By Mariana Calleja from TravelThirst | Illustration & Photography by Federico Rojas

Of course there is a lot about Florence. Such a rich city with tons of art, scenery, history and more to be seen and learned. But this time, we decided to go into a secret Florence within the same streets we all have visited some time.

Maybe you have done this before but there is always some more to discover. So take your map down and take this secret guide in hand, as you know you are already curious and going into this secret Florence we were able to find and sense for you.

1. Traces of a Roman Amphitheater

There a particular little street where you can sense a prominent curve, where buildings and homes are sitting today. But what it’s not known and told, even within its walls, is how this curve represents the place where an amphitheater was located back in Roman times!

Walking straight from Piazza Santa Croce, taking the narrow street called Via Torta. Keep walking until you surround it all! You will be able to notice and even imagine where this roman structure used to be located. No walls remain today.

2. Florence’s Floods

Arno River is a big part of Florence’s soul. Even though it seems steady nowadays, it wasn’t always like that. Did you know this river flooded up the city 3 different times in the past? Once even taking down the well known Ponte Vecchio back in 1333. Fortunately it was rebuilt and still standing.

But what travelers, locals or any curious person don’t get to know is that there are a few traces of these floods around town. And as an important part of history as it is, we want to share this tip with you.

The largest flood came in 1966, not long ago, when it reached 5 meters height. You can see commemorative plaques on this corner, recalling and remembering lost souls to the flood.

3. Thunderstorm Hits to the Duomo

In June 17th, 1600, Florence suffered a terrible thunderstorm, which had one lightning striking directly the copper-gold ball on the Brunelleschi’s cupola. It made the ball fall down hardly to the ground and fortunately not harming anyone. There was just a big hole in the ground which is featured today over a white circle on the same spot where the ball landed.

4. Bees of Ferdinand

At the Piazza Annunziata, there is a magnificent statue of Ferdinand di Medici, which if you get closer, you will see a large swarm of bees gathering around the queen bee,symbolizing Ferdinando’s coat of arms and the peaceful living they had at the time. It is said that bees are uncountable…but I believe that is untrue! We dare you to go count them. We got 91 bees!

5. San Zanobi’s Tree

Right on one side of the Baptistery in Florence, you can see a column standing all alone. Well, attached to this column there is a nice story of a very beloved bishop and the first one of the city of Florence.

One day San Zanobi passed away so the entire city threw a parade in his honor and buried him at San Lorenzo’s church. After a few years, they decided to move him to the ancient cathedral of Santa Reparata.

It was January on a dark winter day when the parade was held again. They took his body into the new location and it is said that when they passed by the Baptistery, the bishop’s bier brushed against the leafless branches of an elm tree, making it bloom right away. It was miraculous and beautiful as it is told.

In order to celebrate this, Florentines built up a column right on this spot, with a small iron detail of a tree full of leaves representing San Zanobi’s miracle. And it is celebrated every January on the 27th.

6. The Mysterious Portrait of Michelangelo

On a corner right next to Palazzo Vecchio’s main entrance, you can get to see a very small face carved into the same wall stone.

Exactly on the corner between Via della Nina and Piazzale degli Ufizzi, you will notice if you get close enough, a small carving the resembles a human face.

It is said it was sculpted by Michelangelo, maybe on a boring moment or on a rivalry moment. Legend says how Michelangelo might have been challenged by a sculptor friend mentioning how he was slow with his own works. Michelangelo, while listening and heading his back towards the wall, sculpted this face to prove his colleague wrong.

But another legend says instead, how Michelangelo was on the street when we has caught on a boring conversation with someone who approached him. In his boredom and once again, heading his back to the wall, he carved this figure on the corner stone.

Which one do you believe it was?

7. Former Jail and Today’s Apartment Building

At the Via Gibhellina, there is the Monastery delle Murate, best known for holding an important jail during 500 years. After it was closed and transferred to a new location, the infrastructure was used as a restaurant and recreational park for long time, until the 20th century. In this moment, a social project rescuing old structures for a better living, took this area in order to build a whole apartment and lifestyle project. Nowadays, you can still see and even visit the place, grab a coffee or just sit down on a bench and admire the incredible passing of time while whispering a story to your ear.

Inspiring and exemplar is what this is. One more great achievement of the city of Florence, moving towards better times and a better quality of life.

By Mariana Calleja from TravelThirst | Illustration & Photography by Federico Rojas

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

Just mentioning that you are travelling to Lille [Lil] will provoke the inevitable question of ‘where is it’?. Close to the Belgian border, it couldn’t have better communications: 20 minutes from Belgium, 1 hour from Paris and 1 hour 20 minutes from London, Lille is the perfect union of the French and the Flemmish.

Arras

We’d been travelling for 3 days and had time to visit Arras. We arrived on a Tuesday and we were taken directly (thanks to a kamikaze driver that drove faster than Fernando Alonso) to Arras. A city (a small one) that over 4 years was destroyed by the war (as in the rest of the north and border country) and which has been entirely rebuilt. We were taken through the tunnels that been home to thousands of soldiers and to the museum that houses the carriages of the Palace of Versailles… Ohhh, they were spectacular (the rich, although this was 600 years ago, already living like real and privileged kings of the 21st Century).

The carriages will be at the Fine Arts Museum of Arrasuntil November: traps sculpted into the shape of animals, sedan chairs and horse harnesses, including the coaches from the wedding procession of Napoleon I, the coronation carriage of Charles X and the impressive funeral carriage of Luis XVIII. Literally impressive: we were taking pictures of the biggest carriage in the museum (they had to bring it in piece by piece) and we turned around and saw the funeral carriage. We were amazed. Was it a curiosity? The children’s’ carriages were pulled by… ponies?? No. By goats. An incredible exhibition that we can’t recommend too highly.

The bell tower of the City Hall is part of the national UNESCO heritage. And it comes as no surprise. You just can’t resist going up it and, apart from enjoying the view, touching the bell and its enormous clock. If you are lucky enough for the bells to chime just as you are descending the spiral staircase, you’ll see how intensive and deafening it is. It is here where the soldiers hid inside these stone tunnels. The most interesting aspect is its history and this place simply breathes it.

To see all this, you will have passed through the Grande Place. Destroyed in the First World War, this square built in a Flemmish-Baroque style is an architectural marvel. Every Wednesday and Saturday morning you can enjoy its market and in addition, if it rains, there’s no problem as the arches that encircle the square mean that the market can be moved to a covered area.

The most interesting aspect is that it is not only the exterior of the square attracts your attention. It also has underground walkways that were, in their day, first reserved for the carriages, but secondly, they were used as store rooms, refuges and hospitals during the 1944 bombardments.
5 hours is enough, don’t you think?

Transportation

The following day we awoke in Lille at dawn. The city has two metro lines. Don’t take them as there’s no need. Walk through the streets to start with and enjoy its architecture. Don’t waste your time and money on the metro. You can see they have a community bicycle system or “bicing”, just like in many other cities. We’d recommend you hire one rather than use your own as it’s much, much cheaper.

If anyone feels like taking the tour bus, it’s best they don’t. It takes almost 1 hour in which you see everything, but from a long way away. But walking around for the morning, you can enjoy every corner. We were able to see just how patient the residents of Lille are: a lorry unloading at 10:15 in the morning and after almost 15 minutes not one car had hooted, not even a gentle beep, nothing. Amazing patience.

Going out (eating and drinking)

It’s not easy to eat out well and cheaply in Lille. The best option is to go to one of its typical taverns that provide meals for the workers and where each tavern makes its own beer. Do you like beer? If so, you’ll love the Lille taverns.

Estaminet is an example of a good, nice and cheap tavern. What about salads? Just one serving can feed 3. And what’s the typical dish? Meat cooked in its own homemade beer with potatoes is a delicacy to be enjoyed by people with a healthy appetite. In addition, there is one cold dish they serve in gelatine (even today): with different types of meat, this is a dish that will definitely rekindle your energy. For dessert, as in any restaurant in the city (something to remember), either ask for a coffee or a gourmet coffee: they will serve you your coffee together with a board with 4 mini desserts on it. Yummy… This is something we should definitely import ipso facto.

Chicorée is the ideal place to have a beer and try its crème brûlée. Delicious.

If your gourmet coffee hasn’t filled you up enough, go straight along to Meert: one of the oldest patisseries in the country that has been in business since 1761 to make everything you see before you irresistible. You can’t see them, but inside there are two dining rooms where you can sit and enjoy their pastry delights at any hour of the day. What’s the most typical? Their vanilla and caramel waffle. But be warned these are not like the waffles we know in Spain but are thinner and with two together make a vanilla and caramel sandwich.

The rue Solferino is the street where you can find most of Lille’s pubs and discos. Taking a walk through the Vieux district without having a beer somewhere along the line is almost impossible.

Visits

As regards what you should not miss and what is an example of how to make the best use of space is Le Piscine. A swimming pool that was going to be demolished, transformed into a museum: sculpture, painting and clothes collections are organised and structured with a logical order that is breath-taking. A place that, even if it hadn’t been converted into a museum, is worthy of a visit: with its huge swimming pool, the men’s and women’s changing rooms, the first jacuzzi and the shower rooms exude the history of everything that took place within. Marvellous.

The best thing of all is that, in the centre, you can find: the Opera House, the Stock Exchange, French and Flemmish architecture (you will be able to identify it because of its typical colours, gilded with red brick) its fountain and the statue of the woman that looks over the square.

Before you reach the Museum of the Comtesse de Lille Hospice (a hospice and orphanage dating from the 15th Century), an intact building and one we recommend you arrive at 1 hour before it closes (if not, they get upset and only let you visit two rooms), we’d advise you to go inside the cathedral Notre-Dame de la Treille: situated in the old heart of Lille, the main facade is the least attractive we have seen for a long time. Certainly it would put you off going in. Bad idea. The interior of the cathedral hides a view of the facade that we are not going to reveal to you here. It’s so worthwhile having a look. You’ll be astonished at how a facade that looks as though it belongs to a factory can hide away so many surprises.

Shopping and markets (the biggest in Europe)

In the Grande Place, you will find Furet du Nord, the biggest bookshop in Europe. This is a talking point. You’ll find it hard not to come across a book that you didn’t even know existed.

Ombre Portées is a very special perfumery. For expert noses of scents, this is the most exclusive perfumery in the north of France: everything that is not found on the commercial circuit, they have here. Personal service and a selection of scents and perfumes that, if you like this sort of thing, you just have to go in and ask. You won’t be disappointed.

Philippe Olivier is a cheese shop that you barely notice as you walk by. 30 seconds away from the Meert Patisserie, in a tiny street, means that you might pass right by without even seeing it. Small but with the best selection of cheeses in Lille, you have to go in, listen to the recommendations and walkout with a delicious cheese.

In the Place du Concert, you can enjoy a typical regional market every Sunday morning.
It’s a university city in winter, and if everything we’ve explained here is not enough for you, during the first weekend in September, Lille hosts the biggest market in Europe. Yes it does. It’s 100 kilometres in length with 10,000 vendors and one tradition: eating mussels and chips. Without a shadow of a doubt, we’ll be back in September.

By Elisa G Martin

We’re going so why don’t you come along too Have a look at our flights here.

By Josep Sucarrats from Gastronomistas

The fact that in Lyon you can eat like nowhere else in the world has been known since time immemorial. But it was Curnonsky, a renowned food critic from the early 20th century, who first said it in black and white. In 1925, following the construction of the N-25 road linking Paris to the Mediterranean coast, he set about creating a travel guide for lovers of fine cuisine. In Lyon, Curnonsky discovered foies, cheeses, wines and sweets. He was seduced by the ‘bouchon’ (local version of the famous French bistros) and succumbed to the flavours cooked up by the mères. The mères were women chefs with unrivalled culinary skills. People in Lyon regard them as the heart and soul of local cuisine.

The city’s culinary legend was born and there was no going back. The fusion of great produce and even greater chefs gave substance to Lyon’s status as an international capital of good food. This fact was ultimately driven home by a top chef famous the world over: Paul Bocuse.

Today, the mark left by of Paul Bocuse, his imposing countenance, tall white chef’s hat and authoritative look can still be found all around Lyon. In his four restaurants, in the photos of market stalls in Les Halles where he gets supplies – did we say Les Halles? Let’s get it right: a couple of months ago, it was renamed Les Halles Paul Bocuse— or in the dreams of anyone from Lyon who has yet to visit his legendary L’Auberge de Pont de Collognes.

Very soon, from 6 to 9 December, the capital of the Rhone-Alpes region will be celebrating its famous festival of lights, when all the city’s monuments are lit up to create spectacular artistic performances. A great excuse to visit Lyon and indulge yourself in this culinary paradise.

1-An authentic ‘bouchon’: Café des Fédérations

We haven’t eaten at every ‘bouchon’ in Lyon, far from it, but we have eaten here and it has to be one of the best and most authentic in the city. We recommend going there when you’re very hungry: traditional Lyon cuisine is very rich and hearty. As an aperitif, pork crackling. For first course, poached egg au vin with crackling or endive frise with crackling (so much crackling!). Lentils: “it’s not caviar, but still”, they warned us (they came in a mustard sauce and were simply delicious). That’s settled then: lentils are good and caviar is overrated. Chicken with vinegar or pike soufflé. Cheeses. Sweets. Such a banquet encompasses the very best of authentic Lyon cuisine, superbly prepared and with two further enticements. The first is Yves, the owner, the restauranteur who awaits you in his house, who serves you, who wines and dines you and is so friendly you’d ask him to share your table. And the second: the prices (€15 for the set lunch menu and €25 for the set evening menu).

Café des Fédérations. 8, 9, 10 rue Major Martin. Tel. 00 33 4 78 28 26 00.

2-A gastronomic monument: poulet en démi-deuil

The prices may not be its greatest attraction (after all, this restaurant does have two Michelin stars), but, if you can afford it, you really should treat yourself. They don’t serve just any old dish! Poulet en démi-deuiles is a veritable orgy for the taste buds. Imagine free-range poultry raised on the finest farms near Bresse, well fed, meaty and tender, imbued with the taste and aroma of real truffles. The recipe consists of stuffing the space between the skin and the meat with sliced truffles. You have to be a glutton….for pleasure! Poulet en démi-deuiles (which means something like ‘chicken in half mourning’) is what made the first female chef to be awarded three Michelin stars famous. That was back in the 1930s and the chef in question was Eugénie Brazier. Eugénie, a motherless, illiterate country girl, had a very strong character indeed. The walls of Lyon still shudder whenever a chicken comes out of the oven overcooked. Paul Bocuse learnt his trade at her legendary restaurant, La Mère Brazier. Today, it is owned by master chef Mathieu Viannay who, along with his innovative creations, has kept many dishes of his illustrious predecessor on the menu. He’d never dream of forsaking the poulet en démi-deuiles that has enticed so many celebrities to Lyon.

La Mère Brazier. 12 rue Royale. Tel. 00 33 4 78 23 17 20

3-Choose from a 3-take menu with one eye on Japan: Do-Mo

Lyon’s gastronomic heritage, popular or bourgeois, is so mega famous, so legendary the world over and, at the same time, so full of itself, it’s hard to ignore. Yet a short stroll along the city centre streets, even with blinkers on, shows us that Japanese cuisine is fast gaining a foothold. It must appeal to the locals because Japanese restaurants are opening all over the city. Here’s our recommendation for a rather unique experience. At Do-Mo, the produce on offer is given three takes: French, Franco-Japanese or Japanese. So you can, for instance, order your beef French style, with a hint of wasabi for that touch of fusion, or in a 100% Japanese tataki. And the same applies to their three takes on spring rolls, sea bream or chocolate, to give a few examples. Do-Mo provides an ultra-modern setting in the new neighbourhood that has sprung up along the banks of the Saône. During the day, it offers picture-postcard views. At night, it’s teeming with beautiful people. On a nice day, it would be a crime not to enjoy its delightful terrace. And any evening visit simply must end in its fashion lounge next door. As well as the a la carte menu, it also has two set menus: €49.50 and €39.50. It even has a kids’ menu, which they don’t actually call “kids’ menu” and doesn’t consist of sausage, chips and beans. It’s called the Jeune Gastronome and includes a dish from the 3-take menu plus a dessert for €12.

Do-Mo. 45, quai Rambaud. Tel. 00 33 4 37 23 09 23

4-Cheesemakers: Let’s try some Saint-marcellin!

Many shops in Presq’île — i.e. the Peninsula, which is the popular name for the area of Lyon between the rivers Saône and Rhône — as well as numerous market stalls in Les Halles, showcase the fact that people from Lyon are also mad about cheese. The most typical local cheese is Saint-marcellin, a soft cheese with a fermented crust and made from cow’s milk. You can find this cheese and many more besides at La Mère Richard, a famous cheese stall at Les Halles, whose owner is an expert at recommending cheeses for her customers, uses only the finest suppliers and has a colourful character to rival even Madamme Brazier herself. The women from Lyon would seem to be as intriguing as the cheese: we love it. Both the intrigue and, especially, the cheese.

Mère Richard. Les Halles Paul Bocuse. Tel. 00 33 4 78 62 30 78

5-Cool lodgings: bed and breakfast at Mama Shelter

We all need to rest. Lyon is a city of commerce full of comfortable hotels, it’s easy to find somewhere to stay. But if you chance upon somewhere unusual, all the better. If you like to feel cool, look no further. Mama Shelter is the hotel for you. The staff are young and friendly. Each room has a Mac screen displaying a personal welcome message. The clientele are all easy-going and take full advantage of the hotel’s nighttime DJ sessions as well as the wholesome breakfasts. Despite its loud colour scheme and hip decor (which we don’t dislike), the dining room at Mama Shelter transmits a decidedly zen-like ambience which helps set the mood and opens your appetite for the days’ gastronomic tour. While it may not be located in the most central area, it is well connected by underground, bus, tram and trolleybus. Lyon pulls out all the stops when it comes to public transport.

Mama Shelter. 13, rue Domer. Tel. 00 33 4 78 02 58 00

6-Stop off at a cake shop and buy a cream puff

Lyon is also the perfect destination for those with a sweet tooth. Among the many treats on offer, one stands out above the rest. They are light as air with a creamy filling. Need more clues? Ok, just one more. They are made from choux pastry and usually come with a cream or truffle filling. You got it, cream puffs and profiteroles. Yet Lyon’s choux pastries are the same as you’d find in any French city, such as Toulouse, or Courbevoie, to use the birthplace of Louis de Funes as an example. Lyon does, however, have its own local sweet treats, such as coussins (literally, pillows) or cocons (literally, cocoons). One option is to sample these traditional specialities. Another, which we highly recommend, is to drool over the tasty treats on display at Clostan Traiteur. And, once you’ve finished drooling, you can buy and enjoy exquisite cakes, mousse, tiramisu and a thousand variations on traditional desserts, which led to this master confectioner’s being named the best in the world in 2012.

Clostan Traiteur. Magasin Halle Paul Bocuse. Tel. 00 33 4 78 62 93 03

7-Quenelles never seen (or eaten)

Lyon may be far from the sea, but its inhabitants have always enjoyed eating fish. Back in the middle ages, some local monks created artificial pools in order to farm pike. Today, the area has been turned into a nature reserve. But let’s get to the point: this ensured a plentiful supply of fish, and with one kind in particular — pike, or brochet in French — they created the quenelles that are so typical of Lyon. They are usually made with choux pastry mixed with wheat pasta, butter, eggs, milk and, of course, brochet. The chef uses two spoons to shape the mixture into semicircles, which explains why everyone associates this shape with quenelles. They can be so big that one alone is a meal in itself. Other times they’re smaller, so you can try lots of different kinds. At Giraudet, they give them their own creative touch – adding squid ink and other innovative ingredients – leading to long queues of people anxious to buy them.

Giraudet. Les Halles Paul Bocuse. Tel. 00 33 4 78 62 34 05
Giraudet. 2, rue du Cl Chambonnet. Tel. 00 33 4 72 77 98 58

8-Jesus! We’re not being blasphemous, it’s a kind of salami

Cold sausage deserves a chapter all to itself in any good food guide to Lyon. While the city’s sausage makers use recipes that share a common base, they all add their own special touch, so you won’t find two establishments selling the same thing. This special touch is a closely guarded secret that gives each sausage a unique personality. Basically, it’s all about aromatic herbs and spices. Some of the more popular varieties include cerveuil (which must be cooked, contains pistachos and, in its more luxurious form, truffles), saucisson a cuire (literally, sausage to cook), rosette (a long, slender cured sausage) and, above all, Jesus. The cured sausage known as Jesus is made from the widest part of the intestine and gets its name from the fact that, during the production process, it is wrapped in twine which, according to legend, gave it a quality reminiscent of baby Jesus. Who would have thought? What we do know is that it’s Lyon’s greatest cold sausage and that any Jesus like this makes even the most hardened atheist pray for more.

9-Browse around the market and have lunch there

There’s Bresse chicken. There’s foie. There’s truffle. There’s cheese. There’s wine. Lovers of good food be warned, if you enter Lyon market, you’re doomed. You’ll no doubt come away with a little more cholesterol and a little less money. But that’s the cross we foodies have to bear! To avoid breaking the bank or punishing your taste buds, we suggest that you stay at Les Halles for lunch, where there’s something to suit every pocket. We’re huge fans of Passionnement Truffes, a small bistro inside the market where truffles rule supreme. At lunchtime, they offer an affordable set menu for €19 (dish of the day — a big serving —, dessert and a glass of wine). We had the tenderest chicken ever covered in mushroom sauce. And it filled us with bonheur.

Passionnement Truffes. Les Halles Paul Bocuse. Tel. 00 33 4 78 60 15 98

10-Le beaujolais est arrivé!

The area around Lyon is famous for its wines, boasting no less than four denominations of origin. Beaujolais is one, and it’s been made popular thanks to the beaujolais noveaux, the first wine of the year, the youngest wine. It’s uncorked barely two or three months after harvest (between November and December) and fussier wine lovers will tell you that it’s not worth the effort, since it’s better to let wine age. But the anticipation of wine growers to try the first fruits of their labours infects all of us as well. Let’s hope we’re never deprived of the chance to raise a toast, cry out Le beaujolais est arrivé! and celebrate the fact that we, and our taste buds, have fallen in love with Lyon. And such love lasts forever.

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here!