Paris has so much to offer and there is so much that meets the eye that you usually overlook the potential of its environs. And, understandably so. There is so much to be enthralled by in the “City of Light” that you can easily run out of time and energy to venture beyond the limits of that vast, beautiful city. But, if you do get the chance to spend more than a long weekend in Paris, or you’re lucky enough to travel there fairly often, make a point of taking public transport or hiring a car to head for some of the spots we recommend in the following.

Versailles – Europe’s Largest Palace

The Palace of Versailles is an old favourite that should be on any wish list of places in the vicinity of Paris. The radiance of Louis XIV’s crown jewel is due not only to the palace’s architecture and opulent interiors, but also to the magnificent gardens surrounding it, including such gems as the Trianon Palaces and the Estate of Marie Antoinette.

What during Louis XIII’s reign was no more than a modest hunting lodge was transformed, in the times of his successor, into the lavish construction that would become the official residence of the King of France.

Situated less an hour away from Paris, it can be reached in comfort on the Versailles Express bus, or by train on the RER C line.

Fontainebleau – More Than a Forest and Castle

Just over an hour’s drive south of Paris lies this veritable green lung, the Forêt de Fontainebleau, a forest covering no less than 20,000 hectares. It is criss-crossed by paths you can walk or cycle down, or negotiate on horseback, and it even features rock-climbing facilities in certain spots.

A source of inspiration for 19th-century artists, who came here freely in order to capture its light, the forest had already seduced France’s monarchs centuries earlier, when they made it one of their favourite recreation areas for retreats or hunting. This led to the construction of the Palace of Fontainebleau, originally built in the 12th century. Numerous refurbishments commissioned by a number of monarchs over the centuries yielded the grand architectural work we see today – one of the largest palaces in France. Even Napoleon was seduced by its charm and it was precisely on the fantastic Horseshoe Staircase – also known as the Staircase of Farewells – that he bade farewell to his Old Guard before departing into exile on the island of Elba.

Chantilly – Apart From its Delicious Cream

Famous worldwide for its delicious cream with a vanilla aroma and situated 50 kilometres north of Paris, the town of Chantilly breathes elegance and is well worth visiting. Among its main attractions is the Château de Chantilly, comprising two buildings – the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in 1870, and the Petit Château, built around 1560. Be sure to spend some time in the amazing gardens with their geometrical patterns surrounding the palace, the work of La Nôtre, who also designed the gardens at Versailles and the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. Make sure you also visit the Condé Museum, housed in the Grand Château, as it boasts a fine collection of books, manuscripts, drawings and paintings.

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte – the Blue-Eyed Boy

Louis XIV was so jealous of the beauty of the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte that he ordered its owner, Nicolas Fouquet, to be imprisoned. It also acted as the source of inspiration for the construction of Versailles. With such sterling credentials, your getaway to the Paris environs simply must include what is one of the most beautiful castles in France, although, oddly enough, it is not very well known by the public at large.

This sparkling jewel is located in the small town of Maincy, 60 kilometres from Paris. Participants in its construction included the architect Louis Le Vau, the painter Charles Le Brun and the gardener, André Le Notrê. One of its highlights is the spectacular Oval Salon, 19 metres long by 18 metres wide, which is unique in the history of French architecture.

Make haste to explore the gems awaiting you on the outskirts of Paris – book your Vueling here.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Ninara , Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Daniel Villafruela , Pierre-Alain Bandinelli, Olga Kontsevich

Venice is a city in north-eastern Italy made up of 118 little islands separated by canals and joined by bridges. It is famous because of the beauty of its setting, and its architecture, and its art. This is why the whole city, including the famed lagoon, has been designated a World Heritage Site.

It is named for the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region in the tenth Century before Christ. The city is known variously as La Dominante, la Serenísima, the Queen of the Adriatic, the City of Water, the City of Masks, and the Floating City. In a piece inThe New York TimesLuigi Barcina described it as "the most beautiful city ever built by man”. It is universally regarded as one of Europe’s most romantic cities, where visitors can enjoy the waterway, gondolas, palazzos, old treasures, and delicious cuisine, as the water laps ceaselessly against the walls of fabulous churches and other ornate buildings. A boat ride down the Grand Canal makes you feel like a figure in an old painting.

Venice is an open-air museum. Its architecture, monuments, and buildings reflect its Byzantine heritage, and nowhere more strikingly than in the mosaics of the Basilica de San Marcos. Very near the Piazza de San Marcos (St. Mark’s Square),we find the Palazzo Ducale (Doge’s Palace), where the city’s ruler once dwelled, and which exemplifies the ostentation of the Renaissance period. Visitors may descend to the gloomy palace dungeons, and then get some fresh air on the famous Ponte dei Sospiri (Bridge of Sighs), where prisoners often caught their last glimpse of the Adriatic.

The city’s main street isn’t a street at all, but the celebrated Grand Canal. This is a good place to buy a City Pass, the most economical option for moving around Venice on its vaporetto water buses, with many stops along the Grand canal.

One of the numerous mansions along the canal is the sumptuous, 14^th C. Palazzo de Santa Sofia; better known as the Ca d’oro, (house of gold), because the abundant gilt in the polychrome and white marble exteriors that once made this lovely Gothic building shine like a jewel. There is also the famous Rialto bridge, which retains all the elegance that made it such a sensation when it was completed in 1591, 400 years after the first pontoon bridge was built on the site.

A city’s true character is often to be found in its markets, and Venice has two that should not be missed by visitors. One is the Erbaria product and fish market in the Rialto district, where you should check out the local asparagus and artichokes. Then there is La Pescheria for a dazzling variety of mainly local fish and seafood.

For connoisseurs of Italian cuisine, the Riva del Vinis the place to find the café or restaurant of your dreams in a quiet riverbank setting. Other excellent restaurant districts are Campo Santa Margherita, with its floating terraces, Zattere, where you can watch the sun set over the Laguna Veneto, and the streets near the fashionable Campo Giacomo di Rialto,where many Venetians take their “aperitivi” in the late afternoon. Try a Spritz and a snack of delicious codfish. The classic Venetian recipe for Spritzes, by the way, is 1/3 dry wine like Prosecco, 1/3 soda or bubbly mineral water, and 1/3 sweet Aperol or bitter Campari.

Outstanding amongst the city’s numerous museums is the Guggenheim, with possibly the continent’s best collection of European and American art from the first half of the 20^th C, housed in the old Palazzo Venier dei Leoni on the Grand Canal, where it was opened in 1980 to show Peggy Guggenheim’s personal collection, masterpieces from the Gianni Mattioli collection, a garden of sculptures by Nasher, and temporary exhibitions.

To view the city in all its splendour from a distance you can take a number 42 vaporetto at the San Sacaria stop in St. Mark’s Square to the island of Murano, passing the Fondamento Nuove and stopping to visit the San Michelle cemetery, a “cemetery island”, where you can see the graves of such luminaries as Igor Stravinsky, Joseph Brodsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Ezra Pound, and Luigi Nono.

If all the water makes you hanker for a beach, there’s the legendary,Lido –a 7-mile long sandbar in the lagoon– with its many stylish cafes and restaurants.

To really discover Venice, you need to get lost there, so use the vaporettos freely and get off at any stop –the streets are safe even after dark. And a night-time visit to St. Mark’s Square is an experience you will always treasure.

Venice. There’s simply nothing like it. However often you visit, the surprises keep coming! Now’s the time to book a flight there with Vueling. Check out our prices here!

Photos: Fernando Sanz
Text: Tensi Sánchez de actitudesmgz.com

Bad-minded gossip says that the city of Apostol is the biggest village in Galicia, which paradoxically is something that true-blood Santiago-dwellers take to be a compliment. And it is, because as a parameter for quality of life, there is greenery and vegetation on every corner of the ancient city, and it makes it special. Green clambers over the seven hills; it invades all of the stony gutters in the streets; it even dares to boldly play with the façade of the cathedral.

In "Huertas", the back garden of Obradoiro, urban and rural mix mimetically, without any kind of ego struggle. The city has lately succumbed to the unstoppable advance of the green element. Compostela has always had a kind of contest between the weight of its history and modernity. The presence of what is old is counteracted by ragingly modern avant-garde architecture, and has turned the great green spaces into a network of world level parks. More than a garden city, it is a garden with districts inside it.

Let's assume that the stone forest has overwhelmed you by its beauty, and you now want to meditate. We suggest taking a green route to see a unique side of Compostela. This would be my list of top Compostela parks.

1.-The Eternal Alameda Park. It is not new. It is the nineteenth-century park par excellence. At the foot of Porta Faxeira, and separating the old and new areas, it has been clothed in the history of the city since last century, when it was turned from a private estate into one of the most beautifully classical parks in the world. It has everything it needs to make you fall in love: hundred-year-old trees with their dry, twisted trunks; the Herradura walkway, also called the Cholesterol walk - for recovering from an excess of Galician food; the most beautiful views of all sides of the town; fountains; churches; wrought-iron benches from the turn of the century; and the bandstand that is essential for any provincial city worth its salt.

2.-Bonaval. Design and modernity near the old area: From a domesticated park, we go to a magical place that embraces the historical quarter. The old monastic garden of Santo Domingo always had a slightly esoteric side. Abandoned for years, its soft sloping terraces were taken by Siza and turned from a leafy park into a highly modern piece of design work. Meticulously pruned green areas, caves, an ancient graveyard integrated into the park, and magnificent views of the cathedral are all blended with the existing old stone structures and ruins. Water, cave and "strange" shapes make it modern, enigmatic and special.

3.-Banks of the Sarela. An enchanted forest in the centre of the town: two rivers cross Compostela, in the Barrio del Carmen. When eco-hiking became really fashionable, a decision was made to restore their abandoned banks and make the most beautiful urban-rural walk I have seen. The several kilometres of incessant water of the winding Sarela, babbling springs between wooden footbridges, stone bridges, thick forests and even abandoned tanning works make the place a natural, rustic garden - in the heart of the city.

4.-Belvís. Monastic splendour behind the old part of town: Belvis is a watercourse that was always considered a green backbone to the East of the historic quarter. And it was always abandoned. A passageway between Virxen da Cerca and the traditional Belvis, this park highlights the beautiful hills that surround this hollow. It is a real gift for your eyes: the splendid monasteries of Belvis and the Seminary at the top, the stony Santiago that rises up above, and an always silent and scenic park, whose maze is a perfect place to lose yourself.

5.-Vista Alegre Park. The park of surprises. The wealthy Simeón family opens its small palace and magnificent garden. You enter through the two old gates to the property that are always open, and the pink country-house has all the elements of the Galician country-house, such as the chapel, galleries, etc. If the garden were the prototype of any powerful family, special effort was put into dressing each of its corners with the most florid avant-garde architecture. The SGAE headquarters like the Flintstones' house; Casa Europa; Escola de Altos Estudios Musicales; the Natural History Museum. Four avant-garde structures that lend the finishing touch to a classical garden.

By Fran Camino

Its industrial past well behind it, but true to its roots, Bilbao is today a modern, cosmopolitan city offering the finest cuisine, music and, in particular, art and architecture. Indeed, ever since the Guggenheim Museum opened to the public in the mid-1990s, the Basque capital has become a magnet for devotees of contemporary art and architecture. In tandem with the museum’s inception, the city saw an upsurge in urban renewal – historical constructions were restored, stunning modern buildings erected and the estuary precincts were integrated with green areas and the layout of a metro network, designed by the likes of Sir Norman Foster. Hence, Bilbao is currently one of Europe’s best cities to live in. Here, then, is our tour of its most groundbreaking museums and buildings.

Around the Guggenheim Museum

This monumental building designed by Frank O. Gehry is an icon of the transformed Bilbao and an international art and architectural yardstick. It is rewarding to saunter around the building and become enveloped in the curves on its facades, and in awe of the famous Spider by Louise Bourgeois, or the acclaimed Puppy by Jeff Koons. Venturing into its interior, however, is a unique experience. Wandering through the steel labyrinth of The Matter of Time, by Richard Serra, or visiting the noteworthy temporary exhibitions that pass through the Guggenheim, is something all art lovers should make a point of doing.

Near the museum stands La Salve Bridge. While is has been spanning the estuary since 1972, it was not until 2007 that the French artist Daniel Buren added its famous Red Arch. Also worth seeing and adjoining the Guggenheim is the New University of Deusto Library, by Rafael Moneo, with its monolithic volume and rounded corners.

Just behind it stands the Iberdrola Tower. Designed by César Pelli, this 41-storey, 165-metre-high tower with its dramatic appearance is the tallest building in the Basque Country. It is flanked by the Viviendas Ferrater housing project, two luxury buildings designed by Carlos and Lucía Ferrater, Xavier Martí and Luis Domínguez. Opposite them lies the Plaza de Euskadi, by the landscape architect, Diana Balmori.

The Museo de Bellas Artes – A Contemporary Classic

Located near the Plaza de Euskadi, opposite Doña Casilda Park, the Museo de Bellas Artes provides an enhancement to the great collections of classical European art with its selection of top-notch works, including a Lucretia by Lucas Cranach the Elder and paintings by Francisco de Goya, El Greco and Zurbarán, while the contemporary section features paintings by Miquel Barceló and Francis Bacon. Here, you can actually travel from ancient times to the 21st century. To cater for such a variety, the building, originally dating from 1945, was upgraded incrementally, leading to its current appearance. The latest renovation has endowed both the exterior and interior with a leading-edge look. It dates from from 1996, when Luis María Uriarte opened new spaces and added the structure and glass foyer which now provide access to the museum.

Strolling Along the Estuary

The ría, once a dark, polluted estuary, was converted into one of the recreational areas of choice for Bilbao’s residents. Part of this upgrade is due to the Isozaki Atea (Isozaki Gateway) project, an ensemble of seven buildings designed by the Japanese architect, Arata Isozaki, in collaboration with the Bilbao architect, Iñaki Aurrekoetxea. Opposite this precinct stands the Zubizuri Bridge, Santiago Calatrava’s contribution to Bilbao, although also the most controversial landmark in the city.

The Alhóndiga and Osakidetza

Venturing into Bilbao’s Ensanche district will inevitably lead visitors to the Azkuna Zentroa or Azkuna Centre, better known as the Alhóndiga, a former wine exchange which has now been converted into a vibrant hub of leisure and culture. Originally completed in 1909 to a design by Ricardo Bastida, it was innovative for its time on account of the architect’s use of such materials as reinforced concrete. Following an overhaul assigned to architect Philippe Starck, it re-opened to the public in 2010 as a multi-purpose centre.

A short distance away, you get the impression of suddenly having stepped into the heart of Europe  when confronted by the Osakidetza (Public Health building), unmistakeable for the polyhedral design of its facade, by Juan Coll-Barreu.

Before leaving Bilbao, be sure to visit the city’s metro which, designed by Sir Norman Foster, is said to be one of the best in the world.

Book your Vueling to Bilbao and delight in its museums and magnificent buildings.

Text and images by Aleix Palau for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS