Hotels, restaurants, tea houses, creameries, and other worthy divertissements...

Here’s a list of some of our favorite spots in Europe, places where we’d love to return and savor the hospitality, the décor, the food, and of course, the wine! Then there’s a smattering of those little treats that we seem to treasure long after the journey is over, to shake them up in our mind like a souvenir plastic dome—the espressos, the markets, the bakeries—that are signatures of the culture.

Lodging | Restaurants | Useful Websites

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Lodging

London: The Gore
If we’d inherited Daddy’s millions, we would live at the Gore Hotel. It’s a fine example of high Victorian splendor: potted palms, a winding staircase, suites decorated for everyone from a colonial general to an opera diva (complete with a leopard skin settee and a bed theatrically positioned on a stage), the Tudor Room with an Elizabethan balcony, a splendid belle époque restaurant, a cozy pub, and the “Green Room,” the divinely decorated sitting room painted…rose. CM

London: The Dorsett Square
Located in oh so fashionable Marylebone, the Dorsett Square’s rooms look out onto the private square across the street; guest’s are given a key to sit in the courtyard and enjoy the garden. Rooms are tastefully decorated in a subdued country house style, and the Potting Shed restaurant serves excellent fare. Service is everything you could ask for in an establishment catering to an international clientele. CM

London: Hazlitt’s
This Georgian rowhouse in Soho was formerly the home of the British essayist William Hazlitt. With subdued period furnishings, it appears to have changed little since his time, and in fact has the feel of a private home instead of a hotel. The perfect location for visits to the West End theater district and London’s hip club scene. CM
Read Cathleen Miller's column on Hazlitt's.

Bavaria: Jagerhaus Hotel
Need a castle fix? Well, drive two hours from Munich to Neuschwanstein in German Bavaria, to find the penultimate of sugar-coated fairytale castles and the inspiration for Fantasyland castle at Disneyland. From our room at Jagerhaus Hotel we looked up at the surreal castle built by eccentric King Ludwig II. The hotel is in a park-like setting with a lovely emerald green lake to swim in before a fabulous gourmet meal at the Lisl restaurant at Jagerhaus. LA

Venice: Panada Hotel
A wonderful find in the heart of the Piazza San Marco section. All rooms are decorated in typical Venetian fashion with Murano glass chandeliers and antique-looking furniture. Moderate price, air conditioned, and clean. Fall asleep and wake up to the pealing bells of San Marco. JHB

Milan: Hotel Villa Malpensa
Located almost within walking distance of the Malpensa Airport, this hotel is ideal for those early morning flights. No need to deal with the long, expensive taxi ride from central Milan. The hotel was once the country home of a rich Milanese family, and the airport was their own private landing strip. The building is painted a gorgeous buttercup yellow, trimmed in creamy white and lacy black ironwork, with a small-attached chapel and surrounded by lovely gardens complete with swimming pool. They even have a very good restaurant in a former
banquet hall. JHB

Florence: Gallery Art Hotel
Location! Location! Location! The Gallery Art Hotel is hidden on a tiny, quiet piazza at the very foot of the Ponte Vecchio. This cool minimalist haven—designed by Florentine fashion designer Salvatore Ferragamo—is a welcome relief from the sometimes overwhelming medievalness of Florence. Art, good contemporary art, is the theme here. Changing exhibitions, artful use of wood, stone and light, and a soft-spoken well-trained staff give the Art Hotel a Japanese feel. Indeed the ground floor restaurant serves Japanese “fusion” cuisine. The indoor/outdoor bar is sleek and hip. My favorite part of the hotel, though—aside from the soft wool throws in each room and the Bulgari toiletries—is the library off the small lobby, full of giant art books, hardcover bestsellers, creamy sofas, and newspapers in several languages. PM

Florence: Grand Hotel Villa Cora
Grand, Indeed! One of my favorite walks in Florence is up the winding Viale Machiavelli, with its magnificent mansions and stately trees, to the Grand Hotel Villa Cora—home at various times to Napolean’s Eugenia and actor Anthony Hopkins. The neo-classical villa, built in the 19th century by Baron Oppenheim for his bride, sits in the middle of a lovely park-like garden, replete with pool, lush bowers, grand verandas, and cozy corners. These are Grounds with a capital G! The villa itself is intimate in scale, though sumptuous and ornate. Its unique location affords guests the supreme luxury of a tranquil, pastoral setting only five minutes (by complimentary limousine) from the center of Florence. Forget the limo, though, and stroll under Viale Machiavelli’s leafy canopy, past the Boboli Gardens, down to the Ponte Vecchio. I promise you twenty minutes of sweet solitude in the midst of one of Europe’s most challenging(read: often crowded) destinations. PM

Rome: Daphne Inn
Daphne is a small bed and breakfast owned by former Wild Writing Woman Elyssa Bernard and her Italian husband Alessandro. They offer superb accommodations and outstanding service. The decor is serenely elegant, and techies will note that this B&B maybe the only one in the Eternal City with WiFi access! Daphne has two locations in the historic heart of downtown Rome, both just off the Piazza Barberini, on quiet side streets. From either location, it's just a five-minute walk to the Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps, and Via Veneto. Say hi to Elyssa for us!

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Restaurants

London: Bibendum
Housed in the former Michelin building in Kensington, this paragon has changed in the decade since I first visited. In keeping with trends, the upstairs dining room has become more casual—even adopting the radical notion of female servers—but the food remains the same supreme quality. Bibendum features one of the most extensive wine lists in Europe and a sumptuous three-course prix fixe lunch. A benevolent stained glass Michelin Man beams down upon the lucky diners. CM

Paris: L’Hotel
The food of this hotel restaurant is excellent, but the real star of the show is the surroundings, a grand dining room done in Second Empire style, with marble floors and luxurious appointments that make you feel as if you were dining with Napoleon himself. Located in St. Germain des Pres, this was a former hangout of Oscar Wilde. CM

Bologna: Locanda del Castello
Tel: 051-678-1172
Located in an ancient palace. I ordered gramigna con il guanciale su salsa al balsamico, the best pasta I have ever tasted. On weekends they serve special seasonally-themed 6-course meals with wine for under $40. LA

Lucca, Italy: Ristorante Botticelli
Tel: 0583 515571
Located just outside the walls of Lucca, Claudio De Luca’s beautiful restaurant is worth the effort to find. He is a long time friend of mine and it is wonderful to see him in his dream-come-true setting. His food is delicious and the setting elegant. JHB

Venice: Do Forni Ristorante
Tel: 390 41 523 2148
By far my favorite restaurant in Venice. Absolutely fantastic! A bit expensive but well worth the price. There are two dining rooms, one is beautifully rustic and the other is fashioned in an opulent Orient Express theme. I especially love their canocce, a small local crustacean. JHB

Budapest: Gundel Restaurant
In the year 1910 Károly Gundel took over a grand old restaurant in the Budapest City Park. He restored it in the belle epoque style and the restaurant was a huge success for years but during the Second World War it fell into hard times along with most of the entire city. In 1991, George Lang and Ronald S. Lauder acquired the famous restaurant. The menu today is based on traditional Hungarian cuisine as once practiced by Gundel, featuring refined versions of Hungarian dishes and revived traditional fares once eaten at the tables of East European aristocracy. My first taste of this menu was the goose liver with Tokaji Aszú, which was smooth and silky on my tongue. Hungarian style goose liver was my second choice. It tasted of paprika and onions and seemed to slide down my throat with the greatest of ease. A portion of hot potatoes mashed with caramelized onions blended with the liver. I closed my eyes and imagined I could taste the Hungarian history with every mouthful. JHB

Northern Ireland: The Bushmills Inn
This old mill has been transformed into a small hotel and restaurant. Here I enjoyed possibly the best salmon, called the River Bush, I have ever eaten. It had been caught that morning in the stream that runs through the property. It was served poached and rested on a confit of fennel and sun blushed tomatoes and pooled with a lime and dill sauce. The sauce wasn’t necessary because the salmon was so divine just plain. When I asked the chef what he had flavored the poaching liquid with he smiled and said nothing. He used just plain Irish water from the tap. Unbelievably delicious Irish baby boiled potatoes and fine green beans accompanied the salmon. For desert I had Iced brandy snap basket - filled with a Baileys & honeycomb ice cream, surrounded by a Bushmills whiskey coffee sauce. JHB

Bangor County, Ireland: Shanks Restaurant
Shank’s is located out in the countryside on Clandeboye Estate, not far from Belfast Down. It was a bit challenging finding it, but well worth the effort. There I ate a delicious crispy duck confit with sauté potatoes and baby leeks, with honey and chili dressing, followed by a main dish of fillet of beef with a wild mushroom crust, asparagus, potato and Parmesan puree, which was cooked to perfection. The salad course was a medley of mixed lettuce leaves with fresh grated Parmesan cheese, pine nuts and perfectly accented by an oven dried tomato vinaigrette. I couldn’t decide which desert to have. Either the fresh fig puff with lavender ice cream, honey and almonds or the hazelnut meringue with light chocolate mousse & vanilla poached pear. My waiter solved the problem by bringing both to the table. I still can’t decide which was better, but there was something about the lavender ice cream that lingers in my memory. JHB

Waterford, Ireland: Waterford Castle Hotel Restaurant
The specialties of the kitchen included the freshest of local products. I chose Island Salad, a tasty combination of wild lettuces, fresh herbs, olives, crisp Goujons (similar to bacon), topped with a delicate locally made Boilie Cheese. This was followed by a delicious Scarred Breast of Barbary Duck, with roast garlic and a blackberry sauce. While enjoying my desert of dark, white and milk chocolate mousse cordoned with passion fruit and orange, I looking around the room. I almost expected to see a shadow or a wispy bit of shimmer or hear an otherworldly moan indicating that the ghost of Mary Fitzgerald was present. Alas, everything seemed absolutely normal and the only sounds were the quiet murmur of other diners and the piano softly playing in the background. But I wondered about an unexplained glimmer of light in one corner. Could it be a candle reflecting through one of the crystals on the chandelier, or something else? JHB
Read Jacqueline Harmon Butler's article about visiting Waterford.

And other divertissement

Paris: Mariage Frère
There are many reasons I travel to my favorite city on earth but when my tea supply runs low I know I'm on my way. I find this ruby-rust colored tea with scents of exotic Asia and backroom opium dens at Mariage Frère tea shops in Paris. The loose leave tea is poured from antique gold-lettered tins onto brass scales by impeccably dressed men who are also very handsome. The hundreds of teas to choose from take my nose on a tour oft the tea lands of the world. Mariage Frères' links with tea began in the 17th century and today the company, run by the grandsons, offers a fine range of tearooms with over 400 types of teas. Each shop also has a small museum offering customers an insight into the history of tea. LA

Bologna: The Gran Café
Tel: 051.220498
A handsome man with ballet-like grace, filled a dainty porcelain teacup with a shot of espresso. Then he dolloped it with a "cloud" of rich steamed milk, drizzled chocolate sauce on top and sprinkled it with candied orange peel. Divine. LA

Venice: The Quadri Café
Jacqueline tells me that the choice of “your” café on the Piazza San Marco is an important decision. The Quadri quickly became mine, and I returned each day to sip tea in the sunshine, and bellinis in the moonlight. I listened to the orchestra play standards like “Volare” and felt so happy that I nearly swooned—especially when looking at the unbearably handsome violinist. CM

Venice: Caffè Florian
Choosing just the right café in the Piazza San Marco is important. There has been a long competition between the Florian, the Lavena and the Quadri. However, the Florian is my favorite. I especially like sitting there late at night, listening to the little orchestra playing love songs and sipping a tall, cool prosecco. JHB

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Important Websites

Here are a few of our favorite websites offering more information on travel in Europe:

Hotels in Italy

Lists of Italian Festivals

On Swiss Tourism
More on Swiss Tourism