Majorca is one of the pearls of the Mediterranean. Over the years, the island has drawn from its traditional resources to reinvent itself in line with current trends. No wonder, then, that it is one of Spain’s design meccas. This is where the Camper footwear brand was born, and the painter, Miquel Barceló, too. It was also the destination of such artists as Joan Miró and the pianist, Frédéric Chopin. This thirst for creation and good taste has led its capital, Palma, to build up a bountiful network of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels which can wreak havoc on the unsuspecting design lover. From the old town to the grass-roots quarter of Santa Catalina, from the classical to the most genuine vintage, one things emerges clearly – Palma is design.

1. In Progress
In the heart of Santa Catalina lies the store run by Sonia and Jesús, two enfants terribles of vintage who specialise in artefacts from the fifties to the eighties. Here you will find anything from chairs and lamps to Pontesa crockery, Arcoroc glasses and old Palma shop counters. With special emphasis on “Made in Spain”, on many a Saturday they organise aperitif concerts and exhibitions by local artists.

2. Rialto Living
As soon as you set foot in Rialto Living you will feel as though you’re in the chic venues of Capri or the Hamptons. This “living store” is housed in an old palace in the city’s historic centre and its offerings range from furniture and art to books, fashion and a restaurant. Old and modern mingle in the ambience, with that Mediterranean flourish we are so fond of.

3. Frida Watson
Seen from the shop window, items in the Frida Watson collection confirm love at first sight. This store in Santa Catalina features pure Scandinavian design from the fifties to the seventies in harmony with Vitra clocks, Murano glass and retro lamps that resemble flying saucers.

4. Hotel Cort
The work of interior designer, Lázaro Rosa-Violán, Hotel Cort is one of the most elegant in town. Perfect lighting, hydraulic flooring and island colours compound a blend of elements that can make your head swim. Further, the sophisticated hotel restaurant is the ideal spot for a quiet dinner with your partner.

5. La Pecera
Few places can reconcile mid-20th-century European furniture with vintage and contemporary Majorcan items so deftly. La Pecera is a small but alluring store where you can find lamps, designer furniture, decorative items and craftwork. C/ Victoria, 4

6. Ariela Schönberg Vintage Collective
German furniture is one of Ariela Schönberg’s fortes. This, one of the latest shops to open in Santa Catalina, features designer artefacts and anonymous furniture from the whole continent.

7. Posada Terra Santa
Despite its rather solemn name, the Posada Terra Santa (Holy Land Inn) is one of the loveliest hotels in Palma. Housed in a 16th-century palace, its 26 rooms display a blend of history and modernity with comfort. Additionally, their swimming pool, with views of the Cathedral, is the perfect spot for chilling out and letting yourself get drawn in by the city’s charm.

8. Sa Costa
Sa Costa is a classic in Palma. Their antiques show wonderfully next to vintage formica, plastic and iron. As soon as you enter the shop, you realise you could spend hours admiring the dozens of furniture pieces and other items that people this store in the city centre. Costa de Sa Pols, 7A

9. Patrón Lunares
The classic essence of the Mediterranean arrives in Palma, skippered by the Patrón Lunares tavern and their chef, Javier Bonet. A pretty venue decorated with hydraulic floor tiles, iron columns and retro furniture where you can eat good seafood and enjoy the island’s flavours.

10. Galería Veintinueve
Now in their recently opened new premises, Galería Veintinueve continues to be a hit, with their dual facet of contemporary art exhibition centre and venue for large 20th-century pieces by such designers as Jacobsen, Scarpa and Colombo. The store and patio are spectacular and the collection of art and furniture will leave you impressed.

11.  Viveca
Antiquities, ceramics, textiles and lots of vintage – this is the essence of Viveca Palma, where Íñigo Güell and Ingrid Iturralde have unveiled a store featuring 18th-century Swedish furniture and iconic 20th-century furniture. A real pleasure.

12. Louis 21
Upcoming artists jostle to exhibit their creations in Louis 21, one of the leading springboards for promoting the careers of emerging artists. With another gallery in Madrid, their philosophy is to elicit interaction with the public and the collaborative urge.

Come in search of fine design in the Balearic capital – check out your Vueling here.

Text by Aleix Palau for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Aleix Palau

When talking about Majorca, we usually limit ourselves to the wonderful beaches and landscapes to be explored and tend to ignore its main city, Palma. Tucked away in this enchanting port city with a centennial history are numerous gems that make this a must-visit destination on the island. Following are some pointers to landmarks that make this city so alluring.

1. A Cathedral Filled With Surprises
You can’t help seeing it – Majorca Cathedral protrudes well above all other buildings in the city. Also known as La Seu, this monument in Levantine Gothic style is characterised by its lofty bearing – it is one of Europe’s tallest Gothic cathedrals – and its huge rose window, also one of the largest of its kind, while the interior is crammed with surprises. It features the legacy of Gaudí, who rearranged the interior in the early-20th century, incorporating Modernist ornamental elements and a baldachin on the unfinished altar. Then there is the amazing ceramic mural of Mediterranean inspiration which crowns the Chapel of the Most Holy, the work of Miquel Barceló, which visitors are unlikely to miss.

2. The Characterful Lonja
This must-visit 15th-century building, designed by Guillem Sagrera, was once the headquarters of the School of Merchants. Nowadays, visitors are dazzled by its helicoidal columns, which end in groined vaults that look like palm trees at first glance. The construction is enormously inspiring, capable of transporting the viewer to a time when Palma was a major trade centre.

3. A Route Through Miro’s Majorca
The imprint of Joan Miró is ever-present in the city where he spent the last 27 years of his life. Be sure to visit the Pilar i Joan Miró Foundation to see the artist’s house and workshop, in addition to a small part of his vast oeuvre. And, still in the same area, the recently opened Marivent Palace gardens feature twelve of Miró’s sculptures.

4. A Good Measure of Contemporary Art
In Palma, contemporary art is not limited to the figure of Miró. If you head for Es Baluard, Palma’s Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, you can also see works by the leading artists and movements that have come together and still converge in the Balearic Islands. Another venue you should make a point of visiting is the Juan March Museum Foundation which houses a highly interesting collection of contemporary Spanish art.

5. The Waterfront Promenade
Like any decent seaside resort, Palma is fringed from one end to the other by a long waterfront promenade which affords a different angle on the city. The view is stunning when you draw level with the Cathedral, and the promenade also has leisure areas where locals do various sports or just lounge around and chill out.

6. De Luxe Cuisine
Palma has splendid and highly assorted culinary offerings. The local tradition, in the form of tapas bars and restaurants offering locally sourced products, exists side by side with establishments that have reinvented Majorcan cuisine and taken it to a new level, and those serving up international cuisine. Don’t hesitate to try Majorca’s typical and essentialsobrasada,a spicy, pork sausage, or to put yourself in the hands of gourmet chefs with their bolder gastronomic interpretation.

7. Santa Catalina, The Hipster Quarter
This erstwhile fishing quarter has undergone a facelift and a marked transformation in recent years, becoming one of the most attractive beats in town. We recommend visiting it at dusk, when the establishments get into full swing, and refueling by opting for a hearty dinner in of one the area’s trendy restaurants.

8. Terraces with Views
Another way to enjoy the city is from one of the rooftop terraces which some bars and restaurants have tucked away. There you can order a small feast while soaking up the breathtaking views. One such spot with magnificent views is the Nakar Hotel, which offers an excellent culinary assortment served up by Majorcan chef Miquel Calent.

9. An Ensaimada as a Souvenir
You cannot possibly leave Majorca without an ensaimada under your arm. This is a giveaway at your destination airport, but there’s no resisting the delight of eating one. Filled with angel hair squash, custard, chocolate and even sobrasada – or without a filling, if you prefer – you can get your hands on this tasty souvenir in numerous pastry shops. Among our favourites are Forn Fondo and Horno Santo Cristo.

Book your Vueling to Palma de Mallorca, explore its streets and let yourself get carried away by the charm of this city.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Photo by SBA73

This small Italian town in the Sicilian province of Trapani was first settled by the Saracens in the Middle Ages. After the Second World War, on account of the post-war hardships, the area lost a substantial part of its population as many of its inhabitants emigrated to the New World. Subsequently, the town was totally devastated by an earthquake in 1968. The decision was then taken to start over from scratch, and an inventive project was drawn up to “humanise” the area, for which purpose several famous international artists were called in, names such as Pietro Consagra, Alberto Burri, Mario Schifano, Andrea Cascella, Arnaldo Pomodoro, Mimmo Paladino, Franco Angeli and Leonardo Sciascia. The town soon turned into a huge laboratory of experimental art, prompting artists to create works that ennobled the new urban precinct.

The Top 6 Monuments in Gibellina

It should be noted that the reconstruction of Gibellina arose as part of a major cultural challenge which involved both the need to built habitable dwellings and to do so in an artistic milieu. Today, Gibellina is one huge open-air, modern-architecture museum featuring some brilliant works; and, it is now inhabited once more. Here, then, are the six most stunning areas.

Il Cretto di Burri

Gibellina is a town born of a tragedy, and an earthquake at that, the remains of which are still visible beneath the vast work known as Il Cretto, by Alberto Burri. The artist was reluctant to set his work within the confines of yet another urban complex. Instead, he created a gigantic monument dedicated to the earthquake victims which stretches over the streets and alleyways of the old town. It is a massive concrete structure which hugs the ground and is scored by deep cracks. Its artistic value lies in having physically frozen the historical memory of the land. For its sheer size, Il Cretto is one of the largest artworks in the world.

The “Meeting”

In 1976 Pietro Consagra designed a monument-sculpture known as The Meeting. This large-scale sculpture features smooth curves emerging from two parallel projections. It is a clear example of Brutalist architecture, so in vogue in the seventies. In this case he combined transparent sections with opaque ones, while eschewing any balanced compositional harmony. It now stands between the bus station and the area taken up by bars and other leisure facilities.

The Chiesa Madre

in 1970 Ludovico Quaroni was commissioned to design Gibellina’s parish church on a hilltop. The geometry of the church is novel, not only owing to the layout of the building and its relationship to its surroundings but on account of the language in its architectural forms. The various functional areas are distributed in a box with a 50-metre-square base sub-divided into modules and sub-modules, while the symbolical and geometrical centre of the monument is a great smooth cement sphere bearing reference to the sacred.

The Piazza del Municipio and the Civic Tower

The town square is surrounded by a colonnade designed by Vittorio Gregotti and Giuseppe Samonà, the walls of which were decorated with ceramics by Carla Accardi. Edging the perimeter of the square stand some marvellous white metal sculptures of characters from the work, Oedipus Rex, made by Pietro Consagra, with others by Mimmo Rotella, and the so-called Civic Tower designed by Alessandro Mendini. Four times a day, a blend of sounds with reminiscences of everyday life in the old Gibellina can be heard from this tower.

The Square System

This is actually a matrix of closed architectural squares designed by Franco Purini and Laura Thermes. Enclosed within this System are the Piazza Rivolta del 26 giugno 1937, Piazza Fasci dei Lavoratori, Piazza Monti di Gibellina, Piazza Autonomia Siciliana and Piazza Passo Portella delle Ginestre.

The Civic Museum of Contemporary Art

Gibellina’s contemporary art collection was created from contributions by Italy’s leading artists, and others of international acclaim.

The first to chip in were the Sicilians – Pietro Consagra, Carla Accardi and Emilio Isgrò. Ever since its inauguration in 1980, the Gibellina Museum has been endowed with over 1,800 artworks, notably original paintings, illustrations and sculptures. Most are housed inside the building, but some are dotted about the town streets, where they form a complement to the urban architecture. The bulk of the museum’s exhibition space is taken up by the collection, but there is a room dedicated to Mario Schifano, while another open-air area is given over to artistic and architectural mock-ups.

Join us on a trip to this unique spot in the world. Check out our flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Tiberio Frascari, Giulio Nepi, Antonella Profeta

Recently landed in Budapest, the Pearl of the Danube, we enter one of the most romantic cities of Eastern Europe with countless opportunities to enjoy our stay. If you’re asking yourself where to start, we have 7 essential sights to see during your visit:

1.- Admire the most emblematic monuments

The worlds third largest Parliament, a symbolic landmark of Budapest rises imposingly on Kossuth Sqaure, boasting a neo-Gothic style. The latter, together with the Buda Castle, an old residence of the kings of Hungary and Budapest’s oldest Chain Bridge define the personality of this city, which was indeed a major power during the Austro Hungarian Empire.

2.- Discover the Art Noveau

 Budapest is known for its numerous examples of art noveau architecture, a slightly peculiar style that intertwines elements of nature, asymmetrical shapes and sinuous curves, which decorate the facades of the buildings in the streets. The architectural merit of such exaltation is largely attributable to Ödön Lechner, also known as the “Hungarian Gaudí”, whose most famous work corresponds to the Royal Postal Savings Bank, which is full of floral patterns, colourful mosaics and some components of popular culture. Villa Balázs Sipeky and the Institute of Geology are other notable samples of the work of this brilliant architect. Our favourite example of art noveau is Walkó House, because of its facade, decorated with eight different varieties of animals.

3.- Relax your body in the Széchenyi Baths

Budapest has numerous thermal spas and baths for whenever you want to take a day of rest and revitalization after a long walk around the city. Széchenyi is the most majestic and largest spa in Europe, with fifteen indoor pools, ten saunas and steam rooms and three large outdoor swimming pools. It is common to see locals enjoying the spas, as they are a nice meeting point to chat.

4.- Go for a drink to the Bars of the ruins

If you want to immerse yourself in the most modern and happening Hungarian underground scene, you cannot escape from Budapest without going to one of these bars, which are located in old buildings, with a slightly worn out and decadent look but decorated in such a way that the vintage kitch look makes them very special. The best atmosphere in the city is definitely found in these bars, which are decorated with all kinds of Antique furniture, extravagant paintings and curious objects. We recommend the legendary Szimpla Kert Kazincy Street; the Instant bar, decorated like the wild west movies or the chaotic Púder, where there are also theatre performances and dj sets at night. 

5.- Visit the Muvesz Mozi Cinema

Budapest is known for its rich film culture, so it is definitely worth stopping by to visit one of their alternative cinemas. Intellectuals and big screen lovers residing in the capital visit Muvesz Mozi, where they show a large variety of movies- from old films that where made five years ago to recent independent films made by new and upcoming directors. In addition, this special cinema has a very cool café, decorated with different atmospheres to fit the different spaces, making you feel like a traveller through time and space.

6.- Visit the Sziklakorhaz museum, a hospital and secret bunker

This spectacular museum housed in what was once a hospital adjacent to a nuclear bunker in Budapest during World War II shows, in an extremely real and almost scary way, what was once experienced within these underground walls. The various facilities and rooms for the wounded, wax mannequins, medical devices and even the possibility to activate the emergency alarm at the end of the tunnel give you an idea of what happened, even if it mean getting goose bumps!

7.- Try the cuisine

The Central Market is one of the greatest culinary references in the city, where you can taste the typical traditional goulash or buy fresh groceries to cook at home. Kosher sweets are also a Hungarian specialty, we recommend the ones at Cukrászda Fröhlich. Last but not least, you must try the bread and butter with paprika and onion, which is served at any bar or restaurant. If you like spicy food, Budapest is the perfect place for your palate.

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

Picture by teofilo