When you design an exploration of a city, it’s not a bad idea to think like a photo journalist assembling a portfolio of that city. Like that photographer you need to combine detail shots, middle range shots and expansive panoramas. For an agent assembling an itinerary that can mean that kind of micro experience one has in a small specialty shop for a detail, a walk in the park or a museum for mid-range perspective and finally a panoramic experience of the city. Going through my notes and talking to friends I’ve put together a list of panoramic aeries for you to add to your itineraries in 10 popular European cities. One of the most popular ways to spend an evening for people visiting Europe is to have a drink or a meal overlooking the city.
Berlin’s Dachgarten-Restaurant on top of the Reichstag is recommended as the easiest way to get access to the dome. The dome’s rooftop restaurant is open daily from 9 am to 4:30 pm and from 6:30 pm to midnight. Tables can be reserved at kaeferreservierung.berlin@feinkost-kaefer.de. The rooftop terrace of the Hotel de Rome (www.hotelderome.com/dining/terrace), which features lounge chairs, cool drinks, design and an amazing view of Bebelplatz also comes highly recommended.. It’s open daily from noon to 10 pm between April and October weather permitting.
Istanbul has several roosts with a view. Mikla, located on the roof of the Marmara Pera Hotel is one of the city’s most elegant dining venues and has wonderful skyline views. If you’re looking for a hip bar high up, consider 360 (www.360istanbul.com) whose name says it all. This rooftop lounge offers a view that takes in Topkapi Palace and Sultanahmet. Its central location on Istiklal Street makes it popular with trendsetters in Istanbul, who congregate for sunset cocktails and modern Turkish cuisine as well as a DJ with dancing..
There are several food and beverage outlets in the Eiffel Tower (www.restaurants-toureiffel.com), the most famous panoramic view of Paris. Among them, Le Jules-Verne (www.lejulesverne-paris.com), operated under Chef Alain Ducasse. The problem with viewing Paris from the Eiffel Tower is that you can’t see the Eiffel Tower from it. For that try Restaurant Les Ombres (www.lesombres-restaurant.com), which I am told makes you feel like you can, “touch the Eiffel Tower.”
Thanks to the world’s most beautiful piece of architecture, the Parthenon, Athens will always be a magic city. No matter where you are in town, you’re always turning a corner and noticing the Parthenon in the distance. The best place to view the Parthenon from a distance is on Lycabettus Hill. Clients can take funicular train up from the hip Kolonaki District and find their way to Orizontes (www.orizonteslycabettus.gr/en/restaurant), one of the best restaurants in Athens.
With its romance of exiled kings and kingdoms, the mysterious Alhambra and the spirit of Garcia Lorca haunting it, Granada is as romantic a city has Spain has to offer. Even if your clients choose not to stay in a Parador, their ambience and the quality of their kitchens makes them solid recommendations as places to dine. The terrace of the famous Parador Granada Hotel San Francisco (www.paradores-spain.com/spain/pgranada.html) is a 15th century convent which is part of the Palace of Alhambra. While it’s difficult to book a room, you can always have a drink or a good Andalucian meal on the terrace.
For over 120 years, drinking or dining at the Hotel Eden’s Terrace Bar and its adjoining restaurant La Terrazza dell'Eden (www.edenroma.com/en/laterrazzadelleden) have been Roman rite of passage. It’s the place you want to enjoy a great Italian meal while drinking in the glorious panorama of the eternal city and its seven hills. It has been a favorite of celebrities, politicians and others. It was known as Frederico Fellini’s favorite place to catch some Roman sun. The Terrace Bar’s Lucio Masci is famous for his mixology skills.
While it may not be the classic panoramic view, the rooftop bar and restaurant of the Hotel U Prince (www.hoteluprince.com/terrace) overlooking Prague’s Lesser Town Square offers a great view of the Astronomical Clock with its hourly ritual dance of charting the paths of the sun, the moon and the stars. On the hour a skeleton rings his bell as the 12 Apostles peer out from their windows.
Madrid’s La Terraza del Urban restaurant, atop the Hotel Urban (www.derbyhotels.com), offers a great menu and the best place in the city to get the bird’s eye view with a cocktail. Cocktails begin at 8 p.m. to 4 a.m. and dinner is served from 9 p.m. to 11:30 p.m.
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