Things to Do in Europe

Home of Portugal’s mournful fado singing, Lisbon’s 500-hundred-year-old Bairro Alto (this translates as ‘upper district’) sits at the working-class heart of the city, a district of steep, narrow lanes lined with cramped townhouses and jumping with a quirky mix of stores, barbers’ shops, bars, restaurants and late-night clubs.

By day Bairro Alto’s attractions include the Port Wine Institute – the best place to taste and buy port in Lisbon – and it is accessible from the circular route taken by Lisbon’s famous touristy Tram 28. Don’t dismiss a visit to the Jesuit church of São Roque on Largo Trindade Coelho; built at the height of Jesuit power in Portugal in the 16th century, its bland, whitewashed exterior conceals an interior of breath-taking Baroque indulgence. The riot of ceiling paintings, gilded ornamentation and John the Baptist’s chapel, which is studded with mosaics of ivory, gold and silver, has earned it a reputation as the world’s most expensive church. Adjoining is a small art museum but São Roque really steals the thunder here. The nearby miradouro (viewing point) in the shady Jardim de São Pedro de Alcântara gives amazing panoramas across Lisbon’s rooftops towards the River Tagus.

By night a different character emerges in the bairro as the tattoo parlors, bars and cafés open although the weekend street party barely gets going before midnight. Music wafts from fado bars behind every graffiti-ed façade – if you want to experience authentic fado, ask a local to recommend a venue as places come and go with amazing rapidity – and edgy Lisboans bar hop from tavern to designer bar in remarkably laid-back high spirits.

Situated on Vienna’s lovely (and triangular) Freyung Square, the present incarnation of the Bank Austria Kunstforum dates from 1988 and was designed with a bizarre Art Deco entrance portal by architect Gustav Peichl. In recent years it has become a major player on the Vienna art scene, as Bank Austria now holds one of the best private collections in Europe, specialising in avant-garde post-WWII work. With an excess of 10,000 pieces of stellar art to call on, the bank sponsors innovative and well-received exhibitions, with recent successes including premier-league shows from big guns Georges Braque, Picasso, Kandinsky, Karel Appel and Magritte. Such has been the success of the venue that it has been extended several times to accommodate more visitors to the exhibitions. The Kunstforum also exhibits the Bank Austria photography archive, with around 400 images from great names such as Diane Arbus, Man Ray and Henri Cartier-Bresson.

Known as the “Village of Painters,” Barbizon is a little town of around 1,500 people perched on the edge of the Fountainebleau Forest just outside Paris. Famous for the Barbizon art movement of French Revolution fame, Barbizon was the place where many artists headed at the time. Inspired by the rural paintings of English painter John Constable, the school of artists found the village’s fields and surrounding Fountainebleau Forest central to their work.

Bahnhofstrasse is the shopping street in Zurich. Running from Bahnhofplatz outside the main train station all the way to the lake, it's full of luxury shops selling designer fashion, furs, porcelain, and, of course, chocolates, clocks and watches. Halfway along is Zurich's first, biggest and best department store Jelmoli. The basement food-hall is a must. Or if you want the best in Swiss chocolate, take a break at Cafe Sprungli, the epicenter of sweet Switzerland since 1836.

Bahnhofstrasse follows the line of the moat of medieval Zurich and is mainly pedestrianized, although watch out for the trams running along it. It runs parallel to the river Limmat and it's easy to punctuate your shopping with visits to churches and other important sites of Zurich dotted in the narrow streets between. Culture and consumerism: Zurich has them both.

Rebuilt after the 1755 earthquake, the Baixa is the lower town, nestled between the hills of Alfama, Chiado and Bairro Alto. Its wide avenues and pedestrianized Rua Augusta are a great place to shop and have coffee, before you emerge into the huge square Praça do Comércio with its handy tram and bus connections and view of the water.

The area's highlight is the Elevador de Santa Justa. This imposing wrought-iron lift offers an easy ride up to the Bairro Alto, plus a rooftop cafe with views to die for. Built in 1902 by Gustave Eiffel follower Raul Mésnier du Ponsard, the lift has more than a passing resemblance to the Eiffel Tower. Avoid the touristy umbrella-topped cafes below and save your coffee break for this still touristy but far more elegant architectural gem. Time your visit to enjoy a drink at sunset.

Balat is a historically Jewish neighborhood on the shores of the Golden Horn in Istanbul. While a significant Jewish population existed in the area since Byzantine times, the community grew substantially as Jews were evicted from Spain in 1492. 

The most important attraction in the neighborhood may be the Chora Church, today known as the Kariye Museum. With its intricate mosaics and frescoes from the Byzantine era, it is a must-see.  Also worth checking out are the ruins of the Byzantine palace, Tekfur Salay, which is built into the old city walls. Dating to the late 1200s or early 1300s, the palace was built for Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenetus but over time served as a menagerie, brothel, pottery workshop and poorhouse. It is currently closed, but you can catch a decent glimpse from outside.

While the area once had 19 synagogues, only two of importance remain today: the Ahrida Synagogue and the Yanbol Synagogue.  Both are said to take their names from towns in Macedonia from where their founding congregations hailed. Nearby you’ll also find the site of a Jewish School and Jewish Hospital.

One of the key attractions of Geneva’s Old Town, the Barbier-Mueller Museum holds the world’s largest collection of non-Western art and artifacts. The core of the permanent collection comprises works from Oceania, Africa and indigenous artisans of the Americas, supplemented by an important collection of antiquities from Greece, Italy and other centers of the ancient world.