The Best Layover Cities In The World From Travel Experts

If you are trying to find the best flight deal on your travels, chances are more than once you’ve had to pick which city you want to spend a long, 6+ hour layover in. But instead of seeing it as an annoyance and hassle, why not make the layover an extended part of your journey by discovering the best layover cities in the world?

When I returned from Budapest to LA this May I spent six hours in Oslo, Norway. A 19-minute express train from the airport to the city center meant I could zip to Oslo, take in a few sights, have a meal, and get back with more than enough time for my second flight to LA.

Oslo Waterfront – Photo by Moyan Brenn via Flickr (since I had no camera in Oslo)

I loved this little excursion and wanted to start doing something similar on all my other trips as well. The only problem was, for many cities offered as layover options, I didn’t know how easy it would be. Did the airport have a good range of amenities? Quick and easy transport into the city center? Was the center easily walkable?

So I asked my favorite travel bloggers, writers, and photographers, which cities in the world they love to spend their time between flights in. Now next time you fly, you will know which are the best layover cities to add to your journey (a couple of East Asian airports especially seem preferred among travelers worldwide).

Best Layover Cities

1. Hong Kong International Airport (2x Choice!):

Ken Kaminesky (Ken Kaminesky Photography)

Inside Hong Kong International Airport – Photo by IQRemix via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

My favourite city for a layover is Hong Kong. The airport is one of the best in the world but what makes it special is the Cathay Pacific lounge! I always fly with Cathay Pacific to Asia if possible and their lounge at Hong Kong International Airport is the best I’ve ever seen. Showers, good food, complimentary massages, and more. Just what a weary traveller like me needs after a super long haul flight. I’m blessed to live a life well-travelled and grateful that there are companies like Cathay that value their customers to such a high degree. In fact, I’m heading to Cambodia tomorrow and thrilled to be stopping in Hong Kong for my layover on the way to Siem Reap.

Michael Hodson (Go See Write)

I tend to complain a lot about airports and layovers. There are, however, many airports that do everything they can to make your layover more comfortable and enjoyable. The best experience I had was in Hong Kong International Airport. If education is your thing and you want to stimulate your brain more than you want to get a hand massage, then you’ll really enjoy this airport. There’s shopping and dining, as usual, but there are also a lot of really interesting exhibits to experience and enjoy.

2. Singapore Changi Airport (2x Choice!):

Barbara Weibel (Hole in the Donut Cultural Travel)

Photo by Cheryl via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

Without a doubt, Singapore Changi Airport ranks as my favorite airport in the world for long layovers.

This airport is more like a destination than a transit hub. It provides free Wi-Fi, has an almost overwhelming array of dining choices, and even offers massage and reflexology services. Skytrains whisk passengers between terminals to view sculptures scattered throughout the airport and gardens that feature cactus, sunflowers, and orchids. Travelers with layovers of more than six hours can even take advantage of a free Singapore tour.

Kristin Addis (Be My Travel Muse)

It has fast, free Wi-Fi, a movie theater, and even a free tour of the city if your layover is a long one. It’s easily the best airport in the works for layovers!

3. Dubai International Airport: Liz Carlson (Young Adventuress)

Dubai at Night – Photo by Kemal Kestelli via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

My favorite city for layovers is Dubai. Usually I stop there on trips between New Zealand where I live, and Europe. Since it’s such a long journey and I hate to do back to back long haul flights, I try to stop there for a day or two to rest. Dubai is a city for comfort so I don’t feel pressure to go out and about and explore, but rather to relax in the nice hotels with spas and just chill, which is exactly what I need between trips. Also I usually do all of my shopping there for gear and clothes that I can’t find anywhere else. Dubai is perfect for stopovers and a place to indulge.

4. Keflavík International Airport, Reykjavik: Stephanie Yoder (Twenty-Something Travel)

Photo by Marco Bellucci via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

Keflavík is a really nice, safe, and clean airport where you can safely hang out for hours. It is kind of boring though, so I recommend taking a bus to the famous Blue Lagoon, a milky colored hot spring set against a barren moon-like landscape. Within the span of just a few hours you can visit one of Iceland’s top tourist attractions and get back in time for your flight!

5. Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport: Gary Arndt (Everything, Everywhere)

Downtown Minneapolis – Photo by m01229 via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

Minneapolis. MSP is, in my opinion, the best airport in North America. It has great restaurants and many options. If you have a really long layover, you can also take a light rail train from the airport to the nearby Mall of America, which is less than 10 minutes away.

6. Istanbul Atatürk Airport: Earl Baron (Wandering Earl)

Photo by Moyan Brenn via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

With either a 45 minute shuttle ride to Taksim Square or 45 minutes on the metro/tram to reach Sultanahmet, you have excellent food, fascinating sights, interesting neighborhoods and markets, shisha cafes, shops, museums, bars and more are all right there, ready to fill up the hours you have between flights.

7. Prague, Václav Havel Airport: Ivana & Gianni (Nomad is Beautiful)

Photo by Moyan Brenn via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

You get from the airport to the heart of the city in half an hour easily by bus and metro. Even if it’ll be difficult to avoid crowds in the very center of Prague, especially if you visit it only for a few hours, it’s definitely worth to roam in the gardens near Petrin, in Letna park, Prague’s Castle and the Lesser Town district.  

8. Bangkok, Suvarnabhumi Airport: Melvin Boecher (TravelDudes)

Photo by Greg Knapp via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

My favorite layover city is Bangkok, as that city just gets you. Usually travelers who come here first enjoy their stay a lot, but also don’t mind to leave again after 2-3 days. The city is full of culture, friendly people and yummy food. But it also provides lots of traffic, smog and some scams. So a few days gives you a great first feeling for the city and then you can head on to your next destination. This could be in Thailand itself, in the surrounding countries or even further away, as Bangkok has good flight connections all over the world. And my experience is, the more often you visit and explore Bangkok, the more you will fall in love with the city and could stay a complete holiday alone in the “City of Angels”.

9. Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: Spencer Spellman (Whiskey Tango Globetrot)

Photo by Moyan Brenn via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

The reason I love layovers in Amsterdam is two-fold. One is that theoretically, you could be into the heart of Amsterdam in 20-30 minutes from the airport, since the core of Amsterdam is less than 10 miles from the airport (rare for most cities). However, additionally, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is one of my favorite airports. You’ve got a couple of different spas, a museum, casino, and a number of great bars and restaurants, such as East Bar & Bites, which I particularly like for their sake cocktail menu.

10. London Heathrow Airport: Ayngelina Brogan (Bacon is Magic)

There is so much to see, do and eat. There are great airport lounges and spa services but I also love shopping at Boots so I’m happy to stopover and spend an hour browsing around. But most of all I like Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant Plane Food, it’s a great dining room and very reasonably priced.

11. Shanghai Pudong International Airport: Laurence Norah (Finding the Universe)

Photo by hans-johnson via Flickr/CC BY 4.0

The city is very easy to get to from the airport, and in fact the mode of transport is one of my favorite things – it’s the fastest train in the world. Then the city itself is very easy to explore, you can sight see for as long or as short as you like, and if you get tired  there is no shortage of tea houses to relax in!

Layover Tips & Lessons

With layovers, ALWAYS make sure to watch the clock, as Dan & Audrey (Uncornered Market) warn:

Layover in Barcelona. Can’t check-in for 3 hours. What to do? Head into town, hit the streets, and have a tapas-filled lunch of roulette peppers (every 100th one is hot!), fried artichokes and a bevy of local fish. Then soak up the streets and color, hop the bus back to the airport and hope they’re ready to take you to your destination — which on our last stop there was Bogota, Colombia.

We had about 6 hours. We arrived at terminal T2, but were departing from T1. So we took the shuttle there to leave luggage and get a lay of the land. Glad we did, because that removed an unknown. Took the bus into town. Had a couple of hours. We focused on lunch and walking neighborhoods, including Ribera. When we returned by bus, we were just under 3 hours from our flight departure. We’d already checked in online, so removed that variable. After security, we ended up at our gate with 1hr, 40 mins. Audrey even tried to get a manicure at the lounge, but time was tight and staff bounce between lounges. Outside of that, we found our gate area sparse, so we’re glad we popped into downtown Barcelona.

And keep an eye out for Layover Perks: Alyssa Ramos (My Life’s a Movie)

When I think of making the best out of long layovers, I always suggest finding flights with the longest layover (if a long layover is inevitable) so that you can possibly go see a little bit of the city. I did that during my flight to South Africa with a layover in Dubai. I chose the longest layover which was 8 hours (it also made the flight cheaper), and the airline even gave us a free hotel to shower and relax in while we waited!

What’s your favorite layover city? Have you ever had a great layover experience? Share below!

photos by: & , , , , , Moyan_Brenn 

Source: http://www.losethemap.com/

Prague: Finding A New Edge

Fresh start: Muj šálek kávy, a speciality coffee shop in Karlín. Photograph: Ondrej Horak

With Old Prague now tourist central, David Farley follows local artists and hipsters to the Czech capital’s newly transformed outer neighbourhoods

The barista with the Salvador Dalí moustache refused to bring milk for my coffee. “Trust me,” he said, adjusting his man-bun. “It’s much better this way.” The snobbery didn’t surprise me. What did was that it happened in Prague, a place where, until the end of the last decade, coffee was little more than sludge. Even more shocking was that this was the Karlín district, a once-crime-ridden part of town closest to the Križíkova metro station that, until recently, offered little reason to visit. I was at Muj šálek kávy, one of a handful of speciality coffee spots sprinkled throughout the city. But a lot more than coffee culture has changed in the Czech capital.

When I lived in the Czech capital for three years in the mid-1990s, I spent my nights in the central Old Town and Malá Strana districts, where all the best places to eat, drink and shop existed. Now the centre of Prague, while still one of the most beautiful cities in the world, has given way to the march of mass tourism, and its denizens have retreated to the outer neighbourhoods. And although it’s hard for anywhere else in the city to compete with the aesthetics of Charles Bridge, Prague Castle and Old Town Square, I yearned for the other Prague, the one where locals – hipsters, scenesters and even coffee snobs – hung out.

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 ‘Crammed with Art Nouveau and neo-classical buildings, some in need of love more than others’: the colourful Vršovice neighbourhood. Photograph: Alamy

I began my search in Vršovice (pronounced Vir-sho-veetz-say), a neighbourhood that is a 15-minute tram ride from the centre of town. I lived here for about two years and, at the time, found little to entice me, save the bed I passed out in after a long day at work. At first sight, it looks no different from before. Set on a downward slope, Vršovice is crammed with Art Nouveau and neo-classical buildings, some in need of love more than others. The cobblestones are uneven. Many of the streets have an intriguing curve to them. And then you see a shaggy-haired 25-year-old guy in skinny jeans come around the corner and enter what appears to be a vegan restaurant called Plevel. Later, you walk into a café and hear indie bands seeping from the speakers.

My home on this visit was the Czech Inn, a quasi-industrial hotel that towers at the top of Krymská Street, maybe the hippest lane in the city. I met up with Ondrej Kobza, the owner of Café V Lese, the place that got Vršovice’s metamorphosis going. “After I opened Café V Lese five years ago,” said Kobza, who appears to be the unofficial mayor of the town, “I recruited my friends to open up places in the neighbourhood. Soon enough Plevel opened, then Družina, a creative arts studio moved in. That attracted a lot of artists. And it just kept going.”

Kobza always had his sights on more than just cafés. A couple of years ago they shut down the street to traffic and had a day-long party. He put a piano out for anyone to play. Now Kobza has placed pianos all around the city. His next project is public chess tables. “We have to reimagine the city to our liking and that’s what I’m trying to do.”

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 ‘Wes Anderson chic’: Sladkovsky bar and cafe, which does a mean goulash. Photograph: Alamy

Later that night I popped into Café Sladkovsky – a pub/café bedecked in old photographs and kitsch wallpaper that could be described as Wes Anderson chic – and ordered goulash. This was a slightly different take on the traditional Czech dish, with boar instead of beef, and a potato pancake in place of the usual dumplings. It was a delicious twist on the original.

The next day, I walked across the Vinohrady and Žižkov neighbourhoods, a pleasant 25-minute stroll, to get to Karlín. Many of my Czech friends in their 30s and 40s had told me they had been hanging out here a lot lately. And so I came to Muj šálek kávy, the coffee spot that frowns upon the marriage of milk and coffee, to meet up with Jan Valenta and Zuzi Danková. They run Taste of Prague, a popular food-themed walking tour.

“The first time I noticed something going on in this neighbourhood was five years ago when this café opened up,” said Jan. But Zuzi pointed out that the area’s regeneration really goes back to the 2002 when the nearby Vltava river flooded, taking out centuries-old buildings and leaving the place practically abandoned. “That made property values very affordable and quickly there were a lot of new investments along the river.”

The office buildings make Karlín feel like an adult version of Vršovice: during the day, upwardly mobile office workers flood the area’s cafés and restaurants. At Garage, a diminutive eatery, I dined on the Canadian snack poutine (French fries smothered in gravy). The owner told me this used to be a rough neighbourhood, “but the floods washed away everything, even the bad parts.”

The liveliest place in the neighbourhood, Lokál, a gastropub, was packed every night; Veltlin, a bar that only serves wine made from within the old border of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was similarly crowded. But you sensed a difference in the clientele: while the younger locals might gravitate to Vršovice, if you’re over 30, Karlín could be more your style. It certainly was for me – at least, once I’d learned to stop taking milk in my coffee.

Essentials

Flights from London Heathrow to Prague with British Airways (britishairways.com) start from £50 each way. At Czech Inn, dormitory beds start from £4, rooms with a shared bathroom start at £32, and rooms with a private bathroom start at £35 (czech-inn.com)

By David Farley

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Ten Of The Best Food And Drink Secrets In Europe

With its momentous history, cutting-edge culture, and breathtaking landscapes, Europe comprises an extraordinary wealth of sights, sounds, peoples and parties. But it’s the endlessly varied cuisine that makes us reach for our passports again and again. Whether you’ve been to Europe once or 100 times, this European menu of lesser nibbled delights has plenty of places for you to sip and feast your days away. And more hidden gems await in our Secret Europe PDF.

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Norcia, nestled in the Italian countryside, is famed for its cured meats, wild boar sausage and other carnivorous delights. Image by Thomas - Photography / CC BY 2.0

Eat and drive in unexplored countryside in the Sybillini Mountains, Italy

This drive, which is also manageable by bike or horse, epitomises the best of Italy’s secret countryside, combining great, local food and jaw-dropping scenery. Straddling Umbria and the lesser-known Le Marche region, the 28km trip between the village of Norcia on the Strada Provinziale 477 (or ‘SP477’) winds its way through the tranquil Sibillini Mountains, to the tiny town of Castelluccio. In the spring and summer, the spectacular approach to the valley takes your breath away. The bright blue sky frames fields bursting with colour from thousands of bright red poppies and even brighter yellow rapeseed flowers, dotted with grazing sheep and horses. In the distance is the hilltop town of Castelluccio, famous for its world-class lentils and worth exploring for the traditional, rural feel of its cobbled walkways and rustic trattorias. Save your appetite for the drive back to Norcia, the original home of the norcinerie, or pork butchers, whose streets are littered with shops peddling and restaurants serving the town’s pork and truffle products and local specialty of wild-boar sausage.

For more about this area, check out Lonely Planet's Italy travel guide.

Follow the locals’ lead in Bergen, Norway

Potetkjelleren (‘Potato Cellar’) is one of Bergen’s finest restaurants, the sort of place that food critics rave about but attracts more locals than tourists. The dining area has a classy wine-cellar ambience, the service is faultless, and the menu (which changes monthly) is based around the freshest ingredients, Norwegian traditions and often subtly surprising flavour combinations. The wine list is also impeccable. Save this one for a special occasion and prepare to leave with a whole new respect for Norwegian cuisine.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet Scandinavia travel guide.

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The sun-kissed vineyards of Switzerland's Lavaux region, in the day's last light. Image by Yves Marcoux / Design Pics / Perspectives / Getty Images

A quietly coveted wine region in Lavaux, Switzerland

With pristine waters, cute local beaches and an impressive network of walking trails, the picturesque wine-growing region of Lavaux is one of Europe’s best-kept secrets. Situated in French-speaking western Switzerland on the northern shores of Lake Geneva, Lavaux has all the beauty of the Italian lakes but a low-key sense of chic. Its microclimate gives it an almost Mediterranean feel in the summer months, when locals don swimmers, shades and sandals to revel in the best backyard in central Europe. To sample the region’s best wines, don’t miss the villages' many caveaux (wine cellars). The Caveau des vignerons de Lutry, in the lakefront town of Lutry, is popular, and Rivaz’s Lavaux Vinorama offers the region’s largest selection of local wines for tasting and sale.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's Switzerland travel guide.

Savour a unique macaron in Amiens, France

With a cathedral twice the size of Paris’ Notre Dame, it’s sacrilege that this town is seldom visited. Amiens’ cathedral is a marvel of engineering, with intricate stonework that will leave you goggle-eyed, as well as some of the goriest carvings around (the severed head of John the Baptist is a recurring theme). And the local delicacy, the macaron d’Amiens, will please even the sweetest of teeth: try one at Jean Trogneux (trogneux.fr), where five generations of artisan baking have left the simple recipe of honey, almonds, sugar and egg whites unchanged. These succulent cakes are best served with an impossibly thick chocolat chaud.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's France travel guide.

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Morinj in Montenegro: heaven for fish lovers. Image by Witold Skrypczak / Lonely Planet Images / Getty Images

Dine in style in Morinj, Montenegro

A crystalline stream flows around and under Konoba Ćatovića Mlini, a rustic former mill that masquerades as a humble konoba (a simple, family- run establishment) but in reality is one of Montenegro’s best restaurants. Watch the geese idle by as you sample the magical bread and olive oil, which appears unbidden at the table. Fish is the focus but traditional specialities from the heartland village of Njeguši are also offered.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's Montenegro travel guide.

Secret crustacean capital in Vila do Bispo, Portugal

Seafood lovers won’t want to miss a journey to the sun-drenched town of Vila do Bispo in southern Portugal. This tiny settlement is one of the finest spots on the planet to sample those tender, unusual crustaceans known as percebes. A percebe, with its juicy snap, mouth-watering flavour and faintly salty finish is like a kiss from the sea. You’ll either love or hate its extraordinary taste. Though percebes are known throughout Iberia, it’s here in Vila do Bispo that fishermen still harvest by hand the small barnacles that attach themselves to the wave-beaten cliffs outside of town. This is one of the few places in Iberia where this is still done – a sustainable practice that goes back many generations. Two Vila do Bispo restaurants are dedicated to percebes: Solar do Perceve (Rua Comandante Matoso 4) and O Palheiro (Rua Carlos Luís Correia Matos 3).

For more on this area, see Lonely Planet's Portugal travel guide.

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Curious-looking but lip-smacking crustaceans, percebes, await their fate. Image by Trishhh / CC BY 2.0

The perfect picnic in Paris, France

Parisian foodie favourite, Claus, on rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, is part cafe, part gourmet grocery, and has everything you need for a picnic. It’s also about a five-minute walk from one of Paris’ loveliest lounging spots. Hidden beneath the arches on the western side of the courtyard gardens of Palais Royal, you’ll find benches overlooking box-hedged flowerbeds, crunchy gravel paths and Daniel Bruen’s distinctive zebra-striped columns at one end. Pick a spot and settle in for the perfect Parisian picnic. 

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's Paris city guide.

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A spoon-defyingly thick hot chocolate in Prague's Cafe Louvre. Image by LWYang / CC BY 2.0

Sip in secret cafés, Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is well known for its grand cafés, but raise your sights: the city’s most refined and atmospheric downtown cafés are all on the first floor, wondrously ignored by the visiting masses. The period interiors are stunning, the coffee unfailingly perfect. Try the Grand Café Orient above the Cubist Museum, decorated in such detailed sympathy even the cakes come garnished with an oddly angled wafer. Or the fin de siècle Café Louvre (cafelouvre.cz), perched over an entirely forgettable modern rival, which was a favourite with Kafka and Einstein, and serves a fabled hot chocolate you can stand a spoon up in.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's Prague & the Czech Republic travel guide.

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A cascade of sun-ripened grapes in Georgia, one of Europe's lesser known producers of excellent wine. Image by jb / CC BY 2.0

Tap into a hidden world of wine, Kakheti province, Georgia

In Georgia, where wine has been made for 8000 years, the grape has sacred significance, and the heart of wine-making here lies in the eastern province of Kakheti. Here, the Alazani River waters a fertile valley between two dramatic ranges of the Caucasus. At the northern end, a distinctive turret-shaped 50m spire belongs to the 11th-century Alaverdi Cathedral, part of a monastery complex where wine has been made for 1500 years. After a hiatus during Communist rule, wine is once more being produced at Alaverdi. Come sip.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan travel guide.

Sip, stare and shop in secret in Berlin, Germany

Some of Berlin’s finest bars, restaurants, shops and venues are hidden from view behind unmarked doors, in nondescript buildings and in other clandestine spaces. For one, beyond an anonymous steel door lies Tausend, a cosmopolitan drinking den tucked into a railway bridge. At Sammlung Boros, a Nazi-era bunker has been turned into a shining beacon of art. Entry is by guided tour only; book online as early as possible. And you’d be forgiven for walking right past the empty white cube with only a staircase spiralling down to Apartment, one of Berlin’s best-edited fashion emporiums.

Start planning your trip with Lonely Planet's Berlin city guide.

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The grey exterior of the Sammlung Boros hides a decadent world of modern art and cocktail sipping. Image by Lian Chang / CC BY 2.0

Eager for more lip-smacking Europe secrets, or perhaps the lesser-known road trips, historic castles and secret beaches? Look no further, we have 50 of the very best in our FREE eBook, Lonely Planet's Secret Europe. Download it here.

Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/europe/travel-tips-and-articles/ten-of-the-best-food-and-drink-secrets-in-europe#ixzz3iQCFBg94