There's no better time to travel than during a global financial meltdown. Price wars between airlines have led to plummeting ticket prices, and posh hotels are practically giving away their beds. Promotions on all kinds of products – ranging from hot chocolate to haute couture - make it possible for even unemployed bankers to get a taste of the good life. We asked our local bloggers to uncover the best deals, and to tell us about the simple and inexpensive pleasures that can always be found in their cities. With cheap tickets and insider advice, there's no reason why a shrinking economy should stop you from expanding your horizons.
London
Image from '28 Days Later'
Interest rates have been cut again and still no one is spending. Oxford Street reminds me of the film '28 Days Later' where London is deserted except for a few flesh-eating zombies; the markets of East London, quiet just before Xmas when you would expect people to be spending heavily, seem to be dying.
This is worrying for the Britain’s finances. But if you do go shopping it does mean that you won’t have to wade through crowds, you will be served promptly by desperate staff eager to help and prices have been slashed. And you can do this safe in the knowledge your actions have been sanctioned by Gordon Brown himself.
The smart restaurants that would not even pick up the phone last year are now offering bargain “Credit Lunches.” Take Le Gavroche for example. They now offer a lunch for £48. That’s for 3 Michelin stars and includes wine. It’s not just Le Gavroche, all London restaurants are offering cheap lunches. I am now almost a regular at Kensington’s Launceston Place for their £18 set meal. One place on 171 Farringdon Road in Islington, the Little Bay Restaurant, even lets its customers decide how much they want to pay for their meal. We’ll see how long they stay open for.
Don’t forget that the pound is as weak as new born lamb so your dollars, euros and zloty are now worth more. If you can, like me, be paid in foreign currency then you get to play the tourist in a developing country but in London! Once proudly one of the most expensive places on earth London is now almost affordable. £3.50 for a pint of beer? Why that’s only 4 euros!
Inside Princess Louise Photo: Kelpenhagen
But you don’t even need to pay that much. For some reason lost in mists of time some of the most beautiful central London pubs are owned by a Yorkshire brewery called Samuel Smith’s. They only sell their own brand alcohol so you get Bitter for under £1.80, Lager for £2 and a double Scotch for £3. Pubs such as the Princess Louise in Holborn or The Champion in Fitzrovia are perfectly preserved examples of Victorian pub architecture. That’s where real Londoners are sitting out the recession. It’s better than borrowing more money to buy more things you don’t want even with such tempting interest rates.
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