You may have found The One (sigh), but there’s more than noe way to enjoy special time together. We’ve written the book of love and filled it with 50 ideas for romantic moments across the bmibaby network and that’s just the start! Turn over for inspirations…
BY JO CAIRD
1 Explore Amsterdam’s canals on a bicycle made for two
2 Do a chocolate-tasting course at Stettler Chocolates, fine chocolatiers in Geneva since 1947. Sensuous, decadent… all the things we like best – they even claim to sell unbridled pleasure! You’ll never settle for Milk Tray again.
3 Hire a private piloted boat to tour the Ria Formosa Natural Park, off Faro. Visit the Ilha Deserta, the only completely uninhabited island in the park and share a seafood lunch at O Estaminé restaurant, the only building on this sandy port of call.
www.portugalvirtual.pt/_tourism/algarve/faro/ukilha.html
4 Be immersed in wine in Bordeaux, with Caudalíe Spas’ “Di-vine Love Ritual”, which involves wine baths, facials and massages for you and your loved one.
5 Dine in darkness at Dans Le Noir, Paris, and let your senses lead you. Since 2005, and with the support of France’s second-largest foundation for the blind, this growing chain of restaurants aims to enhance your other four senses by taking away your sight for a couple of hours. We’re guessing touch would become crucial in these circumstances…
6 Experience a day of old world luxury aboard the Orient Express, complete with gourmet meals and champagne. UK departures are from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester and Nottingham.
7 Learn something new (and have a laugh!) at Amsterdam’s Sex Museum.
18 Damrak; 10am to 11.30pm daily.
8 Build up an appetite climbing the spectacular Arthur’s Seat, then go for a pub lunch and a game of skittles at the Sheep Heid Inn, the oldest pub in Edinburgh.
9 Let sparks fly at Alicante’s Hogueras de San Juan Festival, held every year at midsummer, which culminates in dozens of enormous bonfires throughout the city.
10 Vist the Norwegian Church, one of Cardiff’s most romantic and unusual music venues, featuring a cosy coffee shop with views over Cardiff Bay.
www.norwegianchurchcardiff.com
11 Be surrounded by hundreds of butterflies at Edinburgh’s Butterfly World.
www.edinburgh-butterfly-world.co.uk
12 For a magical experience take a sea-life boat tour from Macduff, near Aberdeen.
13 Channel Leo and Kate as the Titanic Trail in Cork walks you through the story of the most romantic ship of all time.
14 Let Loch Lomond Seaplanes whisk you from the River Clyde in the heart of Glasgow to beautiful Oban Bay.
15 Take in the astounding countryside at Ashford Castle, outside Knock, then adjourn to the Drawing Room for afternoon tea.
16 Not far from Marseille, rise above it all in a hot air balloon ride over the Provence countryside.
www.montgolfiere-provence-ballooning.com
17 Enact your own Elizabeth and Darcy moment at Lyme Park, in Disley, Cheshire, the location for Pemberley in the BBC’s Pride and Prejudice, just 13km outside Manchester.
18 Visit the Abelour distillery outside Aberdeen for a tour, then toast each other while you taste the whiskies.
19 Hold hands through the Bronze Age Holestone Marriage Stone, outside Belfast, and legend says you’ll have eternal love.
Holestone Road, Antrim; tel: +44 (0) 28 9442 8331.
20 Gaze adoringly into each other’s eyes at the world’s largest water mirror in Bordeaux.
21 The Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, 13km from Nice, offers a charming
way to learn about the great impressionist painter and sculptor.
Chemin des Collettes; tel: +33 4 9320 6107.
22 Feed each other on a fondue cruise, the ultimate way to experience Lake Geneva.
23 Listen together to classical concerts at the gorgeous St Michel de Cuxà abbey, outside Perpignan, during the Pablo Casals Festival (July and August).
www.prades-festival-casals.com
24 Hire a classic two-seater car and speed around Newquay’s gorgeous
countryside.
www.cornwallclassiccarhire.co.uk
25 Hide away together in a cosy Victorian “snug” at the Crown in Belfast.
26 Go hacking on horseback through the tranquil Nottingham countryside.
Lings Lane Riding Stables; tel: +44 (0) 115 937 2527.
27 Climb Prague’s Petrin Hill and Observation Tower. This mini-version of the Eiffel Tower has fantastic views over the city and makes a romantic spot to pop the question.
Mala Strana; tel: +420 2 5732 0112.
28 Go jewellery shopping in St Helier, Jersey, to ? nd that perfect ring and only pay a 3% goods and services tax.
King Street, St Helier.
29 If all these romantic moments have put you in a suitably lovey-dovey mood, why not pop up to Gretna Green, south of Glasgow, and make your union official?
30 Whisper sweet nothings as you breeze past Toulouse’s striking architecture in a bicycle rickshaw.
31 Share the découverte (discovery) menu at Le Petit Nice Passédat, Marseille, a series of wonderful dining surprises: eight dishes revealed to you only as they’re served.
32 Picnic on local delicacies such as empanadillas (like mini pasties), horchata (a refreshing drink) and turrón (a sweet) on Postiguet Beach below Santa Bárbara Castle, Alicante.
33 Enjoy a drink –and gasp at the view – from Cloud 23, the sky-high bar at Manchester’s Hilton, Deansgate.
www.beta.hilton.co.uk/manchesterdeansgate
34 Go to Alfama, Lisbon’s oldest neighbourhood and home to A Baiuca, a tiny restaurant where your meal will be accompanied by the haunting melodies of traditional Portuguese fado music.
20 Rua de São Miguel; tel: +351 2 1886 7284.
35 Cruise Toulouse’s canals by night for a romantic view of the pink city.
www..bateaux-toulousains.com
36 Book the sofa seats at the Electric Cinema in Birmingham and take advantage of the unique text-a-waiter service in this art deco gem.
37 Take a step back from Barcelona’s frenzied atmosphere with a wander in the tranquil cloister of Sant Pau del Camp, the city’s oldest church. Its name means it was once surrounded by countryside.
99 Carrer de Sant Pau, El Raval; tel: +34 9 3441 0001.
38 Experience all the excitement and passion of flamenco music when it’s performed at the Cante de las Minas Flamenco Festival in La Unión, near Murcia – held in August, it’s the most important flamenco festival in Spain.
www.fundacioncantedelasminas.com
39 Have an aperitif at the Café des Deux Moulins in Paris and relive the romance from the lovely film Amélie
15 rue Lepic, 18e; tel: +33 [0]1 4254 9050.
40 Play prince and princess on the towers and battlements of the Pena National Palace in Sintra, just 30km from Lisbon, the archetypal fairy-tale castle.
41 See behind the closed doors of Amsterdam’s most impressive houses on a private urban home and garden tour on weekends from April to October.
42 Go for aphrodisiacal oysters at the Café Royal Oyster Bar, an Edinburgh institution.
17a West Register Street; tel: +44 [0]131 556 4124.
43 Catch A Midsummer Night’s Dream at the picturesque cliff-top Minack Theatre, not far from Newquay, and discover that sometimes the course of true love does run smooth.
44 Drive into Almeria’s dark countryside and look for shooting stars far from the bright lights of cities.
www.home.att.net/~tangents/tech/astrocal.htm
45 Hold tight to each other while touring Geneva’s awesome scenery by helicopter.
46 Coo over baby animals at Jersey’s Durrel Wildlife Conversation Trust.
47 Hire a rowboat on Slovanský Island and rock gently on Prague’s Vltava River.
Tel: +420 6 0338 3409.
48 Walk east along the Malaga seafront to the Entremares Hotel and Restaurant, then share a seafood paella on its elegant terrace.
292 Avenida de Salvador Allende; tel +34 9 5220 4122.
49 Mix your beloved their own blend of wine at Château Lanessan, a 200-year-old Bordeaux winery.
50 Head for the candle-lit terrace of Palma de Mallorca’s historic Abacanto manor house for a signature cocktail overlooking the dreamy walled gardens.
