Travel

Tony Clayton-Lea talks us through some of the best walking tours from Dublin to Madrid.

Five of the best walking tours

The Edinburgh Medical Tour
Edinburgh is medicine crazy throughout 2006. You can blame the recent Quincentenary of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSE) for the increased interest in all things medicinal. This is a leisurely walk around the city, meaning you'll have little trouble in negotiating several gorgeous historical buildings and squares.

What's To Like? There are fascinating insights into the way in which pioneering physicians discovered certain things, such as antiseptic surgery and the use of chloroform as an anaesthetic. You might not, however, enjoy the full explanation of bloodletting.

Contact: The Edinburgh Medical Tour is available for pre-booked groups only (minimum 8 people; £8.50 per person. 10 per cent of the ticket price is donated to charities). The tour lasts approximately 90 minutes. Contact (0044) 131- 5576970; website: www.edinburghmedicaltour.com
or email: moreinfo@edinburghmedicaltour. com

How to get there: Aer Lingus and Ryanair operate daily flights to Edinburgh.

New York
New York streets, sights and sounds.
These are essentially neighbourhood walking tours so unless you're staying upstate, time, location and distance shouldn't be a problem. The walks include Brooklyn Bridge and Brooklyn Heights, Central Park, East Village, Times Square, Greenwich Village, Harlem, the Bowery, and the Upper East Side.

What's To Like: The guides at Big Onion Walking Tours comprise Ph.D. students and/or history doctorates, so it's an understatement to say that they know what they're talking about. Most tours start early afternoon, so they're not going to spoil your morning shopping or your evening plans.

Contact: All tours are available for private and group bookings - group sizes range from 1 to 300 participants. The tour hotline is 212-4391090; website: www.bigonion.com email: info@bigonion.com

How to get there: Aer Lingus and other carriers operate daily flights to New York.

Madrid
Food & Wine Tour
If you like the idea of walking through Old Madrid at night and visiting a variety of authentic Spanish restaurants that thoccasional visitor wouldn't have the remotest idea to locate, then this is the tour for you. There are no airs and graces on display here, no one trying to outdo the other with their knowledge of this or that ingredient, or this or that wine. Rather, it's a down-to-earth approach for down-to-earth people.

For the infrequent visitor to Madrid is that it instantly provides you with a list of restaurants to return to on subsequent trips. Contact: Tours are conducted five days a week - Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday - and commence at 7:45pm each evening. The tours last up to three hours. The cost is less than '50, and includes all the food tasting, five different wines, and tour guide services. Reservations can be secured by contacting Walks of Spain at (0034) 653-912879; email: info@walksofspain.com
website: www.walksofspain.com

How to get there: Aer Lingus operate daily flights to Madrid.

Krakow
City tour
Krakow is one of the jewels of Eastern Europe, a city that rarely hides it beauty. There are several other tours you can undertake when you're here, and these are probably better for the frequent visitor. If, however, you haven't visited before - or are a sporadic visitor with not much time to spare - then this walking tour is perfect.

What's To Like: The route takes in the following: the Old Town, the Royal Route, the Old Town Market Square, the Cloth Hall, St. Mary's Church, Florianska Gate. Contact: Polish Tourist Board,
0044-208-7415541.

How to get there: Aer Lingus and other carriers operate regular flights to Krakow.

Dublin
Rock'n'Stroll
We admit it's a cheesy title for a walking tour of Dublin's rock and pop landmarks and highlights, but that aside it's something of a must for those who want to find out where the U2 Wall is (Windmill Lane), in which café Sinead O'Connor worked as a waitress (The Bad Ass Café, Crown Alley, Temple Bar), and in which restaurant Chris de Burgh literally sang for his supper (Captain America's, Grafton Street).

What's To Like: Even for the hardened music fan, it's genuinely interesting. You don't know which famous coffee house Bob Geldof hung around in waiting to be famous? You're not sure where U2 played their very early Dublin gigs? You'll know after this tour.

Contact: Dublin Tourism Centre,
Suffolk Street, Dublin 2.