Extend your city break: 5 unique itineraries to get to the heart of foodie destinations

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Tallinn overview of rooftops, a church spire and colourful buildings

Five unique foodie destinations to explore beyond the city centre

Tallinn, Estonia

One of Europe’s best-preserved medieval cities, UNESCO-heritage Tallinn has been elevating Baltic cuisine with its focus on seasonality, sustainability, and local produce. Kick off with breakfast at RØST in the city’s revamped Rotermann Quarter for cinnamon and cardamom buns, Estonia’s legendary dark rye bread, and Scandi-roast coffee. For lunch, try traditional-meets-modern Rataskaevu 16 in the Old Town and tuck into a three-cheese pie, flounder with kohlrabi and sea buckthorn mousse. At zero-waste Michelin Green Star Fotografiska (also a rooftop bar) in Tallinn’s photography museum, try organic beef tartar with burnt onion sauce; roasted pikeperch; and sprouted rye and pearl barley risotto. For fine dining, two-Michelin-starred 180° by Matthias Diether (180-degree views from the U-shaped open kitchen), its four-course tasting menu (vegetarian option with 24 hours’ notice) might feature tomato marshmallow with comte cheese, and dover sole and lobster roulade.

Stay at the inviting boutique Schlossle Hotel, built inside 13th- and 14th-century merchant houses in the Old Town. Its own Stenhus Restaurant is top-notch, using ingredients sourced from small-scale Estonian farms, fishermen and producers.

Doubles from £148, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk.

Go beyond the centre...

Tallinn’s coastline has long been shaking off its industrial look; for example, the former militarised zone of Paljassaare Peninsula is now a forest bathing and wild swimming haven. 20 minutes out of the city is NOA Chef's Hall, a newly one-starred Michelin spot with gorgeous views of Tallinn Bay and the Gulf of Finland with a global and local focus; scallops from Norway, Canadian lobster and foraged and preserved local dishes.

Under an hour away is Maidla Nature Resort, a manor set in a former servants’ house with three ‘Nature Villas’. These super-cosy set-ups each offer a variation on sauna, fireplace and outdoor bathtub, and a great spot to explore the Estonian countryside from. Go canoeing, stand-up paddleboarding, bog-hiking (75 per cent of Estonia is forest and bogs) by day before dining at their Michelin Green Star restaurant SOO. Its seasonal, eight-course gastronomic menu is always changing; sample dishes include herb raviolo with chanterelles, fermented black beans, lemon balm and thyme; and egg curd with Estonian whitefish, cured with dried seaweed, served with pickled fennel and dill.

Villas at Maidla Nature Resort from £293 per night, check availability at booking.com or welcomebeyond.com.

Prague, Czech Republic

There's plenty of sights to discover in Prague: Charles Bridge, Wenceslas Square and Prague Castle, to name a few. Fuel up before sightseeing at one of Prague’s excellent bakeries such as Pekárna Nostress Bakery for fresh croissants, pastries, and the country’s popular open-faced sandwiches, obložené chlebíčky.

For lunch with a view over Charles Bridge, try Restarauce Mlýnec. Its modern Czech menu features Prague ham croquettes with groats, horseradish consommé and chive mayonnaise; brook trout with baked pumpkin sauce; and truffle risotto with pickled mushrooms.

Another favourite is The Eatery, recipient of a Michelin Bib Gourmand (for high-end food at reasonable price) which sources ingredients from local farmers and small-scale producers. Try marinated kohlrabi with blue cheese; plum brandy-marinated trout; and charcoal grilled fallow deer loin. For something different, explore Manifesto Andèl, a tech-enabled, global street food market for emerging restauranteurs.

Stay at the design hotel Mosaic House with art installations, cosy interiors and private spa. Its on-site Mosaic Café is a great spot for breakfast, coffee and light bites, and there’s a library and secret garden for zen time.

Doubles from £71, check availability at booking.com, expedia.co.uk or lastminute.com.

Go beyond the centre...

Add a city break to your city break – an hour from Prague is the 700-year-old Plzeň, birthplace of world-famous Czech lager pilsner. Key sights include Loos Interiors (eight residential interiors created by the designer Adolf Loos), the Great Synagogue and St Barthomolew’s Cathedral.

The calling card for many visitors is a tour of the Pilsner Urquell brewery. You can also tour Bohemia Sekt, the country’s largest sparkling wine producer. At Na Spilce, a brewery pub in the old fermentation cellars of the Pilsner brewery, comforting creations include sausages in dark beer with horseradish served in a beer bread roll; sturgeon with caraway seeds and Nebílovy cider sauce, and gnocchi with a nutty, herby, baked pumpkin purée.

Stay at the family-run, beautifully designed Rango Hotel. It's 16th-century cellar restaurant specialises in Italian and Mediterranean cuisine serving fresh pasta, pizza, and meat and fish cooked on their lava grill.

Doubles from £100, check availability at booking.com or lastminute.com.

Plzeň, Czech Republic. Credit: Petr Čech — Credit: Petr Čech

Berlin, Germany

Between the famous sights of Brandenburg Gate, East Side Gallery and Museum Island lies a Berlin restaurant scene that’s both German and global, from streetside doner kebabs and traditional dishes to vegan innovations. Kick off at Silo Coffee for home-roast coffee and truffle mushrooms on toast, or grab a flaky croissant from canal side La Maison. Low-waste, plant-based HAPPA is great for lunch or dinner, giving Alpine Bavarian cuisine a vegan makeover on a regularly changing menu. Making a name for Levantine-Japanese fusion (they call it Japa-terranean) is HANA wine bar and restaurant with innovative mezze such as carbonara-style cabbage with egg, pecorino and garlic; wagyu katsu pita; and mushroom borek with rosemary soy. Berlin has great food tours too; check out Fork & Walk Tours for its huge variety.

Stay at the Wilmina Hotel set in a former courthouse and women's prison, now a light-filled, courtyard hotel and home to the cool Lovis Bar and contemporary German food at the Lovis restaurant.

Doubles from check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or welcomebeyond.com.

Go beyond the centre...

About an hour’s drive from Berlin’s city centre is the beautiful Brandenburg lakeside region. Situated on the edge of lake Scharmützelsee is the spa town of Bad Saarow, known for its mud and thermal springs, and ideal for walks, water sports and swimming. It’s also the location for Freilich am See restaurant, a palate-pleaser for German comfort food lovers. Tuck into a weiner schnitzel or have sprout salad with pomegranate and feta. They also serve traditional Bavarian draught beer and fruit brandies from a local distillery.

Stay at lakeside spa hotel Villa Contessa for spa treatments and a fine-dining restaurant with its seasonal (dinner-only) menu. Doubles from £280, check availability at booking.com.

On the journey from Berlin to the lakes, stop at Spreepark, a former East German amusement park inside the 90-hectare Plänterwald Forest. Undergoing a revival with art galleries, outdoor spaces and a beer garden, it’s home to restaurant Ei-12437-B where traditional German dishes are given a twist on an ever-changing menu; think bread dumplings in mushroom sauce, and wild boar ragout with lingonberry pear and hazelnut spaetzle (egg pasta). Weekend brunch dishes feature homemade granola with pears and hazelnut butter, or wild boar sausage and eggs.

Berlin. Copyright: visitBerlin, Photo: Günter Steffen — Copyright: visitBerlin, Photo: Günter Steffen

Arras, France

Often underrated, France’s northern Pas-de-Calais has a mouthwatering food scene, rich in seafood, maroilles cheese, andouillette (offal sausage), and locally brewed beers. A great city break pick is Arras, just over an hour from Calais. Before exploring the belfry and squares of Grand’Place and Place des Héros, head to bakery and tea room Pâtisserie Thibaut for fine French pastries and coffee. For lunch, a firm local favourite is L'Oeuf ou la Poule for its comfort food and warm service; the ‘perfect egg’ and pot chicken are popular picks. For classic and modern, try The French House – everything from French-style chicken biryani to salmon tartare and burgers. For something different, have dinner in the Boves, the tunnels set in former chalk quarries below the city; latest events are provided by the tourist office.

Stay at Grand Place Hotel on the main square with its spacious comfortable rooms, or a 10-minute drive away is the lovely auberge/B&B Plumes et Coton, owned by a Pas-de-Calais greeter (locals who offer complimentary walking tours) whose breakfast alone is worth staying for.

Check rates and availability at plumes-et-coton.fr or booking.com.

Go beyond the centre...

The countryside around Arras is worth exploring: uncrowded, quiet, and full of tiny villages, restaurants and auberges. Just 45 minutes northwest of Arras is locally run farmhouse hotel La Cour de Rémi, which has been in the same family for generations. The daily changing menu is influenced by ingredients from local producers and markets and everything is made from scratch – enjoy a terrine with garden pickles and homemade bread made from locally grown ancient grains. Most of the wines are organic and biodynamic, too. Breakfast is king here; just-baked brioche, apple juice from the garden and homemade yogurt among the spread.

Stay in one of the 10 cosy cabin rooms and suites, each one with its own perks, whether this be side-by-side bathtubs, a hot tub, or a treehouse room built around a sycamore tree. The hotel is set in 37 acres of parkland which you can explore by bike or foot or explore the surrounding abbeys, châteaux, war memorial sites, and coastline, which is around 40 minutes away. The closest town is Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise, 10 minutes away, with a weekly market, independent shops, and homely restaurants.

Check rates and availability at lacourderemi.com.

Arras, France. © Yannick Cadart — © Yannick Cadart

Funchal, Madeira

Sub-tropical in climate but European in culture, port and capital city Funchal is a great base to explore Madeira’s under-the-radar food scene. Start your day at Art Deco-style farmers’ market Mercado dos Lavradores. Enjoy a coffee with local flatbread bolo de caco, and people-watch from A Confeitaria café before the bustle of the lower-floor fish market. Spend the morning taking the cable car to Funchal’s botanic gardens or exploring the city museums. For lunch, Peixaria no Mercado serves tempura fish and Madeiran speciality, deep-sea black scabbard fish. By night, stroll along restaurant-lined Rua de Santa Maria in Funchal’s Zona Velha (Old Town); try Taberna Ruel for swordfish in banana sauce (fruit, especially passion fruit, is creatively used) and black pork fillet with apple purée. Madeiran wine is a heritage story on its own; visit Blandy’s wine lodge in the Cathedral Quarter or join a food tour with Food On Foot.

Stay at boutique, suite-only Les Suites at The Cliff Bay for balcony views of the Atlantic, a great spa, and highly rated restaurants. Suites from £590, check availability at booking.com.

Go beyond the centre...

Just a 15-minute drive from Funchal is the pretty fishing town Câmara de Lobos – worth a night or two, a day trip, or even just a meal. Wander into little bars to try poncha, Madeira’s fruity alcoholic concoction, and watch the sunset from the boardwalk over a cold beer and lapas, grilled limpets. Later, tuck into Madeiran speciality espetada (grilled meat skewers) at Vila do Carne or top-notch fish and seafood at sister restaurant Vila do Peixe, both local favourites with fantastic harbour views from above town. If you’re partial to a spectacular coastal view, 15 minutes west is Cabo Girão, a glass-floor viewing platform 580 meters above sea level.

Relax for a few days at certified bio hotel Quinta da Serra, beautifully set in the mountains above Câmara de Lobos. It is a great base to explore the island’s trails – levadas – and the Laurisilva, Madeira’s UNESCO-protected laurel forest. Produce from its organic gardens is regularly on the menu, and nature and food are celebrated; in late autumn for example, they host a dinner to celebrate the apple harvest and brew their own cider.

Doubles from £130, check availability at booking.com.