By Eddy Lara from DestinosActuales.com

The Scandinavians deal with death in a very different way to Latin cultures. Their perception is completely different and they fully accept what is actually an inevitable part of life. One of the best manifestations of that different approach is the way in which they conceive their cemeteries: small cities with immense green areas where people can not only go to visit the remains of a loved one but also get in touch with nature.

Skogskyrkogården Cemetery or the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm is one of the most representative pieces of modernist architecture to be found in any of the Scandinavian countries. It was designed by the architects Erik Gunnar Asplund and Sigurd Lewerentz in 1915 and the idea was to adapt it to the woodland surroundings in which it was built. There is a crematorium and three chapels: the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the Chapel of Resurrection and the Woodland Chapel, the latter containing a replica of the Angel of Death sculpture. The cemetery was declared a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1994.

Besides the architectural beauty of this cemetery, its most striking feature is the importance given to nature. It has been designed to help everyone who comes to bid farewell to their loved ones overcome the pain of their loss but also to accept that loss and, therefore, attain inner peace. This is one of the greatest achievements of the place. Spending time here generates an indescribable feeling of inner peace… you forget you are in a cemetery or rather you begin to perceive death from a completely different perspective.

The remains of the most famous Swedish actress of all time can be found at this cemetery: Greta Garbo. If you have the opportunity to visit this place when travelling to Stockholm, make sure you do. It will not leave you indifferent and perhaps you’ll start to see death through optimistic eyes, or at least less dark than many of us imagine it.

Imagen de Holger.Ellgaard

So you feel like visiting Stockholm, do you? Book your flights here!

Although the economic crisis has left its mark in the capital, as some buildings along its central streets have become noticeably decadent, Athens is well worth visiting, and enjoyment is to be had in its marked array of contrasts.

If you’re on a weekend getaway, the best thing is to organise your short stay by touring specific districts in the capital. And, the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to get around is undoubtedly by metro.

1. Plaka

One of the most authentic districts in Athens, with a rich Byzantine and Ottoman legacy. Indeed, this is the city’s oldest quarter and all the historical architecture is strictly protected.

Its siting at the foot of the Acropolis, its quaint, Bohemian atmosphere, its narrow, cobbled streets and the absence of cars make this one of the favourite districts among sightseers. It is a veritable oasis in the heart of a chaotic city.

Plaka is full of street markets, shops and bars. It is the ideal area for buying traditional products and antiquities, or for tasting local cuisine. However, keep an eye on the prices! This quarter is your springboard for seeing ancient monuments, notably theAcropolis,the Acropolis Museum and the Roman Agora.

2. Monastiraki

Northwest ofPlaka, between theAgoraand theAcropolis, lies one of the city’s major commercial hubs. Monastiraki is also the name of one of the oldest and most centrally located metro stops in Athens. It also features the added value of an unusual display – the archaeological finds that emerged during the construction of the underground.

The city was also the site of a Turkish settlement for over 300 years, so that nowadays you can still see the influence of that culture in such spots as the Tzistarakis Mosque or the Turkish baths.

Landmarks in the historica lMonastiraki Square include such emblematic buildings as the Church of the Pantanassa, the Tower of the Winds and Hadrian’s Library, in addition to the Pazari or flea market with the most diverse wares on display in its open-air stalls.

Adrianou Street is a pleasure to stroll along, as it is lined solid with interesting shops and bars. Highly recommended is Collage, a cafe-restaurant where you can eat great food, listen to live music or sip a fine cocktail on their terrace, soaking up the cool ambience all the while.

3. Gazi

This is the most stimulating, switched-on area of the city. It revolves around Technopolis, its cultural centre, the largest in Greece, housed in a former gasworks. The district started coming to the fore after the 2004 Olympic Games. This is the most chameleon-like district of Athens with a proliferation of endless pop-ups. The cultural and leisure activities hosted here draw the most avant-garde, cosmopolitan movements to this part of town.

Gazi has undergone marked changes. Where prostitutes and illegal immigrants once roamed, we now see haute couture fashion parades, while brothels have given way to cultural centres. The once abandoned 19th-century buildings have been refurbished as innovative restaurants noteworthy for their striking post-industrial decor. Standout examples are Hoxton and Gazi College.

For enthusiasts of vintage decoration and second-hand objects, Gazi is teeming with stores to browse through.

4. Anafiotika

This quarter has an unusual history. In the 19th century, King Otto of Greece commissioned his palace to be refurbished by prestigious architects from the Cyclades Islands. They chose to settle in the Anafiotika quarter but, feeling homesick for their native land, they decided to build their new homes in the traditional Cycladic-island style. The result is that we can now admire the typical blue-and-white houses lining cobbled streets with a pronounced seafaring air. Together with the squares, viewpoints and gardens, the complex has become one of the most picturesque areas in Athens. It stands out as a pretty “island” in the urban sprawl, affording idyllic views of the city and acting as a vantage point for gazing at some unforgettable sunsets.

5. Kolonaki

This is the city’s chic district with its upmarket luxury and designer stores. The neoclassical and Modernist architecture endows the area with a distinguished, stately air which becomes evident as soon as you set foot in it.

Located here are some of the city’s trendiest bars, pubs and discos. Mind The Gap is ideal for having a bite or your first drink of the evening, while Dybbuk is perfect for dancing to good music until daybreak. Athenians love enjoying their social life, both during the day and by night, a fact we became aware of when experiencing the congenial atmosphere in the local venues, which always seem to be packed.

This district is adjacent to the famous Syntagma Square and is distributed around the foot of Lycabettus Hill, an excellent vantage point for taking in 360° views of the city.

Athens is a destination that should take pride of place on your calendar! Make sure you book your Vueling soon!

Text by Tensi Sánchez of ilovebilbao.com

Images by Aurora Loudeiro

Those who think cultural tourism is a 21st-century invention are well off course – Venice invented it long ago. Intent on setting the city under the international spotlight, the first International Art Exhibition ever was held there in 1895. That is, the Venice Biennale, which has continued until this day.

The undisputed artificer of the avant-garde art pulse – Documenta notwithstanding – the Biennale has run into its 57th edition without losing steam. Six months full-out, from 13 May to 26 November, during which the city is invaded by contemporary art, which takes over both land and sea. What with vaporetti, churches and palazzi, we visited the city of canals to soak up the latest trends, soon to descend on museums and art galleries across half the globe. Let the Grand Tour begin!

Survival Manual

A cautionary word to all navigators – moving through the Biennale is no mean feat. The key – comfortable footwear, strategically placed accommodation and solid planning. The offerings are boundless and the spaces, gargantuan.

The main facilities are located at the Arsenale and the Giardini di Castello. Those are the sites of the official exhibition, Viva Arte Viva, as well as many of the 85 national pavilions dotting the island. And, as if that weren’t enough, the list is augmented by countless top-notch parallel exhibitions and events that have staked out their territory in the city’s historic buildings.

My advice – keep calm and don’t get flustered. The marathon only comes around every two years. Set aside three days on your agenda and you won’t succumb in the attempt. Take up lodgings in the area of Il Castello, the Biennale’s hard core, thereby avoiding vaporetto tickets. And, have a notebook on you and a camera with fully charged batteries so you can review the sights once you’re back home.

In the Giardini – the Cream of the Crop

Separating the wheat from the chaff can be exhausting. By way of a warm-up, we headed south-east, to the confines of the city. Located there are the Giardini di Castello, Venice’s green lung par excellence and the preserve of the national pavilions (a somewhat archaic idea, a reminder that the current Biennale is an updated version of the classical trade fairs of yesteryear). The fact is that in Venice each state has its own building to showcase to the world the cream of the crop of its contemporary art production, by way of an Art Olympics where the winner manages to show the most muscle.

While the Biennale is all about art, it is in fact also about power and architecture. In terms of the latter, some pavilions shine with a light of their own. Not to be missed are the Finland pavilion, built in timber modules by the luminary, Alvar Aalto, the father of modern Scandinavian architecture; the Austrian pavilion, the work of Josef Hoffmann who, together with Gustav Klimt, founded the Vienna Secession, and that of The Netherlands, its open forms highlighting the minimalist elegance of 1950s neoplasticism.

But, let’s get back to art and to the most talked-about offerings. The Golden Lion for the Best Pavilion was awarded to Germany, where artist Anne Imhof installed a glass floor under which performances displaying the world “as a kennel” take place. France depicts a musical space and recording studio, Studio Venezia, an installation designed by Xavier Veilhan where musicians and artists from all over the world perform. And Austria draws all the camera flashes with a lorry standing on its nose by Erwin Wurm, a playful proposal in a pavilion redolent with sculptures which visitors can interact and have fun with.

The Off Programme

Side shows, parallel exhibitions, talks, dialogues, performances and film cycles – no body is built to withstand Venice. Indeed, the official programme is rivalled by a series of first-rate artistic proposals staged in churches, foundations and museums around the city. Here, then, are the juiciest offerings in the Off-Biennale 2017.

Damien Hirst has hit Venice with a two-fold proposal. At collector François Pinault’s art spaces, the Punta della Dogana and the Palazzo Grassi, he has installed his latest eccentricities,including an 18-metre-high sculpture which rises into the firmament. In keeping with the British artist we are familiar with, his show is pure spectacle, and the perfect excuse to visit two historic buildings overlooking the Grand Canal.

The tiny island of San Giorgio Maggiore surrenders unconditionally to Michelangelo Pistoletto. A key figure of Arte Povera and one of the most prominent Italian artists, Pistoletto presents One and One Makes Three, an exhibition housed in an abbey designed by Palladio where he showcases a selection of his works created between the 60s and the present, also featuring his popular “Venus of the Rags”.

We wind up our marathon tour at the Palazzo Fortuny, a Venetian Gothic gem which rises between the Rialto Bridge and St Mark’s Square. This former home and studio of painter Marià Fortuny houses both the artist’s collection and temporary exhibitions. This time around, it is the turn of Intuition, a collective display dedicated to the evocative power of art and featuring such great names as André Breton, Joan Miró, Vassily Kandinsky, Marina Abramovic and Anish Kapoor.

Thus far our review of the Biennale, a centennial event which reinvents itself each year and showcases art to suit all tastes, interests and theories. We’re off to the canals!

Book your Vueling to Venice here

Text by Núria Gurina

Photos by: Andrea Avezzù, Jean-Pierre Dalbéra, Francesco Galli, g.sighele, imagea.org, Erin Johnson

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