Artists of Gdansk
Marcel Theroux visits Poland's famous shipyard to find out how the strikes of the 1980s inspired a generation of artists
Marcel TherouxShehani Fernando
Krakow Twitrip – mapped
Here's a map - including pictures, audio and video - of Benji Lanyado's epic Twitter trip around Krakow
Benji Lanyado
The locals’ guide to Barcelona and Madrid
Bloggers from the Spotted by Locals network share tips on the Spanish capital and its Catalan rival - from one of Ferran Adrià's favourite bodegas to a restaurant dedicated to Javier Bardem
BARCELONA
Jai-CaSpotted by Yolanda Molinero
The crowded tapas bar Jai-Ca offers an authentic Barceloneta experience: tapas, Barça player pictures hanging on the walls, noise and dirt on the floor. But don't let this scare you off, because this is the essence of all the best and more authentic bars. Just have a quick look at the display of tapas: shrimps, navajas, croquetas, calamares, pimientos del padrón… you name it, they have it. My favourite is the tigre - pieces of mussel with sauce fried in the shell with bread crumbs. Just delicious! And the best thing about this place is that you are always pleasantly surprised when they bring you the bill!
• Ginebra, 13, Barceloneta, +34 (0)933 195002. Open daily 12pm-3am
GelonchSpotted by Bill Sinclair
This is something special - somewhere to visit maybe three or four times a year. Exquisite food prepared by Robert Gelonch, one of the most inventive chefs currently trading in the city, coupled with a strong wine list. Though the entrance colours and typography suggest a kind of 1970s retro vibe (and hints of Clockwork Orange), the very contemporary tastes you'll encounter when dining here will disabuse you of the notion that Gelonch is some kind of throwback. You have a choice – a lunchtime menú del día for just €19, or an evening special nine-course tasting menú for €52.50. You will not be disappointed. How could you be with such dishes as frozen apple coconut foam, iced mint, lemon confit, caramelised cream and black olives? Yep, that's right – black olives in a dessert. There are so many intriguing combinations in each dish – artichoke stuffed with mushrooms, pig's trotters with prawns – cookie-sized pizzas – that every bite is a pleasant surprise. Some claim the food here is the culinary equivalent of a pointillist painting. It's a good analogy. Each component has individual flavour – but it's the inventive combinations that delight the palate. It may seem expensive but, honestly, when compared with other establishments in the city, (where often the food is mediocre), it's surprisingly good value for a memorable experience. Gelonch will soon, I'm convinced, have an international reputation, so get here ahead of the herd.
• Carrer Bailén, 56, Eixample, +34 (0)932 658298, gelonch.es. Open Tue-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm & 9pm- 11:30pm
Quimet i QuimetSpotted by Bill Sinclair
Situated on a street between the lively heart of Poble Sec and the busy, wide avenue of Parallel, this small bodega serves exquisitely prepared plates of tapas. It's a busy, bustling little place, with no seats and only two tables – it's shoulder to shoulder standing-room only, and there's often a small crowd on the street outside. The bodega serves its own label Belgian bottled beers and its own-label cava. The walls are lined from ceiling to floor with bottles of beers, wines and spirits from around the world. But it's the food that makes this bodega very special – simple but delicious cheeses, cold meats, canned seafood, caviar and vegetable patés served on bread or with bread sticks and transparent fruit-flavoured jelly conserves, all lovingly arranged on the plate like an artwork. It is one of Ferran Adrià's favoured spots for tapas in Barcelona. It's just a few doors up the street from the Rouge lounge bar, so you could make an evening of it: drop by at Quimet i Quimet for a bite then call into Rouge for drinks, music and atmosphere. Be aware that Quimet i Quimet is only open until 4pm on Saturday, and does not open on Sunday.
• C/Poeta Cabanyes 25, Poble Sec, +34 (0)934 423142. Open Mon-Fri 12pm-4pm & 7pm-10.30pm, Sat 12pm-4pm. Closed August
Ras Bookshop and GallerySpotted by: Sonja Pöhlmann
Ras is probably one of the most interesting bookshops in town and is owned by the Barcelona-based Actar editorial. Specialising in architecture, design and art, it offers a variety of books and magazines from international publications. Besides being a book store, Ras is also an exclusive gallery exhibiting contemporary art and design, and is one of the gathering points for Barcelona's urban scene, as it offers many books on street art.
• Calle Doctor Dou 10, El Raval, +34 (0)934 127199, rasbcn.com. Open Tue-Sat 12pm-8pm
La Pedrera BarcelonaSpotted by Bill Sinclair
An exhibition space I visit regularly – sometimes revisiting the same exhibition three or four times – is situated in La Pedrera – the famous apartment building designed by Antoni Gaudí. They have an excellent exhibition programme with talks, debates and activities. Right now, until 26 June, there's an absolutely brilliant exhibition called Eating Art – From the Still Life to Ferran Adrià, featuring works by Picasso, Dalí, Joseph Beuys, Piero Manzoni, Juan Gris, Sarah Lucas, Richard Hamilton, Ben Nicholson, Zurburán, Daniel Spoerri, Dieter Roth and more. Well worth a few visits. Though a tour of the building, and spectacular rooftop, will cost you €11, entrance to the exhibition space is free. The exhibition programme promotes a good balance of solo retrospectives and shows about movements or moments in art history. The shows, always accompanied with well-written notes, help you reappraise or recontextualise work by artists often overlooked because they didn't quite fit with the prevailing mood or movement of the time. If you can understand Spanish, it's worth doing one of the free guided tours of the current exhibition on Fridays at 6pm.
• Passeig de Gràcia 92, Eixample, +34 (0)902 400973, lapedreraeducacio.org/eng/index.htm. Open daily10am-8pm
Tram-TramSpotted by: Bill Sinclair
You'll find TRAM-TRAM in Sarría, an interesting, well-heeled barrio above Diagonal. This family-owned, family-run restaurant is a good spot for small get-togethers or a romantic rendezvous, and a good introduction to contemporary Catalan cuisine. Unlike at many restaurants in the city centre, you will not have to raise your voice - you can actually hear yourself, and your companions, speak while you eat. Isidre Soler, the chef, (who spent time training with Ferran Adrià at El Bulli) takes evident painstaking pride in the preparation and presentation of his exquisite dishes. The food – original variations on classic dishes such as seafood paella and cochinillo (suckling pig) – is flavoursome without being rich, and is very, very good. The €38 fixed price evening menu offers a starter, a first course, a second course, served with bread, and a dessert or cheese plate. Wine is extra. The menú del día is just €29, or you could try the executive menú at only €19. The wine list offers a selection of 150 excellent unpretentious wines, and €16 will buy you a very tasty bottle. Service is very good, if a bit formal. Having said that the very knowledgeable maitre'd will help you navigate the menu, and off-menu specials. (An English version of the menu is available.) All in all, excellent value and highly recommended. Why TRAM-TRAM? Well, the Number 12 tram used to stop outside.
• Major de Sarriá, 121, above Diagonal, +34 (0)204 8518, tram-tram.com. Open Tue-Sat 1.30pm-3.30pm & 9pm-11.30pm
MADRID
Tapas y FotosSpotted by Aneta Quraishy
This is a great bar in the heart of Lavapiés, really close to the popular Calle Argumosa. The owner is an ardent photographer and you'll find some great photos displayed on the walls lining the bar. Apparently, when he bought the bar the wallpaper was so distasteful he just had to do something about it. Luckily he stumbled over some old photos he'd taken and decided to make a more interesting wallpaper creation. Most are in black and white and well worth having a closer look at. The drinks are cheap and although the tapas on offer are few, they are good and home-made. I recommend the chicken (pollo hortelano) and the potatoes (papas arrugas) with the sauces (mojo and mojo picante). Every first Thursday of the month sees the bar hosting poetry readings; every second Thursday short story readings. Both start around 9.30pm but check at the bar as everything is subject to change. Oh and don't worry if you find the place empty – it fills up quick and there's charm in just chatting to the staff.
• Calle Doctor Piga, 7, Lavapiés & Latina. Open Mon-Fri 7pm-2am, Sat-Sun 1pm-2am
Bardemcilla – Eating with Javier BardemSpotted by Nikko Hinderstein
My favourite Javier Bardem role is from the 1982 film Jamón Jamón, where he plays a garlic-breathed beefcake. If you like garlic, you'll love this restaurant run by his family which pays tribute to Bardem's screen successes by naming the dishes after his various films or roles. You feel like you're in the Bardem living room because the place is decorated with family heirlooms and photos of young Javier. If you forget to make a reservation, you can hang out at the bar, but don't miss out on the food (note, lunch isn't served until 1.30pm and dinner service starts around 9pm). The menu selection covers the whole gamut of Spanish cooking, with lots of fried foods and ham and a few salads. The portions are big, so the dishes are perfect for sharing – the croquetas "Jamón Jamón" are great, as is the morcilla "Mas fea del mundo" (the ugliest blood sausage in the world) and the tortilla "Mar Adentro" ("The Sea Inside" Spanish omelette).
• Calle Augusto Figueroa 47, Chueca & Malasaña, +34 (0)915 214256, labardemcilla.com. Open Mon-Fri 12pm-5pm & 8pm-2am, Sat 8pm-2am
La TabacaleraSpotted by Aneta Quraishy
The Tabacalera is a new space in Madrid. In the eclectic barrio of Lavapiés, you can visit a huge, self-managed, thriving arts centre. Housed in an old tobacco factory, it is a space reminiscent of old factories in Berlin. There are daily film screenings, exhibitions, courses and performances and all are organised in a quite ad-hoc manner. Swing dance and salsa nights are organised on every second Thursday and newly scheduled swing vermú (vermouth) on occasional Sunday afternoons (starting at noon). Beer costs only €1 and the place is full of Madrileños. Initially this place was meant to only be open until March 2011 but has remained thanks to popular demand.
• Calle Embajadores, 53, Lavapies & Latina, latabacalera.net
Fundación Caja Madrid MadridImage by Nikko Hinderstein
The Fundación Caja Madrid is a great art space often overlooked in the centre of town. It shows parts of the visiting exhibits from the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum (across from the Prado), but you don't have to pay an entry fee here. I absolutely recommend paying to see the Thyssen collection and their shows (and I love the cafe), but should you find yourself near Sol or the Royal Palace in need of some (more) culture, this is the place. The building itself is beautiful inside and out, and shows usually change every two or three months. If you need to revive yourself after your art break, the Valor Chocolate shop is around the corner and the San Ginés chocolate shop is not far away, either.
• Plaza de San Martín 1, Sol, +34 (0)913 792349, fundacioncajamadrid.es. Open Tue-Sun 10am-8pm.
Ermita de San AntonioSpotted by Nikko Hinderstein
In comparison with Goya's bizarre dark paintings and prints, the restored luminous fresco ceilings at the Ermita de San Antonio - his final resting place - seem bright and cheerful. But sneaky Goya added a bit of street life – grungy stone workers, prostitutes, dogs and kids playing to add a little intrigue. Luckily, King Carlos IV approved it when it was completed in 1798, and the chapel has since become known as Goya's masterpiece. His tomb is marked by a marble slab at the altar, while most of your attention is directed upwards to the ceiling via mirrors so you don't hurt your neck. Saint Anthony is considered the go-to saint for marriage set-ups, so on his feast day, June 13, single ladies flock to the Ermita. Next door is a replica of the chapel: it is still used for religious services. If you're hungry, go next door to Casa Mingo.
• Paseo de La Florida 2, Moncloa & Arguelles, +34 (0)915 420722. Open Tue-Fri 9.30am-8pm, Sat-Sun 10am-2pm, free admission
Sorolla MuseumSpotted by Nikko Hinderstein
You may not know the artist Joaquín Sorolla, but you've probably seen his paintings in a museum or two. He did his thing back in the late 1800s and developed a gentle realistic touch in his paintings of family and friends. Sorolla is one of the many who has fallen under the beautiful spell of the Alhambra in Granada. While constructing his house (which is now the museum), he put in various reminders of the Alhambra, down to designing the garden with a mini version of one of the main fountains. The house itself is set up to display not only his artwork, but works by his friends, and the decor ,which he either designed or painted. Of note is the dining room, which features painted angelic versions of his wife and children floating on clouds. His studio is the central focus of the house, with a high ceiling and light from almost all sides. The museum is a little off the beaten track of Madrid's museums, but it's walking distance from the Fundación Lázaro Galdiano.
• General Martinez Campos 37, Castellana, +34 (0)913 101584, museosorolla.mcu.es. Tue-Sat 9.30am-8pm, Sun 10am-3pm. Entry €3
• These are edited extracts from the Spotted by locals blog
SpainBarcelonaMadridCity breaksEuropeguardian.co.ukEast London’s top 10 budget eats
Guardian Travel is currently compiling a thorough overview of London's best budget eateries. In his second instalment, Tony Naylor heads out east, into Shoreditch, Hackney and beyond
If we've missed your favourite tell us on our Word of Mouth blog
Part one: Central London's top 10 budget eats
On the face of it, let alone in a "budget eats" feature, £5.70 seems an awful lot to pay for a bacon butty. It is one of the themes of this series, however, that – particularly when you're eating on a tight budget – value is more important than cost. And the St John bacon butty is indisputably worth every one of those 570 pennies. It comprises two large chargrilled slices of proper artisan bread from the on-site bakery, thickly buttered and liberally stuffed with Gloucester Old Spot bacon. The rashers have a good three-quarter-inch rim of gloriously silky translucent fat around their outer edge. In its generosity, its use of supreme ingredients, in its hilarious disregard for anything you might describe as healthy eating, it is Fergus Henderson (owner of this and the more famous parent restaurant, St John) on a plate. There are also kippers, pikelets or, if you really insist, porridge and prunes available for breakfast, but that bacon butty will set you up for the day like nothing else. From 11am, Bread & Wine – a pleasingly spartan former bank – serves elevenses, cakes and whatnot. Then, from lunch onwards the menu consists of small 'n' large plates (£4-£15), which people mix 'n' match, splashing the cash. That said, if you can squeeze in for a simple bowl of celeriac and bacon soup, do (£5.90).
• Breakfast £2.60-£5.70, elevenses cakes £2.90. 94-96 Commercial Street, E1 (+44 (0)20-3301 8069, stjohnbreadandwine.com)
The tile work at this Brick Lane bakery has seen better days, but then you might look a bit tired yourself had you been serving fresh breads, pastries and filled bagels to hungry Londoners, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week since the late 1970s. Beigel Bake is a legendary stop-off for late-night revellers, but you will find queues of varying lengths here whatever time of day you drop by. In a place where filled bagels start at 90p, spending £3.50 on one may seem rash. But the warm salt beef bagel is worth it. Tasty, moist, gelatinous thick-cut braised brisket on a fantastic dense, chewy bagel, served with peppy mustard, it is simple but satisfying stuff.
Filled bagels from 90p. 159 Brick Lane, E1 (+44 (0)20-7729 0616)
There is not a lot of individuality or joy in Canary Wharf. People are too busy making money. Escape its soaring glass and steel boulevards, however, and, a short walk away, you will find Tom and Ed Martin's polished gastropub, the Gun. An oasis of laughter, clubbable informality and good food, it is also a fine place in which to consider the mad folly of the Millennium Dome, visible across the Thames from the pub's waterside terrace. There is a proper restaurant section at the Gun, but the budget traveller should grab a table in the back – by the toasty open fire – and give the bar menu the once-over. There, you will find the likes of homemade fish finger sandwiches, a cheeseboard, devilled whitebait or a half a pint of prawns at under £10 a head. A sausage roll (£4.50) is a substantial slab, more lunch than a snack. A hunk of soundly sage-seasoned, smoothly ground, juicy sausage-meat in a perfectly bronzed, buttery thin pastry, it is seriously good stuff. It's like the best Christmas Day stuffing ... ever. A sample pint of Fuller's London Pride (£3.50) is as lively as it can be, which is not very. It is a definitive boring brown bitter.
• Bar menu available for lunch and dinner, from £4.50. 27 Coldharbour, E14 (+44 (0)20-7515 5222, thegundocklands.com)
This cafe at Hackney City Farm is a refreshingly rough 'n' ready, slightly ramshackle place. But for the steady stream of young mums and toddlers coming through the door, you might mistake it for some arty, hipster hang-out. Which, this being Hackney, it kind of is as well. There is a small deli section and ice-cream counter, but it is worth settling in and sampling Italian chef Eddy Ambrosi's blackboard specials, such as pappardelle pasta with a slow-cooked pork ragu, pressed organic brawn terrine or a wild British mushroom risotto. Much of the produce comes from farms in Kent and Essex, and, depending on seasonal availability, Frizzante's own veg patch. A portion of lightly cured salmon and scrambled eggs, topped with a particularly zingy creme fraiche and chives, is huge (£6.50). Bright swirls of orangey yolk suggest good eggs, although personally I think they could have been creamier. There is a fine line between scrambled eggs and omelette.
• Food served until 4pm. Breakfast £4-£7. Daily specials from £5. Hackney City Farm, 1a Goldsmiths Row, E2 (+44 (0)20-7739 2266, frizzanteltd.co.uk). Second branch at Surrey Docks Farm, Rotherhithe, SE16, open Wednesday to Sunday
From breakfast to late-night cocktails, this trendy cafe-bar is, laudably, trying to do lots of important things well. Food-wise the emphasis is on labour-intensive, from-scratch making and baking, running the gamut from bar snacks, like the Pearl's little pots of homemade pork scratchings (90p), to fantastic, fragrant apple, cinnamon and clove muffins (£1.80). A bowl of parsnip soup is warm, wholesome, properly seasoned and vibrantly fresh in flavour, and arrives with good bread. That day's chalkboard menu includes appealing dishes such as lamb and caper hash with fried egg (£8.20). Breakfast includes the kitchen's own granola, sweetcorn fritters with chilli jam, and bubble 'n' squeak. A sample coffee was disappointing – buying Square Mile coffee is one thing, treating it with the respect it deserves is another. Note: the evening menu is more expensive, with most main dishes topping £10.
• Breakfast £3.50-£7.50, soups/sandwiches around £4.50, daytime mains £7-£9. 11 Prince Edward Road, E9 (+44 (0)20-8510 3605, thehackneypearl.com)
An utterly predictable choice, perhaps, but there is a reason why everyone raves about Tayyabs. This Pakistani grill and curry house is very, very good. How can you not love a restaurant where, on a sunny Tuesday lunchtime, the staff have to throw open the doors in order to let out a sudden build-up of aromatic smoke from those famous tandoor ovens? Tayyabs' long-marinated grilled lamb chops (four for £6) remain one of life's great savoury pleasures, the meat essentially a delivery vehicle for a complex hit of sweet 'n' smoky, hot 'n' spicy flavour, edged with a crisp, blackened strip of fat. Don't be surprised to find yourself gnawing the bone long after the meat has gone. There is no standing on ceremony at Tayyabs and eating in here can be a pretty quick turnaround experience. On busy weekend evenings particularly, you are not encouraged to linger at your table. But at these prices (curry and rice around £7-£8) this is exceptional food: conscientiously cooked, sparkily spiced and lifted by liberal use of fresh herbs. Seeing it in daylight for once, Tayyabs is quite a smart space these days, too.
• Starters from 95p, mains from £5.20. No alcohol sold, BYO no corkage. 83-89 Fieldgate Street, E1 (+44 (0)20-7247 6400, tayyabs.co.uk)
Such is the cluster of Vietnamese restaurants around the Kingsland Road/Old Street junction, they probably deserve a feature in their own right. Cay Tre is a good place to start your exploration. With its fashionable black 'n' white wallpaper and multicoloured lighting, the space itself is very modern Shoreditch, but in terms of its accumulated knowledge and skill, the cooking harks back generations. You could spend a long time trying to discern exactly what has gone into the clear, light broth that makes Cay Tre's pho (Vietnamese noodle soup) stand out. Packed with fresh coriander, spring onions and, in my case, beef, it is neither as salty nor as hot as you might imagine, but instead reveals new ingredients (star anise, garlic, roasted onions, cinnamon, some sort of base meaty, umami flavour) with each mouthful. It is a delicate clean soup with a nonetheless serious depth of flavour. The accompanying noodles are great, too. As a takeaway, this "small" pot of goodness is enough for a solid lunch or light dinner and costs just £3.50, which makes it all the more remarkable. Eating in at Cay Tre, the pho dishes are affordable throughout (around £7), but, at night, a main meat or fish dish plus rice might nudge £10. If you need to stick rigidly to a budget, then at lunch and before 6pm, the menu offers various "one-dish meals", such as lemongrass-marinated barbecue pork with bun (cold vermicelli noodles) or mixed seafood with jasmine rice, at £6.50-£8.
• Takeaway dishes £3-£8, starter/main deal £9.50. 301 Old Street, EC1 (+44 (0)20-7729 8662, vietnamesekitchen.co.uk)
Victoria Park is currently in the midst of major renovation work, which means this lakeside cafe is currently lacking its lake (it's been drained) and its usually picturesque views (unless you love mud and industrial diggers). But still, on a dull Wednesday morning it is packed, such is the quality of the food. Superior, seasonal ingredients are confidently handled in everything from sandwiches to a beef shin stew with turnips, sprouts and rye bread. The Pavilion will prick the interest of vegetarians, too, with unusually thoughtful dishes like sprouting broccoli, crushed artichokes and soft boiled egg on toast, with a hazelnut dressing. A plate of eggs Benedict easily passes muster, although it has been left to linger on the pass. It is lukewarm rather than hot. It is also worth noting that the Pavilion gets very busy with mums, giddy toddlers and buggies. Anti-social singletons who want to eat at its communal tables in peace may want to take a paper (the Guardian, of course) and an iPod.
• Breakfast £2.50-£8.50, sandwiches £4, hot dishes £5-£8. Takeaway available. Victoria Park, corner of Old Ford Road and Grove Road, E9 (+44 (0)20-8980 0030, the-pavilion-cafe.com)
If confirmation were needed that Shoreditch has lost its edge, the arrival of Terence Conran's boutique hotel and restaurant, the Boundary, is surely it. Its gentrification is now almost complete. Still, on the upside, the site's newer ground-floor deli-cafe, Albion, is a great place to eat. And we can always do with more of those. Look beyond the shelves of HP Sauce and Yorkshire Tea (we get it, the Albion is a celebration of Englishness) and you will find some good, and good value, food here. You can eat in the "caff" – a big Conranesque canteen space – for under £10 a head if you're careful, but with so many good things to take away from the deli section, why bother? There are made-to-order sandwiches, savoury pies and tarts, biscuits and cakes, and chilled drinks of a Meantime Brewery/Fentiman's quality. A sample pork and chutney pie in thick, glossy pastry is superb. A slice of Bakewell tart is, whilst an expert bit of baking, possibly a bit too refined for its own good. The jam is spread a little too thinly along the base and, consequently, the almond filling lacks the requisite sweet fruity tang. But still, overall, well worth a visit.
• Cakes and biscuits from 55p, snacks/sandwiches £2.50-£5. 2-4 Boundary Street, E2 (+44 (0)20-7729 1051, albioncaff.co.uk)
There are no end of places on Stoke Newington Road cooking kebabs on traditional Turkish ocak grills. Opinions vary, of course, as to which ocakbasi restaurant is the best, but Mangal – a 1993 entrant in the Good Food Guide and still listed in the 2011 edition – has a proven track record of producing superlative meats over many years. The restaurant proper is a little expensive for this piece (main dishes from £9), but, out front, takeaway customers can choose from 13 types of kebab (marinated lamb, chicken wings, lamb chops, quail, etc), which the grill chef then moves up and down a great trough of hot charcoal with patient authority. It is worth getting a takeaway just to watch him at work. Boldly seasoned with chilli, garlic and parsley, the minced lamb beyti kebabs are sensational, an explosive combination of heat, carbon and hot lamb juices. Moreover, you get two eight-inch kebabs, a small, discus-like loaf and a great mixed salad (it includes everything from gherkins to pickled radish) for £6. It could easily be split between two for lunch.
• Takeaway kebabs from £5.10. Arcola Street, off Stoke Newington Road, E8 (+44 (0)20-7275 8981, mangal1.com)
Tony travelled from Manchester to London with Virgin Trains
LondonRestaurantsBudget travelTop 10sFood and drinkFood & drinkRestaurantsUnited KingdomTony Naylorguardian.co.ukFCO travel advice mapped
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issues travel warnings and advice for British citizens. See the snapshot they paint of the world today
• Get the data
The world is a scary place right now; what with the Japan disaster and the Arab and Middle East unrest. Where's safe to go to? Well, for British citizens, the safety of foreign countries is ranked by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office - the FCO.
The FCO regularly issues travel advice for British citizens, telling them where is safe to go. It's obviously not the only foreign office in the world to do this - the US State Department does too, for instance.
But the criteria are very different. The US issues 34 warnings for its citizens of places where
the US Government's ability to assist American citizens is constrained due to the closure of an embassy or consulate or because of a drawdown of its staff.
So, as well as dangerous places like Iraq, it includes countries like North Korea or Iran, which have no US embassy.
The UK's definition is broader. It covers 53 countries where either no travel at all or essential travel only - to the whole country or part of it - is recommended. It's all about safety. The definition means there are no restrictions on travelling to North Korea for instance - it just doesn't take account of whether or not you'll actually be able to get there.
We thought it would be interesting to take a snapshot of those ratings - reflecting the turmoil in the world today. You can see the result above using Google Fusion tables - you may be able to do better (we had problems mapping Gaza and the West Bank, for instance).
It's a fascinating picture - not only of the UK's world view - but also of conflict, disaster and terror in the world today.
There are a load of caveats. Many of the warnings are against travel to specific regions - a distinction you won't see on the map above. That includes countries like Russia, for instance - where the FCO advises against travel to regions caught up in violence, such as Chechnya or North Ossetia. The FCO also combines Israel and the Palestinian Occupied territories into one travel bulletin.
You can download the full data below. What can you do with it?
Data summaryDownload the data
• DATA: download the full spreadsheet from Google Fusion tables
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