Its markets are the best place to take the pulse of any city,places where you can experience the day-to-day life of the people and mingle with the local population. This is no less true in Saint Petersburg, where haggling is encouraged and stallholders will even offer you their wares without any kind of pressure to buy.

Kuznechny Market

The most central and representative of the markets in Saint Petersburg (and also the most expensive) is the Kuznechny Market where you will find flowers, vegetables, cheeses and natural honey for sale.

Numerous attractions are located close to the market: the Arctic and Antarctic Museum can be found in the former Church of Saint Nicholas and includes exhibits on the characteristics of the polar regions, the history behind the conquest of the Great North and the economy and culture of the Nordic people. The Floral Exhibition Centre, the Vladimirskaya Church and the Lensoveta Culture Centre at 42 Kamennoostrovsky Avenue are also worth visiting.

The Dostoevsky Museum is another nearby attraction – the place where this famous writer and author of such novels as ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘Demons’ and ‘The Idiot’ lived and died. This house museum has been faithfully restored to how it was originally.

If you get hungry, why not try the Marius Pub or the Tres Amigos restaurant. However, if it is thirst that needs quenching, Mollie’s Irish Bar is a great place for a drink.

Sennoy Market

What was once an old hay market has now become a major food market with clothing stalls that fill the surrounding streets.

A large part of  ‘Crime and Punishment’ by Dostoevsky is set in the streets of the Sennaya district, where the Sennoy Market is to be found. It is more popularly known as the Dostoevsky District.

It is an excellent area for a spot of shopping in the large department stores. Sennaya Square is a bustling hive of activity where you can find the famous PIK and the large Sennaya Shopping Centre.

For some nice, reasonably-priced home-made food, you should head over to Kafe Adzhika.

If you’re up for a short walk, take a stroll over to Yusupov Palace, located on the edge of the River Moika and one of the most spectacular monuments to classicism to be found in Saint Petersburg.

Sitni Market

On the small Zayachy Island in the River Neva is the true historical centre of the city: Peter and Paul Fortress, the original citadel of Saint Petersburg. Peter I the Great ordered its construction in 1703 and it contains such remarkable buildings as the Peter and Paul Cathedral, where all the Tsars from Peter I the Great to Nicholas II and his family are buried. Standing 122 metres tall, the cathedral bell tower is the highest point in the city.

Although initially designed for defensive purposes, it never needed to be used for that but rather served as a prison until 1917. Its most famous prisoners included such individuals as Trotski, Dostoevsky and Bakunin.

Also nearby is the Saint Petersburg Zoo and the Political History Museum.

A good choice for something to eat would be the popular Salkhino restaurant where they serve Georgian cuisine. In the evening, you might want to try out the legendary Tunnel Club, the first techno club to open in Russia.

Vernisazh Souvenir Market

Less of a market and more a collection of souvenir stalls, this is to be found behind the Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ or the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood and is one of the most popular tourist sites and an attraction in itself. Here you will find many traditional Russian gifts and souvenirs.

The Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood was built on the spot where Tsar Alexander III was killed. The interior and exterior mosaic decorations are fantastic, as are its stained glass windows. The temple was built in the Russian architectural style of the 16th-17th Centuries (pure Russian orthodox) and bears a striking resemblance to Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square.

Its five large bulbous domes decorated in numerous colours and gold, as well as the meticulous detail work that covers the exterior, are yet more features that make this an outstanding piece of architecture.

Imagen de iwillbehomesoon

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Venice envelops you in its melancholy, mist and light. It is also soothing. If you let yourself drift along that winding canal that dominates the city, your visit will flow, too. Notice how there are no cars and that, despite the flood of tourists that enter the city each day, this is a silent destination. Whether you find yourself on a bridge, at an intersection, in the heart of the Campo or in a narrow alleyway, wherever you feel famished, your deliverance is at hand. Not only because you can get anywhere fast on a gondola, but because the capital of Veneto is full of places to enjoy the cuisine. Either at street level or up high, with those views that swayed and swathed writers and intellectuals of all eras. Following are some of those spots with a sparkle of their own and a unique offering.

Fish
Given Venice’s seafaring nature, what could be better than to order and savour the city’s fresh fish? A prime spot for eating fish virtually from the market to your plate is the Antiche Carampane for its proximity to the Rialto Market. This simple, family restaurant is frequented by Venetians who know where to find the best of the best, as well as by well-informed celebrities. Here you will witness respect for food and for Venice’s most characteristic culinary tradition, both on and off the menu.

Street Food
In Venice you will wander about willy-nilly to come to grips with its soul. If time is short for having a relaxed meal, an advisable option is the street food. A tramezzino (wedge-shaped sandwich) at some café, or a pizza al taglio (sliced pizza) at Antico Forno, are both generous snacks. But, if you’re after something more authentic without having to sit down to it, better settle for Acqua & Mais, a dainty eatery which makes the most out of the Venetian culinary repertoire when it comes to a practical packaged takeaway. Your eyes will pop out at the fried fish, croquettes, polenta and the classic creamed codfish.

The Confectionery
Here there are two historic and thus essential locations. Two pastry shops, quite a long way from each other, have coexisted as successful local landmarks. However, each one has evolved differently over the years. At Rosa Salva they still serve classic single-helping pastries, buns and ice-creams in an atmosphere more akin to a bar. Colussi, for its part, is celebrated for its focaccia veneziana, which resembles panettone or sweet bread in shape and tastes like a really good ensaimada. It is ideal when eaten with hot chocolate from the same establishment, where they make dough and bake on the premises every day.

Wine and Glasses
Estro - Vino e Cucina is a modern gastrobar and wine bar with a lot of character where you can eat typical Italian dishes and raw fish – a hallmark of the Italo-Japanese chef, Mashiro Homma – marinated in the wine of your choice from among a wide selection within view of the tables. The wine has a “double label” and can also be purchased.

The historical Osteria ai Pugni focuses on aperitifs, sausage boards with regional fare, a variety of different flavoured croquettes and the typical tramezzini with unusual fillings. A striking feature is their wine, served by the glass, which can be savoured in a relaxed atmosphere alongside the Ponte dei Pugni, in the heart of the Dorsoduro district.

Paradiso Perduto
You can either sit at the bar or at one of the many tables in this huge, bustling restaurant which provides live music on Monday nights to fire the after-dinner ambience. Their forte is large helpings of homemade dishes. Their fresh fish comes highly recommended – complete with matching side dishes or contorni (vegetables, field mushrooms or roast potatoes)–as do the lasagna, fagioli (beans) and tiramisu, a dessert that originated in Venice. Keith Richards once played the piano here…

The Vegetarian Streak
The fact that you have to book in advance for La Zucca is the best compliment you can pay it. The artificers of the restaurant have managed to remain faithful to the origins of the business, where pumpkin is the major attraction and the basis of many of the homemade dishes on the reasonably priced menu.

Accommodation
If you can afford it, the Hotel Danieli is one of those places that leave their mark on you. Commensurate with the beauty of Venice, this luxury hotel is part of the city’s living history. It is just two-minutes’ walk from St. Mark’s Square and its two highly distinct buildings – the rooms in each hardly resemble one another – recreate the splendour of times past with an evocative atmosphere that fits in well with their 21st-century service. Their majestic Carnival ball, held near the lounge, is celebrated, while you can have a unique, enogastronomic experience in their new Wine Suite. You can also have one in the Danieli restaurant and terrace, a spot which entices you with its views over the Grand Canal and the Adriatic, as does the creative fare provided by their executive chef, Dario Parascandolo, featuring perennial classics and in-house recipes based on local products.

Souvenir
If you appreciate little gifts and good craftsmanship, treat yourself to a book marker, a notebook, a print, a postcard or one of the hand-painted recipe books by the artist, Nicola Tenderini. You cannot leave Venice without a keepsake that takes you back to the city, as far away as you might be.

I bet you can’t wait to delight in fine Venetian cuisine. Check out our flights here.

Text and photos by Carme Gasull and Belén Parra from Gastronomistas

Algerian cuisine has being influenced by many cultures. For hundreds of years, Berbers, Arabs, Turks, Romans, French and Spanish have contributed to create an eclectic gastronomy by mixing flavours and scents.

Their exotic sweets surround you with a flavour that takes you to exotic places from One Thousand and One Nights, with a great variety beautifully presented. Vivid colours sweets with precisely detailed ornaments, often made of almonds, pistachios, walnuts and hazelnuts, flavoured with orange blossom water and sweeten with honey or fruit pulp.

Among the most popular cakes, you should try makroud, samsa, hrisa, sfenj or halwa cookies, usually served with a cup of green tea and mint, one of the most consumed beverages in the country.

Algeria is, along with Tunisia, one of the largest producers of dates, specially deglet nour variety, soft, translucent light touch and smooth, like honey flavour that is grown mainly in the provinces of Algeria Biskra, at Tolga and M'Chouneche oasis, served to elaborate different sweets. Between both countries, they produce 90% exports of its kind. Algerians are also the largest consumers of honey in the world, which is not surprising, since almost all their sweets contain this liquid gold.

Qualb bel louz is a speciality from North Algeria and the name means “almond hearth”, highly consumed during Ramadan nights, along with mint tea or coffee. It’s made of semolina, almonds, orange fragrance and bathed in honey syrup.

Makroud is another typical dish from the Algerian gastronomy. This sweet is made also of a semolina base filled with date paste, cut on shaped diamonds or triangles to be fried and bathed in syrup. You'll find it in thousands different colours and varieties.

Among this delicious Eastern food, you should also try Samsa, an old and traditional Algerian sweet made of triangular layers of brick mass filled with almonds and sprinkled with sesame seeds. Or sweeten with ghribia, a round cake prepared with flour, sugar and cinnamon just flavouring or orange peel and lemon.

M'halbi is one of the most habitual desserts. It’s fresh and creamy, with a unique decoration of brown drawings made with cinnamon powder. El zlabia, which most popular version is Boufarik, was made after the carelessness of a bakery apprentice who couldn’t remember well the recipe.

Baklawa, originally from Turkey, is consumed in the Middle East. They are cupcakes made of nut paste and thin pastry, bathed in syrup or honey to finally incorporate any kind of nut. They can be a bit cloying, but certainly with an exotic and delicious flavour.

With all these recipes, we can assure you a sweet flavoured trip with you visit Algeria.

Picture ghribia by Waran18 | picture griouche by Arnaud25 | picture makrout by Latyyy

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One of the unusual features of Copenhagen, which also happens to attract flocks of inquisitive tourists from all over the world, is Freetown Christiania (Fristaden Christiania). Located in the central borough of Christianshavn, it has the odd privilege of being autonomously ruled by a neighbourhood community which declared its independence from the Danish State and the European Union, as clearly marked on a sign at the exit from Christiania which reads: “You’re now entering the EU”.

The origins of Christiania go back to 1971, when a group of Danes occupied what was a derelict military precinct with abundant green areas which they decided to turn into a playground for their children. Guided by the spirit of the times, their move sparked a debate about what to do with that abandoned area. Members of the counter-culture movement known as Provo ended up occupying the area and founding a community where they set about putting into practice their anti-system ideas. After the occasional attempt at evicting them by the government, the latter gave in and allowed the neighbourhood community to flourish under self-management as a social experiment.

Amazing as it may seem, that hippy community, which now numbers some one thousand members, is still operating 45 years on. Be it the free atmosphere, the overridingly friendly vibes, or interest in seeing a small sample of Utopia in operation, the fact is that Christiania is the second most widely visited spot in Denmark after Copenhagen’s paradigmatic icon – The Little Mermaid. The community can be visited by guided tour or just wandering about freely, although visitors have to observe a set of rules voted by the community. Among these is a ban on private property, talking on mobile phones and taking photographs. Outsiders should particularly heed the latter, the most controversial prohibition and one that has at times threatened the survival of the community, where the smoking of cannabis is allowed.

The main drag in Christiania is Pusher Street, where you will find bars and vegetarian restaurants for engaging in “slow food”, as well as shops where you can buy craftwork and souvenirs of the city. One of the advantages of this area is that items are cheaper and no taxes are paid. Among the major charms of visiting this “freetown” is the contrast it strikes with the rest of Copenhagen. Untarred streets with no cars – and therefore no noise – military constructions converted into homes or common areas and a huge amount of colour and vegetation everywhere. A wholly anarchical picture in an atmosphere of total calm in which time seems to stand still.

Be sure to make a foray into this unusual enclave of freedom in the Danish capital – book your Vueling here.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by News Oresund