Fancy a change of scenery? Simon Horsford has his suitcase packed, ready to explore the new flight destinations departing from our city’s airport this summer – with some lesser-known destinations waiting to be added to your wanderlust list. Image above: Polignano a Mare beach, Italy
This summer, Bristol Airport will add a further six destinations to its routes taking the total to a whopping 118, stretching from Aberdeen to Zurich and Bergen to Sharm El Sheik and Wroclaw. The airport’s main airline, easyJet – other airlines such as Ryanair, Aer Lingus and Jet2 are available – also announced last year that it had carried 80 million passengers from the airport since the airline began flights from the south-
west hub 25 years ago.
This all seems a long way from the days when Bristol Airport started operating on its first site at Whitchurch in 1930, handling only 4,000 passengers a year just before the outbreak of war; the present site at Lulsgate opened in 1957 after a decade-long battle for a new city airport.
For the airport, it’s, unsurprisingly, about the new routes offering “greater choice”, while at the same time “supporting local tourism and providing helpful links for businesses in the area”.
So, what’s waiting for you on the other side of these new journeys…?
Bari, Ital
On the Adriatic coast in Puglia, the heel of the ‘Italian boot’, Bari has much to recommend it. Make for the old town (Bari Vecchia) near the port and its atmospheric streets and alleys and the eye-catching architecture of the Cathedrale di San Sabino and the Basilica di San Nicola, where you’ll find the bones of St. Nicholas – or Santa Claus; there’s also a 13th-century castle Castello Svevo. Make sure to take a stroll along the promenade, said to be Italy’s longest, and a popular local pastime. Seafood is a must here, as is the local Puglian pasta orecchiette (‘little ears’). You’ll find sandy beaches at Polignano a Mare and Monopoli, and if you have time head for Matera and its UNESCO-rated troglodyte dwellings.
Flying twice a week (from April to October). Image below: UNESCO-rated troglodyte cave dwellings in Matera, Italy
Reus, Spain
The first thing you need to know about Reus is that it is the birthplace of the fantasy architect Antoni Gaudí – although none of his buildings are here – head to Barcelona for that (90 minutes by car) – but you will find the Gaudí Centre in the city. The Costa Daurada is perfect if you want culture or a family holiday: for the former, aside from various Modernist architectural treats in Reus, you can also make for Tarragona, the region’s capital, which sits on a hill and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Want more? Then Salou has a palm tree promenade, sandy beaches, and the PortAventura theme park (perfect for families), while further down the coast there’s Cambrils and some of the best cuisine you’ll find in the region; try suquet de peix, a seafood and vegetable stew; the area is known for its wine, vermouth and olive oil.
Five days a week from 25 June.
Sal, Cape Verde
It might be around a six-hour flight, but this Cape Verdean island in the eastern Atlantic offers year-round sun with activities such as snorkelling, kite surfing and windsurfing on Ponta Preta beach. It gained independence from Portugal in 1975 and, astonishingly, the country has qualified for this year’s football World Cup.
Sal is one of 10 islands in Cape Verde, which takes its name from Cap Vert, the peninsula jutting out from Senegal – 350 miles away. Make sure to see the salt lakes in the crater of the extinct volcano and also Shark Bay where you can get close to a school of (harmless) lemon sharks.
Fresh seafood is naturally a speciality but also try the local cachupa, a hearty stew; the local wine from the island of Fogo is definitely worth trying.
Three times a week, year round from 1 May; Image below: Overhead view of the pier, Sal, Cape Verde
Seville, Spain
If you love culture, food and heat then you’ll find it hard to better sultry Seville – the city from which Columbus first set off to discover the New World (and whose remains can be found in Seville Cathedral to this day).
The striking Alcazar Palace should be on any list, with its ceramic tiles and peacocks, while Seville Cathedral is another to note – the third largest in the world; for something more modern it has to be then 28-metre, mushroom-shaped Metropol Parasol, and then relax with a stroll among the pavilions, pools and palms at Parque María Luisa. For a market experience, there’s Triana market, a riot of fruit and vegetables and the place to sample some local tapas and pastries. Fancy some flamenco? Then La Casa Inquieta is a bar and restaurant where you can watch a swirling dancer and accompanying musicians.
And you can’t be in Seville without trying a glass of sherry, and for that go to Palo Cortao on Mercedes de Velilla, with more than 60 different varieties. Elsewhere, look out for one of the Moorish Iberian pork dishes; the Andalusian wines are a treat.
Twice a week from May 2. Image below: Traditional suquet de peix seafood stew from Cambils, Spain
Enfidha, Tunisia
The gateway to resorts such as Hammamet and Sousse and their white sand beaches and turquoise waters (via Enfidha/Hammamet airport). But it’s also the route to so much more of Tunisia.
The country has eight UNESCO cultural sights together with a national park and a huge historical legacy, via influences ranging from Berber, Phoenician, Roman and Byzantine, to Arab and French.
Hire a car and visit Carthage with its Roman amphitheatre, or head for the cobbled streets of Sidi Bou Saïd and its whitewashed walls and bright blue doors and shutters, or find a bargain among the bazaars and souks in the medinas of Tunis and Sousse.
Make sure to stop by a food market too, where you’ll find stalls laden with fruit, vegetables and fish, then order a mint tea before tucking into a spicy lamb and couscous stew.
Six days a week, year round from 1 May
Thessaloniki, Greece
History is everywhere in Greece’s second city, from the White Tower, once an Ottoman prison, near the harbour, to a huge statue of Alexander the Great on a horse and the impressive Rotunda, which has at various stages been a temple, church
and mosque.
Wherever you walk, you’ll find some reference to the past and no more so than at the Archaeological Museum with exhibits dating back to the 4th century; while more modern is the Museum of Photography housed in an old warehouse.
Other treats include Modiano Market, which dates back to the early 1920s and has a vast range of local produce, but if it’s fish you want then Kapani Market is the place and you’ll find a great selection of cafés here to people-watch over a Greek coffee. Brunch is big in the city – try a koulouri (sesame covered bread ring) or bougatsa, (filled sweet or savoury pastry); strapatsada is a Greek version of scrambled eggs and for lunch chargrilled octopus should do the trick with a glass of something chilled from a local vineyard.
Four times a week from 27 June (summer only)
For more details on available flight routes, destinations and more, visit the website bristolairport.co.uk
