If you’re looking for somewhere to go on a bank holiday weekend, your next holiday or just to escape the cold, the best place we can think of is the Canary Islands!

Looking for a different kind of destination to get away? Keen to discover somewhere new? Pack your bag and head to these cities which you've probably never visited.

Covering an area of 1,572 square kilometres and hosting a total of 32,000 performances a year, London features an endless roster of venues. Indeed, the culture of live performances is more rooted in the city than anywhere else in Europe. In pubs, for instance, apart from having a pint and eating fish and chips, it is customary to listen to live music. And, this is nothing new. They’ve been doing it for decades and have never had to struggle against any municipal edict forcing them to keep noise levels down by installing limiters. The fact is that in London music is regarded as a cultural asset, on a par with Shakespearean theatre or a painting by Turner. That’s the long and the short of it.

So, in London, there is no end to the number of music venues. You can go out any day of the year and you are sure to find an interesting concert. If you pick up any music magazine – like Mojo, Uncut or NME, which is now free-of-charge – and peruse the listings, you are likely to balk at the myriad offerings. On a single night out, you can go and see anything from an emblematic 60s jazz band to a Jamaican ska combo from Tokyo, a gathering of a legendary 80s heavy metal band and all of the “next best things” on offer. In other words, there is everything for everybody.

One advantage that London has over other cities, particularly in southern Europe, is the concert times. There they start earlier, which is to be commended if you want to get home at a reasonable hour on a weekday. Before attending a concert, Londoners have to first pass through “Go” which, in this instance, means the pub. So, we recommend you wet your whistle at one of the pubs adjoining the concert halls, even though British beer is usually lukewarm.

For All Tastes

Here, then, is a selection of the venues that really got our attention on recent visits to London. See if you concur with us!

1. Eventim Apollo

If there is a classic venue it is the legendary Eventim Apollo. Designed by Robert Cromie in Art Deco, it opened in 1932 as the Gaumont Palace and was renamed the Hammersmith Odeon in 1962. Until very recently, it was known as the Hammersmith Apollo. It is located in West London and its acoustics are up with the great odeons, prompting many groups to record live there, notably Duran Duran, Dire Straits and Kate Bush. Seating capacity is flexible, an arrangement dating from 2003, although it can hold up to 5,000 people for some concerts.

2. O2 Academy Brixton

Also known as the Brixton Academy, this is another spot which is all the rage in London. For many musicians this is undoubtedly the best concert hall in the world. It opened in 1929 as the Astoria and went down in history as the venue for the last concert performed by The Smiths, on 12 December 1986. Currently, it also operates as a disco and comedy club. Upcoming event – Faithless (18/8).

3. Bush Hall

It is not one of the oldest venues, as it opened in 2001, but clearly one of the most appealing ones in town. Located in Hammersmith, Bush Hall is a very small venue, almost a classical type of private theatre. Apart from hosting concerts, they also hold dinners, photographic shoots and have even had Kate Moss parading through. Among the artists that have given concerts here are the illustrious Mark Knopfler, Nick Cave and Amy Winehouse.

4. Electric Ballroom

Camden is more seasoned as a venerable leisure-spot district, particularly since the 1960s. But, Electric Ballroom goes back even further. In fact, it has been open since the 1930s, although it was initially known as The Buffalo Club and operated as a pub. Of medium size, it is celebrated for its excellent acoustics. During the golden age of punk it hosted the likes of Sid Vicious and The Clash, in addition to big names in other genres such as U2, Paul McCartney, The Killers, The Smiths and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

5. Koko Club

Still in Camden, we also put in an appearance at Koko, a former theatre and the centre for BBC theatre programming after World War II. In the 1970s it was reconditioned as a concert hall. The building was known as Camden Palace from 1982 to 2004, but changed to its current name when it was taken over and completely restored by Oliver Bengough and Mint Entertainment.

6. Jazz Café

Jazz Café is undoubtedly one of the meccas of black music in London. Here you will find the best in jazz, hip-hop and more current trends like grime and trap. Take note of their programme, which is awesome. Here are the numbers due to be hosted on their premises in upcoming weeks: Sugarhill Gang (3/9), Pete Rock & CL Smooth (5/9), The Real Thing (24/9), Imagination (30/9) and The Herbaliser (14/10) – quite a treat!

7. Roundhouse

This erstwhile train engine shed has become one of the most important venues for concerts and the performing arts in London. Located in Chalk Farm, it is a Grade II listed building, that is, considered to be particularly important of or special interest. It was built in 1847 and, after the Second World War, was converted into a performing arts venue. The Roundhouse has gone down in history as the only place where The Doors performed in the United Kingdom, in 1968.

8. Heaven

Heaven is one of the greatest draws among London clubs at present. It is located under the Villiers Street arches in the heart of the city. The Feeling, Hurts, John Grant and Miles Kane are but a few of the groups that have been hosted in this club. Heaven opened in the 1970s, imbued with disco culture from the USA. It soon became a roller disco and subsequently a dance music club. There are several rooms on the premises and hetero-friendly gay parties have now become frequent.

9. Union Chapel

Located in Islington, Union Chapel is a huge surprise. This church reconditioned as a multi-space venue has amazing acoustics. Apart from gigs, concerts are also hosted. Performances are stylistically far more open. In the coming weeks you can see The AKA Trio (23/9) – on the occasion of the African Music Festival – Lloyd Cole (3/11) and Billy Bragg & Joe Henry (7 y 8/11).

10. The Camden Assembly

The club will be inaugurated in September this year, on the same premises where the legendary Barfly stood for years, a small, dark locale where it became frequent to get the soles of one’s footwear stuck to the floor. The new venue has not yet disclosed its genre affiliation, but it will clearly be one of the pleasant surprises of the season.

Tired of the poor acoustics at open-air festivals? Make haste and check out our flights to London, the cradle of live music shows.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Wikipedia Commons, Ewan Munro, Jamie Barras

First, the bad news – Marseille is not Paris. Unlike its long-standing rival, France’s second largest city lacks top-drawer museums, stunning landmarks and hordes of Japanese tourists queueing up outside Louis Vuitton. The good news is that… Marseille is not Paris. Pampered by the Mediterranean, this city of radiant sunlight, with its multicultural population and suburbs in the very heart of the city, is so much of an oddity that it earned itself the nickname Planète Mars.

With one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, a chaotic urban layout and an abiding reputation for being a decadent capital, Marseille is above all France’s enfant terrible, a noisy, dynamic city full of contrasts, where street hawkers take over the pavements, walls are smothered in graffiti, one’s clothes are impregnated with a brackish odour and the Olympique de Marseille is the mortar that binds it all together.

Apart from the usual tourist destinations, the tables have turned since it was voted European Capital of Culture in 2013. Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster all have their state-of-the-art buildings on the snazzy waterfront esplanade. The bohemian way of life, however, is to be found inland and that is where we are heading. With a map in our pockets, we embark on our alternative, urban bobo tour of the capital of Provence!

At La Friche la Belle de Mai

An erstwhile tobacco factory at the Gare Saint-Charles is Marseille’s liveliest cultural centre. We have come to La Friche! Exhibition areas, artists’ ateliers, theatre, skating ramps and even a nursery rub shoulders here. All in one hybrid amalgam and in constant flux, focused on contemporary creation in a precinct where the communal spirit matches the extensive programme.

The huge roof terrace, which affords spectacular city views, is filled to bursting in summer, as it hosts parties with guest DJs and open-air cinema on Sundays. For the rest of the year the music never stops, while the Cabaret Aléatoire features sessions ranging from rock to hip-hop.

If you need to refuel, head for La Salle des Machines, a café-bookshop where you can have a café au lait while you leaf through a catalogue of the latest shows. But, if you’re actually feeling peckish, Les Grandes Tables is the place to go. Here, the menu changes each day, but they always have the classic steak tartare and Caesar salad. Mondays usher in a market of local produce and, as you well know, French markets are peerless.

Outside, alongside the warehouses and level with passing TGVs, the walls of a city park are daubed in graffiti proclaiming “Skateboarding is not a crime”. Here, skaters spin their tricks, while others play basketball, scale the climbing wall, play in the children’s area or work the land in the community allotment. That’s Marseille – a heterogeneous magma where everyone and everything become fused.

A few metres to the west, among the maze-like streets of La Belle de Mai, stands Le Gyptis Cinéma. Their (original version!) listings are as eclectic as the city itself, featuring thematic film cycles, classics, titles you won’t find on the Internet and children’s movies. The facade is peopled with portraits of neighbourhood characters, the upshot of a communal street-art programme designed to put a face to the locals.

And, with that image fixed in our mind’s eye, we head for Cours Julien, the hardcore urban Marsellais scene.

Around Cours Julien – Street Art & Urban Vibe

Alternative, carefree and colourful, the Cours Ju, as locals call it, is the in district right now. Take the metro to Notre Dame du Mont, although the climb up from the harbour is a heart-stopper. A district of artists, musicians and designers and the bastion of the ultra-modern bobo community (bobo, in French, is a nickname for “bourgeois-bohemian”), the Cours Ju is an endless string of trendy cafés, restaurants of all kinds, vintage stores and streets covered in full-colour graffiti.

The fact is that no other spot in the “Hexagone” can boast such a tour de force of urban art of this calibre. Streets fronts along Rue Vian, Pastoret and Bussy l’Indien are overrun by countless pamphleteering murals of a social nature, with references to pop culture or signs announcing the cafés hidden inside. Street art is clearly part of Marseille’s urban DNA, both rebellious and multicultural, as evinced in their well-known hip-hop – see this fast-paced video set to a local rap rhythm to get the idea.

Against this backdrop, every square metre of what is Marseille’s Kreuzberg is inundated with alternative art galleries, terraces, cafés and stores selling anything from apparel to household goods. The best approach is to venture carefree into the chaotic maze of pedestrian streets and let yourself get carried away by the relaxed atmosphere.

In the Cours itself, the multi-faceted concept store Oogie sells apparel and books, but also serves food and houses a hairdressing salon which hosts DJ parties. Nearby, La Licorne makes soaps using traditional methods and, in the rue Trois Frères Barthélémy, the Brasserie de la Plaine micro-brewery sells craft beer and has a bistro where you can wolf down the market-cuisine formule du jour or menu of the day, which usually consists of a starter, main course and dessert for around €10.

The trendiest spot par excellence is WAAW, on the rue Pastoret. Halfway between a bistro and a cultural centre, WAAW’s activities range from presentations to silk-screen print shops. It is also the best place to make a technical stop, order the dish of the day or stock up for the evening on a pastis or rosé when it’s time for the popular “apéro” – a pre-dinner aperitif.

Night time ushers in drinks and music. Sited in the Place Jean Jaurès, L’Intermédiaire is one of the best venues for live and DJ-set alternative music. Next door is Au Petit Nice, which offers a huge selection of beers in an inner patio where you can while away the hours. And, in La Dame Noir, hipsters queue up to get into the most sought-after club in the area.

As if that weren’t enough, a local producers’ market sets up shop in the Cours Ju every Wednesday morning. Stamp traders get their turn on Sundays, while second-hand books are sold every second Saturday in the month. The Marché de La Plaine, in the Place Jean Jaurès, is a market selling fruit and vegetables, cheese, fish, takeaway food, cheap footwear and accessories of all kinds on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, while the flower market is held on Wednesdays.

The Cours Ju has a special something which grows on you! Get going and discover cosmopolitan Marseille – book your Vueling here!

Text by Núria Gurina i Puig for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Photos by Caroline Dutrey, Coralie Filippini, JeanneMenjoulet&Cie, marcovdz, Pop H