Eat your way through European menus for peanuts

Who isn’t fed up with just going out to eat at the Mediterranean restaurant around the corner? How about a taking a gourmet short break to one of Europe's most beautiful culinary destinations , such as France, Italy, Spain, Hungary or Poland.

Saving on the flight with easyJet means you can spoil yourself and eat your way through the menus and experiment with the local tipple.

Many people probably know that salade niçoise is not the only speciality of the southern French port of Nice. But not everyone knows that the Romans like to eat ‘telephone wire’ croquettes ; the people of Krakow don’t always eat sausage; original regional specialities in Germany are rare, and let’s be honest about it, real southern French tapenade tastes a whole lot better when looking out over the harbour in Nice than at home.

Nice

Feast like a King in France

Leave your Döner kebab in Berlin, your Gschnätzlets (sliced meat) in Basle and your Pefferpotthast (beef with onions and spices) in Dortmund and let the specialities of Nice melt on your tongue in only two hours with easyJet.

Try “pissaladière” (a yeast pastry like a pizza, covered with onions, garlic and fresh herbs and garnished with anchovies and olives), “boeuf en daube” (beef with a red wine, onion and herb gravy), “socca” (cakes made with chickpea flour) or “ratatouille” (Provencal vegetable stew).

Whatever you order, cooking in the southern French port means making the most of life and trusting in regional specialities. It’s no wonder that Nice is the only French city apart from Lyon that has its own culinary description “Cuisine Niçoise”. Because of the lively café and restaurant scene here everyone can find their favourites.

Between meals you may be tempted to a stroll through the alleys of the old town, or along the sea promenade or to visit the flower market. If you would like to choose your restaurant before your journey there is a restaurant finder on the Nice tourist board web site.

easyJet flies to Nice from London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Bristol, Newcastle, Belfast and Liverpool with prices from £22.99 one-way (incl. taxes.)

Rome

Kulinarium Romanum

Rome! This city simply suits everyone’s tastes, because the Romans can cook international dishes just as well as national ones; from Jewish cuisine, shellfish and specialities from Latium, to special fish and meat dishes.

How about “coda alla vaccinara” (young oxtail in wine with tomatoes and peppers)? The Roman “suppli al telefono” is also delicious. Translated as “telephone wire” croquettes, they are rice dumplings filled with mozzarella, which is stringy when hot.

You can find traditional restaurants in Testaccio, around the former abattoir. The Checchino restaurant, which has been run by the Mariana family for five generations, is to be recommended and Roman classics were created here (see www.checchino-dal-1887.com).

Travestere is the right place for pizza. Da Bafetto, near the Piazza Navona (Via del Goberno Vecchio 114) is an institution among pizzerias so get here early, before 8pm, or really late after midnight. When you leave the restaurant fully satisfied you still have plenty of time to throw a coin into the Trevi fountain, wander through the Forum Romanum or sit on the Spanish Steps and watch the world go by.

Thanks to ideal flight times with easyJet you can discover lots in Rome in a weekend, without having to beg your boss for a day off. For example, leave London Gatwick on a Friday at 16.50 hrs and come back on a Sunday at 20.55 hrs. Rome can be reached easily and quickly from the easyJet departure airports of Belfast, Bristol, East Middlands and Newcastle as well.

easyJet flies to Rome from London Gatwick, Bristol, Newcastle, Belfast, East Midlands and Bristol with prices from £22.99 one-way (incl. taxes).

Malaga

Eating well in “Malaka”

The name of the metropolis of Malaga stems from sea-faring Phoenicians who founded the city in the 8th Century BC and called it Malaka, from “malak”, which means salting the fish. Malaga is still inviting today, with its typical dishes of fish and seafood as well as its light and Mediterranean cuisine. You can fly with easyJet from nine UK airports directly to your dinner. Grilled or boiled gambas, “pescaito frito” (fish tossed in flour and fried in olive oil), or “boquerones in vinagre” (small spicy fish, which are marinated raw).

If you want to cool off after a stroll around town, a day on the beach or a visit to the Picasso Museum, then treat yourself to the most famous speciality of Malaga, a variation of the Andalucian “gazpacho” (cold soup). It is called “Ajo Blanco” and is made from ground almonds, garlic and olive oil and beaten into a fine cream. If you enjoy fine food you can find restaurants on the Malaga tourismo web site, head for the part of the site which offers “practical tips” and then “restaurants”.

easyJet flies to Malaga from London Gatwick, London Luton, London Stansted, Glasgow, Bristol, Newcastle, Belfast, Liverpool and East Midlands with prices from £25.99 one-way (incl. taxes).

Budapest

Coffee party in Budapest

For most visitors Budapest is love at first bite. Goulash and paprika chicken, goose liver and salami, the finest strudel and pancakes - Hungarian gastronomy is a mixture of French and Austrian cuisine, garnished with Hungarian country dishes. What is known as goulash in the rest of the world is actually called “Pörkölt” in Hungarian; goulash on the other hand is a tastefully put together soup with various additions.

Goose liver is one of the absolute classics that you have to try, as well as fish soup and freshwater fish like perch or trout with almonds. Especially tempting are the sweet dishes like pancakes with chocolate sauce, strudel filled with quark, poppy seed or cherries, and quark dumplings (Túrógombóc).

Budapest was quite rightfully once the city of coffee houses. Their tradition has been revived again now, for example in the charming Central coffee house or in the Zsolnay café with its wonderful choice of gateaux. When you have finished your coffee you should walk off your indulgences around the hilly Buda district with its romantic castle district, King’s Palace and “Gellertberg”, which includes the citadel. You can fly to Budapest quickly and non-stop from London Gatwick and London Luton with easyJet.


easyJet flies to Budapest from London Gatwick, London Luton and Bristol with prices from £27.99 one-way (incl. taxes).

Krakow

The home of the Bagel

The Poles have a sausage called Krakow, for grilling and frying to be precise. This is a four to five centimetre thick dried or smoked sausage, which is mainly eaten at breakfast or supper with bread. “Obwarzanki” are bagels; created in Krakow and not, as is often assumed, by the Americans.

Sausage and the invention of bagels are not the only good reasons to get to know the delicacies of Krakow. You cannot eat so well for for so little anywhere else. easyJet can take you direct to Poland from three UK airports, with Belfast and Newcastle joining the list in March and April this year.

You can really have a banquet of filled pasta parcels, bigos, Polish cabbage stew or the excellent sheep’s cheese varieties like “oscypek” and “bundz”. Gourmet tours are mostly offered away from the typical tourist trails, for example in the Slawskowska, Tomasza, Bracka, Poselska or Karmelicka Streets. If you don’t want to just eat, but experience more of the local culture, then there are plenty of art galleries with exhibitions of classics and experimental artists in the old town. The National Museum of Krakow in Maja street is well worth a visit and the envy of galleries across the globe with their collection of fine arts.

easyJet flies to Krakow from London Luton, Bristol and Liverpool with prices from £22.99 one-way (incl. taxes).