Raquel Micola was taught to sew when she was a young girl by her grandmother Fina, a dressmaker who specialised in repairing bullfighters’ costumes when they had been ripped by the bulls’ horns. It was from her grandmother that Micola inherited the penchant for perfection and learned the value of craftsmanship and the importance of paying attention to detail. She is now the designer of the fashion label Mimótica Micola (Provença 174, Barcelona) and here she takes us on a journey through Paris and introduces us to some of her most beloved parts of the city.

If there’s one city in the world that I never get tired of visiting it’s Paggggisss, my Paris. I fell in love with the city a long time ago but every time I go there I discover new places and leave even more besotted than before, if that’s possible.

The first time I wandered along the streets of Paris I was fascinated by the way they make everything seem “all pretty”, which is something I just love! Wherever I looked there was always something that made it seem special in some way or another, and I’m not talking about designer boutiques or art galleries, I’m talking about bakeries, cobblers…. que’l merveille!

It was there that I discovered one of my favourite brands of clothing, APC. They are French designers with a number of shops around Paris. Personally, I like to shop at their store in the Marais district (112 Rue Vieille du Temple). Their style is understated but you feel surprisingly special in one of their designs.

Another one of my favourite places is Merci, which is a concept store that has made the infamous Colette brand appear demodé. The place is very industrial and simple, and the way in which they display their merchandise is… pure class. It’s impossible to leave without purchasing some of their desk accessories, notebooks, pencils…I’m also very fond of their cosmetics section. It’s one of the few places in Europe (!) where you can purchase the Australian cosmetics brand Aesop. Believe me girls, Aesop have the only make-up remover which actually works. It can remove even the most stubborn mascara.

I occasionally stop for a bite to eat too. One of my favourite places is the Crèperie de Josselin (not to be confused with the crèperie Josselin, don´t forget the “de”) although it isn’t very well-known. It’s in the Montparnasse district (67, rue du Montparnasse) and I would strongly recommend leaving room for dessert as well as trying the savoury crepe with butter. I think I could eat one every day (come to think of it, maybe it’s a good thing that I don’t live in Paris after all…)

There is so much to see in Paris that I could fill pages and pages. I recommend the Marché au puces de Vanves flea market (on Avenue Marc Sangnier, weekend mornings only), the Le Loir dans la Théière tea rooms which can be found at 3 Rue de Rosiers and for those of you with children, the Bonton shop, beside Merci, is such an institution in Paris that those of you who don’t have children will want to have them just so that you have a reason to shop there.

Who knows, maybe Mimótica Micola will open a shop there. “We’ll always have Paris” after all.

Why not take a trip to París? Have a look at our flights here!

It is rare to find this kind of buildings in Germany, a country as jealous of its harmonic architecture. Even more in a town like Brunswick (Braunscheweig), located in Lower Saxony, just over 20 kilometers from Hannover.

Brunswick was a great example of this architectural consistency with old postwar buildings and characteristic half-timbered, forming a homogeneous whole.

Until the Happy Rizzi House stood in the historic heart, a five-storey building that contrasts sharply with the other buildings. This is a great work of modern art, full of smiling faces brightly colored, bug-eyed, crazy shapes and asymmetrical forms. Such a psychedelic collage!

Its construction on land that used to be part of the stables and fields of a Ducal Palace, so close to the church of Saint Andrews, caused much controversy and rejection in this population at the beginning. However, its construction continued starting in 1999 and it took two years to complete.

The funny thing is that, once the initial shock, most of the citizens of Brunswick came to love this "happy home" and now would be unwilling to demolish any way. And, to Brunswick, many tourists come just to observe its facade; not inside, which are labor offices, that can not be visited.

The idea came after a conversation of James Rizzi, New York artist and pop art exponent, with Jäschke Olaf, owner of the Aeschke gallery inBrunswick. They had already collaborated in the past but never to undertake a work of such magnitude.

Unfortunately, Rizzi died in late 2011. He was a beloved artist in Germany due to his work left and for his work with charities. Her hallmark were hi of three-dimensional paper sculptures, with prints of children's characters and vivid colors. These designs became translate into everyday objects, from small labels to larger works as a Volskswagen Beetle, trains and even aircraft.

But happy house is surely his most voluminous work, that will make you crack a huge smile when you see it.

Address of the Happy Rizzi House: Ackerhof 1 Braunschweig

Happy Rizzi House por Gerd Evermann | Boing 757 por Gero Brandenburg | Happy House por Magnus Manske | James Rizzi por Alexander Lieventhal

Why not take a trip to Hannover? Have a look at our flights here!

In the Emilia-Romagna region, only about 50 km from Bologna, are the Galleria Ferrari in Maranello and the Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, both genuine paradises for people who love fast and beautiful cars.

The Galleria Ferrari is in Maranello because that’s the city in which Ferraris have been made since 1943. “Live the dream” is the slogan welcoming the visitor, and if Ferraris figure in his dreams, here he will find Ferraris of the past, present, and future, including the current Formula 1 racing car. Other museum pieces are the car that won the first Grand Prix in Rome, 1947, and the one in which Michael Schumacher won six Formula 1 titles, and the latest Ferraris to hit the track. Other attractions include Formula 1 simulators, two for adults and two for children, where visitors can learn how it feels to sit behind the wheel of one of these powerful machines on the racecourses of Monza, Silverstone, Iola, Nürburgring, and Mugello.

But true devotees will not want the miss the Enzo Ferrari Museum about 20 km distant in Modena, housed since last year in the building in which the Ferrari patriarch was born in 1898. Aside from the marvellous collection of cars, an outstanding feature of the museum is the adjacent building designed by the Czech architect Jan Kaplicky. In it you can watch a spectacular audiovisual show about the life and times of one of motor sport’s most celebrated figures.

You can buy a ticket giving admission to both museums, which are linked by a railroad and bus service.

And while you’re in Modena, you should consider trying one of the magnificent restaurants in a city famous the world over for its cuisine.

The fastest way to get there? Book your Vueling ticket today!

Did you think that you had to travel very far away to see large wild animals? Well, you don't: you just have to fly to Asturias to see the amazing Cantabrian brown bear in action.