Take me there: Greenwich peninsula
Why go?
Fifteen years ago the idea that this stretch of riverside wasteland could ever become a new cultural hub for London would have seemed, at best, wildly optimistic. But since then, the blighted Millennium Dome has been reborn as the 02, one of the world’s most popular concert venues, and an ambitious regeneration project has seen new housing, hotels, restaurants and public gardens springing up in this once-neglected corner of the capital.
What to do
The Emirates Air Line cable car whisks passengers from the Royal Docks high above the Thames and into the heart of the peninsula (emiratesairline.co.uk). Dizzying views can also be had from Up at The O2, a guided walk across the canopy of the venue’s iconic dome (theo2.co.uk). Next month sees the opening of the Peninsula Garden – a new green space with its own kitchen garden, orchard, beehives and smokehouse, and an amphitheatre hosting music, cinema and outdoor theatre. A fête will be held on 10 May to mark the garden’s opening (urbanvillagefete.co.uk). Take in a contemporary art exhibition at Now Gallery (nowgallery.co.uk) or some “immersive theatre” at the Jetty, a temporary performance space on a disused Thames coal jetty (thejettygreenwich.co.uk).
Where to eat
Craft London is a collaboration between chef Stevie Parle and designer Tom Dixon (craft-london.co.uk). The café has opened and the restaurant, cocktail bar and food shop launch later this month, with meat cured on-site and home-made bread.
Where to stay
The Pilot Inn is a little slice of “old Greenwich” – a Georgian pub with colourful, quirky bedrooms and a seasonal menu (doubles from £120, pilotgreenwich.co.uk).
Insider tip
Liam Nelson of Craft London recommends arriving by river bus (thamesclippers.com). “You get a great view of the Antony Gormley Quantum Cloud sculpture rising from the river. The sense of light and space here is unlike anywhere else in the city.”
Give me a break
Home: glamping in the West Country A shipping container may not sound like the most glamorous base for a holiday, but it’s one of a handful of new and unusual holiday pads to appear on Classicglamping.co.uk, a website dedicated to glamping in the West Country. Half-tin, half-tent, the accommodation, nicknamed ‘Rusty’, has been converted into a high-spec home for four, in a wildflower meadow, near Mullion, south Cornwall. Prices from £387 a week.
Away: cut-price apartments in Barcelona Barcelona apartment rental site Only-apartments.com is offering 25% off bookings made before 30 April, and up to €250 worth of Barcelona ‘experiences’ for free, including a show at the Palacio del Flamenco and a day’s bike rental. Prices range from £37 per night for a studio in the funky Raval quarter to £154 per night for a two-bedroom Modernist gem with a pool in Gracia.
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