (opens from mid-November).
However a key draw for me is the scrumptious consolation meals that’s considerable at the moment of 12 months: goulash stews, savoury pancakes and paprika sauces aplenty. Café Kör, in an previous constructing with vaulted ceilings, and the retro Menza are longstanding eating places that serve Hungarian classics. Simply go away area for some dobos torte at Gerbeaud, as a result of nothing says autumn like a caramel-topped wedge of sponge cake full of chocolate buttercream.
Monika Phillips
Zurich
Individuals get the fallacious thought about Zurich, and I blame Harold Wilson. Within the Sixties, the UK prime minister tried accountable the “gnomes of Zurich” for the pathetic efficiency of the British pound, and greater than 60 years on, some misguided Britons nonetheless consider Switzerland’s greatest metropolis as a boring monetary vacation spot. They couldn’t be extra fallacious. Banking continues to be a serious business, however the metropolis’s tidy, tree-lined streets are full of individuals having enjoyable.
I’ve been to Zurich extra occasions than I can rely, and prefer it extra with every go to. For first timers, the massive shock is the huge and wonderful Zürichsee (Lake Zurich), two miles extensive, 25 miles lengthy and crisscrossed all day by vintage ferries. Wherever you’re round city, you’re by no means removed from water.
One other good shock is the abundance of wonderful artwork. Zurich’s palatial Kunsthaus is certainly one of Europe’s nice artwork galleries (try the glossy new extension by British starchitect David Chipperfield), however there are additionally a great deal of smaller business galleries, particularly in Zurich West, a former industrial quarter that’s develop into the town’s new inventive hub.
Keep at 25 Hours Zurich West (from 230 Swiss francs/£214 room-only), a cool bolthole within the beating coronary heart of this rejuvenated district or the brand new cool Mama Shelter (from £175 room-only), which opened within the energetic Oerlikon space this summer season with a backyard terrace overlooking the town and a trendy bar and restaurant.
Zurich has all the time been a magnet for creatives and eccentrics. James Joyce wrote a lot of Ulysses right here (his grave is in Zurich’s Fluntern cemetery) and his favorite hang-out, the stylish Café Odeon, continues to be going robust. The place that sums up Zurich’s rebellious streak is Cabaret Voltaire, the anarchic nightclub the place dadaism, the multifaceted trendy artwork motion, was born. The constructing continues to be a gallery and efficiency area, as properly as a museum.
When the bushes flip golden brown, this compact metropolis appears to be like particularly fairly. The very best views are from the summit of Uetliberg, on the leafy fringe of city. The Uetlibergbahn, Zurich’s mountain railway (which reopens on 5 October after a serious refurbishment) takes you inside a brief stroll of the summit.
The Zurich film festival is the certainly one of the autumn highlights, however probably the most atmospheric spectacle is on the water. From 30 Oct-13 Nov, Zurich’s fleet of enjoyment boats hosts the seventieth Expovina Weinschiffe, the town’s annual wine truthful. Anybody should purchase a ticket (from £28) to go onboard and pattern an enormous vary of wines from dozens of various nations (Switzerland’s crisp mild whites are critically underrated). In the event you’d quite drink beer, head to Bierwerk Züri, a modern trendy brewery with a youthful clientele.
New eating places are opening on a regular basis, however my go-tos have each been round for ages and by no means appear to alter. For conventional Swiss delicacies, you may’t beat Alpenrose, a homely historic hideaway a brief tram journey from the town centre. For veggie delicacies, Haus Hiltl is a should. The decor is pretty trendy and the menu is up to date, however it was truly based again in 1898, making it (by some accounts) the oldest vegetarian restaurant on the planet.
William Cook dinner
Lyon
Traboules, Lyon’s secret passages, move by means of homes and courtyards, becoming a member of one road to a different, transporting curious walkers from the Renaissance to the trendy through a stone staircase and gothic arcade. They crisscross Vieux Lyon and the Croix-Rousse hillside the place, in autumn, you may enter a traboule within the rain and are available out beside the road market on the principle boulevard in vivid sunshine.
On the morning market in La Croix-Rousse, the place the town’s silk factories was, a loud line of meals stalls supply roast chickens, clanking baggage of walnuts and piles of outsized pumpkins, a distinction to the creative shows of conserves and truffles at Halles de Lyon Paul Bocuse meals corridor within the east of the town. It’s virtually truffle season however Lyon, the “gastronomic capital of the world”, has year-round delights together with Saint-Marcellin cheese, rosette sausage and praline tart.
With their wealthy flavours and hearty parts, conventional dishes swimsuit the colder months. If I would like warming up, I go to Le Garet close to the opera home, certainly one of Lyon’s typical bouchon eating places serving pig’s trotters, tripe and quenelle de brochet (pike dumpling). If I get up hungry, Le Café du Peintre serves a mâchon (a choice of cooked pork with a jug of beaujolais) from 8.30am. For one thing extra refined, Burgundy by Matthieu has probably the greatest wine cellars in France. It’s on the banks of the Saône, close to the brand new Navigône ferry cease.
On Wednesdays, weekends and public holidays, the riverbus continues to the spectacular Musée des Confluences, the place the Saône meets the Rhône. Its programme this autumn consists of exhibitions on the individuals of the Amazon, wonderful animals and zombies.
This 12 months marks the a hundred and thirtieth anniversary of Auguste and Louis Lumière’s first movie, Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory, which they created whereas dwelling on the household’s artwork nouveau villa in Lyon’s Monplaisir district. It’s now a part of the Institut Lumière, which homes cinemas in addition to the museum, and is the hub of the annual Festival Lumière. Movies and cinematic occasions happen from 11-19 Oct, with virtually 450 showings throughout the town, together with two remastered Nineteen Twenties silent films by Victor Sjöström – Le Vent (The Wind) and La Charrette Fantôme (The Phantom Carriage) – accompanied by the Nationwide Orchestra of Lyon.
Simply earlier than the beginning of winter, Lyon’s Fête des Lumières (lights not the brothers) runs from 5-8 Dec. The town’s heritage buildings are illuminated, and lightweight installations are arrange within the squares and on the riverbank. I watch from Place Bellecour after which wander right down to the water the place locals place lanterns of their home windows to rejoice solidarity and brace themselves for the chilly.
I keep on the Fourvière Hôtel (doubles from €139 room-only), a former convent close to the town’s Roman ruins, which has a heated indoor pool, restaurant and nice views over the town.
Jon Bryant
Lodging costs right at time of going to press. These are the bottom out there charges for October
