Edinburgh, one of the most charming cities in Europe, the cradle of literary scholars and the setting for many novels, has been hosting the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF), one of the most celebrated in the scenic arts, since 1947. During the festival, dance, opera, music and theatre don their finest raiment and reveal their myriad facets, from classical to innovative, turning the Scottish capital into a veritable crucible of inspiration and creativity that acts as a magnet, drawing huge audiences eager to try out new sensations and get carried away by the sheer size and variety of events on offer.

Like some “high feast of culture”, in addition to filling the major theatres and concert halls, the festival programme encompasses the whole city, so that even bars, shops, streets and any venue worth its salt is turned into yet another stage. A stroll along the Royal Mile, for instance, can end up becoming an adventure in itself, buzzing as it is with performances, concerts and shows of all kinds.

This year, the Edinburgh Festival runs from 5 to 29 August. On account of the large number of visitors concentrated in the city during that period, it is advisable to book accommodation some months in advance, to avoid having nowhere to sleep or ending up forking out a fortune for it. As for getting tickets for the host of different events – which first went on sale in January – you can buy them online on the festival website.

And There’s More Too!

While it might seem incredible, Edinburgh’s festival offerings go far beyond the big event itself. Indeed, it extends through the whole summer.  So, for those of you who haven’t had enough with the Edinburgh Festival proper, here are some of the other festivals where you can quench your thirst for more culture and more events:

- Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival. The ideal run-up to the Edinburgh Festival is a jazz festival! Make sure you don’t miss the street performances and celebrations which take place at the start of the festival and which, for one day, turn the Grassmarket area into a sort of New Orleans at the height of the Mardi Gras. From 15 to 24 July 2016.

- Edinburgh Art Festival. Local emerging art and new international art trends are the major draws at this event which is held in museums, art galleries and art studios around the city. From 28 July to 28 August 2016.

- Edinburgh Festival Fringe. An alternative version of the Edinburgh Festival which showcases new talent in the scenic arts. From 5 to 29 August 2016.

- Edinburgh International Book Festival. In a city of literary figures like Edinburgh – it was the first to be designated City of Literature by UNESCO – a festival dedicated to books would not be out of place. Charlotte Square is the main meeting point, the spot where exhibitors gather and numerous activities are held (talks, public lectures, book signings, etc.) From 13 to 29 August 2016.

- Edinburgh Mela Festival. All kinds of music and dance are hosted at this festival, organised by Edinburgh’s ethnic minorities. Held in Leith Links park, it is full of colour and good vibes. From 27 to 28 August 2016.

- Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo. Parades by military bands, bagpipe concerts and spectacular firework displays, held against the scenic backdrop of Edinburgh Castle. What more could you ask for? From 5 to 27 August 2016.

Come and discover Edinburgh and revel in its magnificent festivals – book your Vueling here!

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

The Atlantic Ocean is blessed with a group of islands – Madeira – whose main draw is their natural beauty, with a stark contrast between the leafy green vegetation and the deep blue of the Atlantic waters. Not for nothing has it acted as a place of refuge, rest and inspiration over the last few centuries, seeing the passage of such figures as Napoleon Bonaparte, the Empress Sissi, Emperor Charles I of Austria, the writer George Bernard Shaw and Winston Churchill, among others. You could be the next traveller to become captivated by these isles. Here are the main reasons it is worth flying to Madeira:

1. Good Climate All Year Around

The geographical location of these islands and their mountain relief have endowed them with a tropical oceanic climate, featuring pleasant temperatures all year around, ranging from 17°C in winter to 25°C in summer. This means that any time of year is suitable for visiting and enjoying the archipelago.

2. Funchal, the Capital

The capital and one of the largest cities in Madeira is Funchal, which lies in the south of the archipelago. Standout landmarks in the city’s priceless historic centre include the 16th-century Sé Cathedral – noteworthy for its Mudéjar-style, wood-panelled ceiling – and the Igreja do Colégio collegiate church, its interior studded with gold panelling and tiles.

One of the inevitable rituals for sightseers when they come to the city – assuming they are bold enough and don’t suffer from vertigo – is to go up in the cable-car that leads to the lofty suburb of Monte. The hill affords spectacular views of the bay and it is worth visiting the local Monte Palace Tropical Garden and Leite Monteiro Park. The return trip down the hillside can be negotiated on an unusual form of transport – a kind of wicker toboggan driven by two men dressed in white called carreiros who steer the cart down the slope.

3. Unique Fauna and Flora

One of the highlights of the island is the presence of indigenous animal and plant species. A must-see is the World Heritage Laurisilva Forest. Another must-visit are the Desertas Islands, a marine nature reserve which boasts indigenous shellfish and sea birds like Cory's shearwater and the  Madeiran storm-petrel. Animal species also include the monk seal, indigenous to the archipelago.

4. Porto Santo Beach

Curiously, the island terrain limits the number of natural beaches to the island of Porto Santo, which has 9 kilometres of fine, golden sand and crystal-clear water. The beach has rightly been considered one of the most beautiful in Europe.

5. Cuisine

Of the typical Madeiran dishes, we can recommend the swordfish, preferably combined with banana, in addition to caldeirada (a fish soup), bife de atum e milho frito (tuna fish with fried corn) and espetada (charcoal-roasted beef on a bay leaf skewer). For dessert, we can heartily recommend a typical sweet known as bolo de mel (a honey cake with Madeira honey).

6. Madeira Wine

Ever since the sugar cane plantations went into decline in the 17th century, having been overtaken by the sugar farming in Brazil, grape-growing and viniculture came into their own and still play an important part in Madeira’s economy. Notable local grape varieties are the Bual – which is similar to Port – Verdelho, Sercial and Malmsey, the most popular of all.

Ready to discover this lost paradise in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Check out your Vueling here.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by David Stanley, Greg_Men, penjelly, Krzysztof Belczyński, Hannes Grobe

The producers of “Game of Thrones” fell in love with the beautiful Dubrovnik and ir was the chosen city to shoot scenes of King’s Landing, the capital of the Seven Kingdoms. It is a many centuries-old city with  its peculiar  streets so well preserved, recreated to perfection -with the help of added digital tricks-  the setting that the author of the series, George RR Martin had imagined. the one for a medieval, walled city, high on a hill and surrounded by sea. In addition, like King’s Landing, Dubrovnik grew as a defensive city, among the stones of Dubrovnik Walls that protected from the sieges.

If Dubrovnik was in itself a town of great tourist interest, now it has become a touchstone for fans of the series and to explore the different locations is now a funny way to know the city. Want to know which are the Game of Thrones’s shooting keypoints in Dubrovnik? Want to feel like a king or queen Lanninster touring his domain? Pay attention!

1.- Fort Lovrijenac

Also called Fort San Lorenzo, dating from the eleventh century and is outside the historical district and is one of Dubrovnik’s symbols. Main stage for the most important scenes of the series, as the Battle of the Blackwater between Stannis’s fleet against Tyrion and the Lannister  that marks the end of Games of Throne’s second season.

2.- The Minceta and Bokar towers

The Minceta Tower is the highest point of Dubrovnik’s city walls and one of the most famous defensive structures. Bokar Fortress was the place where Tyrion and Lord Varys planned the defense of King’s Landing in the second season.

3.- Rectors’s Palace

This former medieval fortress and headquarters of the former Republic of Ragusa, has had to be rebuilt several times over the years. It is part of Quarth’s kingdom in the serie’s second season. A curiosity: it is said that the clock on the palace’s wall stands at 17:45, the exact time that the Republic of Ragusa surrendered to Napoleon according to legend.

 4.- Trsteno Arboretum

Trsteno Arboretum, one of the oldest gardens in Croatia, served to set the palace’s exotic gardens of King’s Landing with its historic parks and a large collection of Mediterranean and exotic plant species. A walk in Trsteno Arboretum take us back to the past, so it is not surprising that was chosen as one of the main sites.

5.- Svetog Dominika

Little props were needed to convert the cobbled street that borders the fourteenth century’s Dominican Convent into one of the Seven Kingdoms’s capital’s main streets.

6.- Lokrum’s  Island

You can reach the island of Lokrum in just ten minutes from the port of Dubrovnik by ferry. Here we find the Benedictine monastery that was converted into a palace Qarth during the second season of Game of Thrones. Visit the botanical garden of eucalyptus, cactus and succulents, the remains of a basilica, the monastery with a cloister garden and Maximilian of Hapsburg’s summer residence.

7.- Sponza Palace

It was built in the early sixteenth century and it was one of the few buildings that survived the 1667′s earthquake. Today it is one of Dubrovnik’s most important cultural centers, which you can find the Dubrovnik archive with more than 100,000 documents covering from the twelfth century to the demise of the Republic of Ragusa..

Picture by gari.baldi 

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

Apart from such irresistible cities as Venice and Verona, which tend to hog all the tourists’ gazes and flashes, Veneto also has other jewels to be seen and discovered and places which will quench your wanderlust. Not far from one of the leading lights of the region lies the Brenta Canal, linking Venice to Padua. It is well worth getting off the beaten track to discover it.

The river Brenta, which rises in the province of Trentino and flows into the Adriatic, was channelled between Venice and Padua in the 16th century to facilitate travel and the flow of goods between the two cities. Noble Venetian families then started building grand villas along the banks of the river. They served both as the agricultural headquarters of farming estates and as leisure resorts where their owners arrived in the summer months and where lavish parties were held. Over time, the canal became known as the “Riviera del Brenta”, where aristocrats flitted from party to party in luxury barges called burchiellos.All this splendour came to an end with the arrival of Napoleon, but those opulent villas, some of which have priceless gardens, have survived to the present and become a tourist draw in the area.

The best way of touring the Brenta Canal is obviously by barge. This will enable visitors to see first-hand the unusual system of locks, as well as the villas that are still standing, which number about eighty in all. You can take a barge either from Padua or the Venice ferry terminal and some of them include villa tours on the ride. Here, then, are the the standout villas, among those open to the public:

Villa Foscari

This beautiful villa, the work of Andrea Palladio, is nicknamed “La Malcontenta” because legend has it that Elisabetta Dolfin, the wife of Nicolò Foscari, was confined there allegedly for being an adulteress. Built from 1555 to 1560 on the Brenta riverside, it is noteworthy for the huge pedestal it is set on and its spectacular portico in the form of a classical pronaos, surmounted by a pediment, reminiscent of an ancient temple. The interior boasts some magnificent frescoes depicting mythological themes executed after 1566, the work of Giovanni Battista Zelotti.

Villa Pisani

Built in the 18th century and commissioned by the Pisani family, this spectacular villa with a certain Versaillesque air is an obligatory visit. Among the marvels to be seen in its interior is Tiepolo’s Glory of the Pisani family, which adorns the ceiling of the Dance Hall. Other highlights of this building include the enormous gardens, with ponds and a large maze which invites visitors to get lost in search of its Minerva statue, which crowns the belvedere. The stables, too, are worth visiting.

Villa Widmann Rezzonico Foscari

This villa was built in the early-18th century by the Scerimanns, a family of Venetian nobles of Persian extraction. The simple lines of its exterior strike a contrast with the richly ornate interior, decorated with French-inspired frescoes and Rococo stuccowork.

Book your Vueling to Venice to see the wonders of the Brenta Canal and its spectacular villas.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS