London
Greener dining at Acorn House
Indulge in ecological gastronomy at a restaurant which focuses on quality, seasonal food and locally-sourced ingredients.
This means that everything, from the basil in your salad and the mozzarella in your starter to the sustainable wild salmon in your main course and the strawberries in your truly British pud, has been left to grow until it reaches its peak of ripeness or maturity. All waste, including food and any packaging, is recycled, so your leftover salad will become the compost which grows tomorrow’s tomatoes. It’s a tasty example of the healthy state of British cuisine.
69 Swinton Street
London WC1X
+ 44 (0) 20 7812 1842
booking@acornhouserestaurant.co.uk
www.acornhouserestaurant.co.uk
Greener shopping at Terra Plana
Terra Plana’s 99% recycled trainers help you travel in green style. Buy a pair of funky trainers or hot high heels at Terra Plana’s Covent Garden store and you are likely to be stepping out in reused t-shirts, fireman’s trousers, coffee bags, car seat leather, jeans and rubber scraps from the factory floor. Put on a pair of these shoes and put your best foot forward – these shoes were definitely made for walking... And running and jumping.
124 Bermondsey Street
London Bridge
London SE1
+44 (0) 207 407 3758
64 Neal Street
Covent Garden
London WC2H
+44 (0) 207 379 5959
www.terraplana.com
Greener sightseeing at City Hall
Once you’ve seen the Beefeaters at the Tower of London opposite, hop over Tower Bridge to City Hall. You’ll be able to see London’s stunning skyline and say hello to the Mayor of London in his iconic green HQ.
A sweeping spiral ramp takes you 10-storeys up - all the way to the top. By day its steel-and-glass skin shimmers in the sunlight, by night its interior skeleton is lit up for all to see. The whole structure is built to consume 25% less energy than a regular office building, thanks to its scientifically-designed, sloping-sphere shape which conserves heat in winter and keeps things cool in summer. Bureaucracy has never been quite so beautiful or so clean.
Open 8am-8pm Monday to Friday and some weekends.
City Hall
The Queen’s Walk
London SE1
www.london.gov.uk/gla/city_hall
Greener visiting with Solarshuttle
London may not be known for its glorious sunshine but it still receives enough to power the Solarshuttle, sailing you around Serpentine Lake with no CO2.
For a unique view of central London, forget dodging joggers and swap dry land for a peaceful potter on the water by jumping on this unusual craft. Whatever the weather, the Serpentine Solarshuttle generates all its energy from its solar-panelled roof to power itself around the lake in the heart of Hyde Park (and any excess electricity gets fed into the national grid). It’s a stylish and green way of getting around, just like Eurostar’s new carbon neutral journeys, which get you from Paris to London in only 2h 15.
The Boathouse
Serpentine Road
Hyde Park
London W2
+44 (0) 20 7262 1330
www.solarshuttle.co.uk
Greener scenery at Royal Botanic Gardens
The Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew may be a peaceful place to visit when London takes its toll, but its main purpose is conserving the planet in all its green glory. Their unique seed bank holds 700 million botanical species in order to help preserve endangered habitats.
Inside Kew Garden’s Victorian Palm House are 100s of tropical plants; you’ll find the world’s oldest pot plant, a cycad which arrived in 1775, happily growing older near the feather-like tamarind plant, the secret ingredient of Worcester sauce, one of England’s favourite condiments – it transforms cheese on toast into a gourmet dish (deserving of a Michelin star… almost).
Kew, Richmond, Surrey TW9
+44 (0) 20 8332 5655
info@kew.org
The Continent
Explore more of Europe with Eurostar. Travel on our new faster carbon-neutral journeys from London to Paris, Brussels or Lille and connect to 100s of Railteam destinations...
Amsterdam
Greener gastronomy at Restaurant De Kas
For the choicest address in town, head to Restaurant de Kas. Their tiny menu is perfectly formed, offering a taste of the day’s pickings fresh from the kitchen’s greenhouses and nearby farmland. Whatever is ripe and in season will make an appearance, so forget about asparagus in winter and pears in May, or pineapple anytime, this is about celebrating natural, local food cycles. It’s good to know that your dinner hasn’t travelled 1000s of miles to reach your plate. In fact, in the case of the basil, tomatoes, fennel, chillies, strawberries and figs it’s approximately 120 centimetres.
Kamerlingh Onneslaan 3
1097 DE Amsterdam
+31 (0)2 04 62 45 62
info@restaurantdekas.nl
www.restaurantdekas.nl
How to get there: For Amsterdam change at Brussels.
Greener travelling with Sloepdelen
Early morning is ideal for a canal trip. Float silently through the silver-plated waters, admiring the elegant facades of the ancient Dutch houses of the Jordaan district. Sloepdelen’s electric boat-hire scheme means you can pick up one of the sturdy sloops and glide through the city while releasing no CO2 emissions and leaving the waterways just as you found them. Take a picnic or moor up along one of the waterside cafés for an alfresco breakfast and bring a whole new meaning to relaxing in Amsterdam.
There are two boat hire stations (Borneosteiger (in Zeeburg) and Singelgracht (in Westerpark), Amsterdam
+31 (0)2 06 93 40 15
info@sloepdelen.nl
www.sloepdelen.nl
How to get there: For Amsterdam change at Brussels.
Rotterdam
Greener penguins at Oceanium
A state of the art ‘sunport’ at the Oceanium at Rotterdam zoo means that the penguins are kept at a cool 10-12°C thanks to the power of the sun’s rays. A shimmering 4,438 solar panels cover the 4,000 m2 of roof space. All the energy produced goes directly to keeping the King Penguins at a comfortable temperature and making sure that their 8-metre-deep pool is icy cold – perfect for a post fish-feast dip. Next on the agenda is a wind turbine to power the turtle house.
Rotterdam Zoo
Blijdorplaan 8
Rotterdam
+31 (0)1 04 43 14 95
www.rotterdamzoo.nl
How to get there: For Rotterdam change at Brussels.
Antwerp
Greener learning at Ecohuis
Welcome to the water disco, where the average person’s water usage is revealed in glowing UV for all to see. And when you’ve learnt your lesson, head to their eco-café for an eco-feast.
Turnhoutsebaan 139
2140 Borgerhout
+32 (0)32 17 08 11
ecohuis@stad.antwerpen.be
www.eha.be
How to get there: For Antwerp change at Brussels. Remember, you get 24 hours of free onward travel throughout Belgium with your Eurostar ticket.
Lyon
Greener pedal power with Velo’v
For a cleaner, greener travel option discover Lyon by bike. From bridges to backstreets, everything looks more enticing on two wheels. And when you get weary, peddle to a bouchon and refuel with the local delicacies.
This city has made 3,000 bikes available to anyone who wants to travel cleanly as they make their way from A to B. For a real work out make your way up the hill at Fourvière and visit the Roman ruins for a stunning birds-eye view of the buildings below. Then free wheel all the way down to your eatery of choice.
0800 08 35 68 (France only)
www.velov.grandlyon.com
How to get there: For Lyon change at Lille.
Poitiers
Greener hospitality at Les Orangeries
Everything, from the paint on the walls to the light bulbs in the chandeliers, the soap in your bathroom and the food on your plate is an example of eco-friendly luxury in France’s first Ecolabel hotel.
And to keep your environmental footprint low throughout your stay, hop on the hotel’s electric bikes and order another bottle of organic wine (best not to do both at the same time).
12, avenue du docteur dupont
86320 Lussac-Les-Châteaux
+33 (0)5 49 84 07 07
orangeries@wanadoo.fr
www.lesorangeries.fr
How to get there: For Poitiers change at Paris.
Paris
Greener gardens at Musée du quai Branly
Welcome to the vertical veggie patch where 150 species of plant life grow sideways, encouraging biodiversity into the depths of the urban Parisian jungle.
37, quai Branly
Portail Debilly 75007 Paris
+33 (0)1 56 61 70 00
www.quaibranly.fr
Greener commuting with Ve’lib
Let’s face it, you need to be above ground to see the best of Paris and if you Paris is best discovered on two wheels. With pedal-power you can leave the well-trodden trails and head off to explore the little eateries beloved by locals, where steak tartare or onion soup tastes truly authentic. And best of all, using one of the city’s 15,000 Vélib’ bikes is the perfect digestif after an extravagant dinner (just don’t have too much wine or you’ll be wobbling all the way home).
www.velib.paris.fr
