At first glance, Zurich would seem to be the city of money and private banking, nice shoes and the ultimate in education, the city of luxury and shopping, of lakes and parks. But Zurich is also a city with a very interesting cultural side to it and some daring designers.

A good reference point for finding your way around Zurich is the Hauptbahnhof or, in other words, the central railway station. This enormous station will be your starting point or destination on any trip to or from the airport and from where you can catch the urban trams and buses that travel around the city. In the Swiss capital, public transport is the best option. Forget the taxis unless you want to pay about 30 euros per trip. Speaking of money, the Switzerland still uses the Swiss Franc and paying for things in euros is expensive. We recommend you use a card whenever you can. The cost of living in Switzerland is approximately two and a half times that of Spain. For example, a breakfast of white coffee and a croissant will cost you about eight euros.

Old Zurich is close to the central station, just across the River Limmat. Pedestrian cobbled streets, many bookshops and perfect for a stroll around here.

After, I head over to Langstrasse between districts 4 and 5. A Swiss friend highly recommended it to me because it is the best place to find the most modern and exciting part of the city.

Langstrasse was once a rather vulgar street – if that word can be used to describe the this luxurious city– where you can still find the odd erotic cinema and presumably a few places devoted to decadence. However, the modern reality is completely different. Langstrasse is where we can find such original cultural offerings as Perla-Mode. I walk inside and allow myself to be seduced by the words of Stefan. Perla-Mode is, according to Stefan, a group of artists who have taken over number 84 Langstrasse to develop contemporary art, thought and culture. A series of different rooms enable artists to exhibit their works, people to attend informal talks and chats on culture, art and anthropology and also house an improvised cinema built using old seats from the football stadium and wooden palets to show films that are later discussed in a small room. Wonderful. Perla-Mode consists of the Corner College and Motto Books, where you can find numerous books and magazines on architecture, photography and design from all over the world. Stefan tells me that there are plans to demolish the building to build housing blocks and that Perla-Mode will most probably no longer exist in February 2012. If you are in the Swiss capital before then, it is worth calling by to meet this group of artists to see what they have done to the place.

Just opposite Perla-Mode, I find Soho – an enormous erotic clothing store with various fetish items, leather boots and, as Sonja explains (the girl who approaches me as I enter the shop), things to help make life a little less boring.

I make my way along Langstrasse and find many more shops, some more interesting than others. I’m heading towards Joseffstrasse, following the directions given to me by the people of Zurich. Langstrasse itself is home to all kinds of shops: shoe shops, food outlets, kiosks, fashion shops, etc.

Before stopping to eat somewhere that was recommended to me, the Bistro Föifi 30 at 48 Josefstrasse, I venture over to explore a curious-looking shop, Senior Design Factory. Seduced by the window display, I walk inside and speak to one of its creators, Deborah Biffi, who tells me the story of this social design project that she began in 2008 with her partner Benjamin Moser. The history of Senior Design Factory began with a university degree project they decided to move from paper to reality and which materialised in the space where I’m standing. The project seeks to work with older people no younger than 75. They work with them on the creation of hand-made craftwork designed by them. All the wisdom and experience of many years manifested in wonderful decoration items. Some of them are rather surprising: from kitchen items to lamps or household decorations. Wool is a main feature of the items on sale in this shop. On Saturdays, workshops are held in which the older people teach youngsters the secrets behind their creativity.

The shop itself and its social purpose fascinated me and I was chatting for a long time with Deborah. As I leave, I see that the Bistro Föifi 30 is full to bursting and I am recommended a Turkish restaurant on Gasometerstrasse, Bar Valentins. After a bite to eat, I head down Josefstrasse towards the viaduct. I am told there are some very interesting things to see over there, and they were certainly right.

Before reaching the viaduct, I find Josefwiesse – a lovely park where parents are playing with their children and where others can have a drink while the kids run around in the park. A touch of the mountain countryside in the heart of the city.

As I leave Josefwiesse, I come across the famous viaduct. It is right next to the park and called Im Viadukt on Viaduktstrasse. Each archway of the viaduct is home to a fashion shop, a bar or another of many varied businesses. I take a look around and decide to enter Famous Ape. An original Swiss shop with two establishments: this one in Zurich and another in Geneva. Anina tells me a little about the shop and lets me look around. Goyagoya is another of the shops I decide to take a closer look at. Women’s clothing from German designers and some hard-to-find brands because they produce their work using traditional methods. 52 different shops and a market, the MarktHalle. Accessories and bicycles in Velos, workshops like Daniel Blunschi, flowers in Marsano, hairdressing and clothing in Fashionslave or fashionable bars like Ambrossi Coffee Bar.

I leave the area to head over to the Cabaret Voltaire, temple to Dadaism and a must-see in Zurich. Before I get there, I stop off to visit the city’s great lake. I sit on a bench, like many other locals, and stare at the ducks, the Alps in the background and the edge of Zurich as it surrounds the lake.

The Cabaret Voltaire smells of history. In fact, it has a room containing exhibitions and where they offer performances that maintain the spirit that gave rise to the Dada movement. I like what I see and have a beer in the bar at the Cabaret Voltaire. Before leaving the culture centre, I visit the shop to buy a piece of history in the form of a souvenir.

In the evening, I go for a few beers at Sihlcity – a leisure centre that has risen out of the ruins of an old factory. In the middle of the square, they have kept the characteristic chimney that provides the industrial feel that the surroundings cry out for. There are hotels, shops, restaurants and a disco and concert hall, the Papiersaal, where you can have a few drinks of an evening.

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

Welcome to Poblenou, Barcelona’s most vibrant creative district! A time-honoured district, removed from the city centre but near the seaside, where the working-class character mingles with cutting-edge trends. An area in constant transformation, from its industrial past to its cosmopolitan present, where Barcelona’s modernity and tradition fit perfectly together.

Its cityscape continually mutating, with avant-garde projects mushrooming on every corner, Poblenou is living out its finest moment. We tour the area to learn its secrets – let’s get going!

Plaça de les Glòries, Kilometre 0

Forget the Plaça Catalunya, the Ramblas and even Passeig de Gràcia. When Ildefons Cerdà devised his master layout for modern Barcelona in the 19th century, he staked out “les Glòries” as his geometric centre. That is where Els Encants Vells has relocated. With a history of over seven centuries, it is one of Europe’s oldest flea markets, where customers can still haggle! A stone’s throw from there stands “La Grapadora” (the Stapler), a grey-skinned building which houses the Disseny Hub, a must-visit shrine for all lovers of fine design.

The phallus, the suppository, the torpedo… there are no end of nicknames for the Torre Agbar. Indeed, this skyscraper, designed by Jean Nouvel, is an endless source of comments. Nouvel claims his forms pay tribute to the Sagrada Familia and the mountains of Montserrat. While we don’t know to what extent that is true, the fact is that ever since its construction, Barcelona’s skyline has become a tad more “masculine”.

Art, Design, Music and Much More

We had breakfast at Espai Joliu, a concept store where plants and a love of good coffee reign supreme. Here they serve up Nømad Coffee, roasted a few steps away and sold at Røaster’s Home. Next door, the premises of a former print shop operate as an art gallery. This is La Plataforma, a venue where art offerings are paired to all kinds of culinary experiences.

Shopping addicts can buy Scandinavian furniture at Noak Room, revamp their wardrobe with colourful prints from Brava Fabrics and augment their collection with vinyls from Ultra-local Records, a meeting point for local music lovers specialising in independent labels.

If you happen to be a culture vulture, Sala Beckett offers the latest in contemporary theatre in a top-drawer modernist setting. More urbane are the offerings at La Escocesa, an erstwhile factory now hosting art ateliers. Each year they hold the festival of murals, when their centuries-old walls become plastered with graffiti. The most innovative trends feature at Hangar, an avant-garde visual arts centre housed in one of the most renowned former industrial complexes in the city.

Needless to say, we wind up the day in Razzmatazz, a veritable clubbing institution where all young Barceloners worth their salt have spent at least one night on their legendary dance floors. Be it indie, electronic or live performances, good music never stops playing at Razzmatazz.

And, with the beat still resounding in our head, we leave the industrial Poblenou and head for the hub of district life here, the Rambla del Poblenou!

The Rambla del Poblenou

In this, the undisputed nerve centre of the district, the laid back rhythm and the sight of people chatting in the sun are the giveaways that this was and still is a village. At weekends, it gets crowded out by groups of friends having a beer on the bar terraces, while during the fiesta mayor in September its streets are taken over by community suppers, parading street bands and nocturnal revelry. This is also the area with the highest concentration of iconic hangouts, where we stopped to recharge our batteries.

Our first stop is a classic among classics – Can Recasens, a delicatessen founded in 1906 which by night becomes a restaurant serving Catalan cuisine. Their assortments of cheeses, cold meats and wines is amazing and you can also buy the products you have tasted during the dinner.

No less popular is the Orxateria El Tio Che, the palace of tigernuts. These purveyors of tigernut milk prepare a 100% craft product based on a recipe which has not changed for 5 generations. Summer sees endless queues of people lining up to seek relief from the heat in this natural refreshment.

And, from the sweetest corner to the corner with the longest history. Across the road stands the Casino l’Aliança del Poblenou, a meeting place which transports the visitor to the times of the Athenian working classes and the struggle for freedom of assembly. If you happen to be passing by, be sure to go inside – its walls breathe a part of Barcelona’s recent history.

Those wishing to wade into the sea up to their calves should press on down the Rambla. A few minutes ahead you come to the beaches of Bogatell and Mar Bella, the least crowded in the city. In summer, the sand is peppered with beach bars and runners trot along the water’s edge to the rhythm of the sea breeze.

Maritime Poblenou

We return to terra firma in the direction of the Plaça Prim, the site of fishermen’s cottages in the 19th and 20th century. The square has withstood the test of time and is home to Els Pescadors, a former fishermen’s tavern and one of the most long-standing fish restaurants in town. Here, the speciality is fresh fish and seafood sourced daily at the neighbouring fish auctions.

Nearby streets are seemly frozen in time, swathed in a tranquility typical of coastal villages. However, the hush is in stark contrast to the hubbub of Calle Marià Aguiló, the emblematic shopping precinct where you will come across La Pubilla del Taulat, a wine cellar which opened in 1886 (the oldest in Poblenou) and where you can have wine and tapas any hour of the day.

No less legendary is the bar, El Timbal. Located alongside the former textile mill named Can Felipa, their patatas bravas (spicy sautéed potatoes) are acclaimed throughout the city. They are baked in their jackets and topped with a finger-licking all-i-oli (oil and garlic sauce). You can accompany them with reasonably priced homemade dishes while you have a few beers on their crowded terrace.

From Palo Alto to the Fórum – Industrial Past, Creative Present

A red-brick chimney welcomes us to Palo Alto. This former textile mill is a one-of-a-kind urban island. Remodelled as a creative hub, its former industrial bays have been infused with new trends by a host of resident designers, architects and artists. Stroll through their jungle garden and try the menu at La Cantina, a restaurant offering traditional cuisine which serves a delicious paella on Fridays. Palo Alto is also the site of the crowded Palo Alto Market, a monthly gathering of the city’s “beautiful people” who come to discover the latest trends set by local designers.

And, when you feel low on energy, be sure to seek food and shelter at Bar Tras Paso, a colourful, bohemian eatery with French culinary flavours where you can end the evening with a duck magret and chat into the wee hours, glass of wine in hand.

But, if you still have the strength, you can go up the Torre de les Aigües del Besòs, witness to the area’s industrial past and the spot where the 90s British band Blur recorded their music video, On Your Own. The 60-metre-high water tower has an observation platform with stunning views of the city.

And, from the heights, with the sea a stone’s throw away, and with the Diagonal Mar skyscrapers, Mt Tibidabo, Montjuïc and the esplanade of the Fórum in the background, we take our leave. We have reached the city limits and now it’s time to change course.

Book your flight to Barcelona – you’ve got daily Vuelings here!

Text by Núria Gurina 

Photos: Matt Cornish, filippsh, Adrià Goula, Joanbrebo, Espai Joliu, Santmarti.info, Selbymay/Wikicommons, Mathieu Thouvenin

Bologna is one of the most beautiful cities in northern Italy. Celebrated for having the oldest university in the world, its other hallmarks include its porticoes and red facades, which change hue with the passage of the sun – a small city with a great history, making it convenient and attractive for sightseeing and highly recommendable for a family getaway.

The past is still alive in the city’s streets, in the medieval inner city, in the Renaissance palaces and villas, the Baroque churches and the squares and gardens. Bologna breathes a young, revolutionary and somewhat bohemian atmosphere. Modernity rubs shoulders with the old, of which its inhabitants can be proud.

The point of departure for touring the city is the Piazza Maggiore which boasts some of Bologna’s major landmarks, notably the Palazzo dei Banchi, Basilica of San Petronio, Palazzo dei Notai, Palazzo d’Accursio, which houses the City Hall, and Palazzo del Podestà. The latter houses the city’s tourist office where they kindly inform visitors of all the possibilities open to family groups. If time is at a premium, there are two options – first, a family friendly guided tour of the city organised by the collective, Mammacult and, second, the 48-hour Welcome Card, which includes free entrance to museums and a guided tour of the historic centre, or the 72-hour Card, which also allows access to the tower and the tourist bus. Each of these is valid for an adult and a child under 12 and either of these cards is worth taking out.

Adjoining the main square is the Piazza del Nettuno, featuring a fountain dedicated to the god of the sea, and the presiding Palazzo Re Enzo, once the hub of Bologna’s economic life and now transformed into a plush multimedia public library. It’s a great place for taking a breather when the fatigue kicks in or in bad weather, as its interior includes a wonderful area for toddlers and babies. And, if you want to keep on reading children’s stories, you only have to go out onto the street again and around the Palazzo Re Enzo, as on the Via Rizzoli you will find the Giannino Stoppani Libreria per Ragazzi. No wonder that each year the world’s leading Children’s Book Fair is held in Bologna.

Pressing on down the same street in the direction of the University Quarter you come to another icon of the city, the medieval Due Torri (Asinelli and Garisenda), the tallest of the twenty towers in Bologna. For the slightly older and bolder young ones, it is great fun to climb up the 498 steps leading up to the Torre Asinelli to see the splendid views of the city. If you get peckish on the way down, you can stroll along the shopping precinct of the Quadrilatero area, the city’s old market. Here, you will be treated to tasty views of fruit, confectionery, fresh pasta and even fresh fish.

Also worth exploring is the “T area” shopping precinct, bounded by the Via Ugo Bassi, Via Rizzoli and the long Via dell’Indipendenza. Walking under the stately porticoes, you will see anything from global brand outlets to long-standing Italian fashion stores, cafés and pastry shops, grocery stores and pharmacies offering a panoply of wares, with plentiful fruit and vegetables awaiting you when you get to the Mercato delle Erbe. There is also a route of old establishments restored in good taste as vintage-style shops. One of these is Les Libellules, a children’s tailored clothes atelier located on the Via San Vitale near the Due Torri.

Another spot well worth visiting is the Finestrella di Via Piella, a small window with canal views located between Via Zamboni and Via dell’Indipendenza which reveals one of the city’s best kept secrets – the underground water streams which once flowed through open-air canals similar to the ones in Venice. We also recommend heading for the Piazza Santo Stefano, presided over by the basilica of the same name, made up of four (formerly six) churches from different periods – a veritable gem! On one side is the Corte Isolani with a covered gallery linking the Strada Maggiore to the Via Santo Stefano. Sited there is La Gallina Smilza, a really cute store with all kinds of items for decorating the home and children’s rooms. A bit further along, at number 70, is one of the most famous and delightful ice-cream parlours in Bologna, the Cremeria Santo Stefano – they have flavours to suit all tastes.

Heading towards the south side of the city you come to the beautiful Margherita Gardens, the ideal spot for a family picnic or for having an aperitif at Vetro, an old greenhouse converted into a bar-restaurant. They have a fine open-air terrace with garden tables and lights inside flower pots, a great ambience for relaxing at the end of the day. It is part of Kilowatt, a coworking facility and idea accelerator based on social, cultural and environmental values which is self-managed under the auspices of the public programme Incredibol, hosted by the Bologna City Council.

Bologna also boasts numerous museums which are highly interesting and attractive for children. Located on the Via dell’Archiginnasio, in the historic centre, is the Archaeological Museum of Bologna which provides insight into the history of the city. A bit further on is the palace of the Archiginnasio, once the main building of what is the oldest university in the West, founded in 1088. There you can visit the Anatomical Theatre, where anatomy classes used to be given. Bologna is designated a UNESCO Creative City of Music, a prestigious title awarded for the wealth of current musical offerings and the excellence of the city’s past, as embodied in the International Museum and Library of Music, with a carefully curated collection of over eighty ancient musical instruments. If what you’re really sold on is art, be sure to visit the Bologna Museum of Modern Art (MAMBO) which hosts a great variety of children’s workshops and other activities.

To claim the icing on the cake to your tour of Bologna, take bus 87 to the Gelato Museum, located on the premises of the famous Carpigiani company, a former manufacturer of machinery and equipment used to make famous Italian “gelato”, the creamiest and most flavourful ice-cream in the world. This edifying museum is dedicated to the study and analysis of the history of craft ice-cream. They also hold a workshop geared to families, which includes a guided tour of the museum and an ice-cream-making workshop based on the original recipe. Enjoy the experience!

Fire up and make your escape to Bologna – book your Vueling here.

Text by Mar Domènech

By Iñaki Makazaga from Piedra de Toque

The most visited figure in Denmark and the main tourist attraction in the city of Copenhagen sits totally oblivious to the world at the end of a pier in the port (Langelinie). The Little Mermaid avoids all eye contact as she looks out to sea, almost with her back turned to her visitors. Perhaps this is because only she knows the true price of her fame (decapitated twice, mutilated three times and thrown out to sea several times) and the real story behind her own history. We decided to get on our bikes in search of answers and found the true face of Copenhagen: a city with a barbaric past that has now become a haven for peace.

We began our journey on the banks of the Sankt Jorgens Canal overlooked by the mansions reflected in its waters as we ventured out among the families, people enjoying sport and ducks picking at the grass. We pedalled along on the bicycles we rented from one of the 110 locations dotted around the city – one of the measures aimed at obtaining the title of ‘capital city with the best environmental quality’ in 2015. Every turn of our wheels left behind yet another tree as we travelled along the green corridor created by the canal. We took in the sights and decided to turn right at the third bridge to eventually arrive at the Botanical Garden and Museum (Botanisk Have) at 128 Gothesgade.

More than 20,000 different species of plant life now thrive in the grounds of these old city fortifications. The walls contain spacious gardens and the moat is full of aquatic and wetland plants, each with its own little information sign stuck in the ground nearby. We parked up the bikes at the entrance and walked in. It was March and there was a hint of change about everything as the snowy season began to loosen its grip. The earth was all churned up, the trees were leafless and the sky was grey. An enormous three-story greenhouse with four glass pavilions appeared in the distance where 1,000 varieties of cactus, coffee plants, pineapples and even palm trees are incubated and studied. We were overcome by temptation and bought two bags of seeds from the shop on the way out: one of Asian bonsais and another of red orchids. Maybe we thought we could take away our own part of the peace that reigns in this park and whose roots still soak up the blood of the people who fought to defend the city from enemy invasion.

We returned to our trail. We left behind the garden and the botanical museum to pedal our way through the areas surrounding Roseborg Slot, the royal palace built by Christian IV in 1606 as a summer residence that now also serves as a large museum. It houses thousands of objects related to the oldest monarchy in Europe and is full of paintings, furniture, weapons and jewels. The traffic light turned from amber to green and so we pedalled on.

The peace of the botanical gardens now changes to the hustle and bustle of central Copenhagen. The cars give way to cyclists between the buildings from which emerge the strong>spires of the Marmorkirken, a church inspired by Saint Paul’s in Rome and which was originally planned to be built using Norwegian marble. They soon realised there was a far simpler way to celebrate the 300-year reign of the family of Frederik V and the Norwegian marble was switched for Danish marble a century later in order to get the place finished. However, no expense was spared on the steps: 260 to reach the bell tower. The views of the city make the exhausting climb well worth it. We took the opportunity to check our map. We felt the call of the thriving city centre, with the pedestrianised Strøget street full of shops and terraces filling the cobbled medieval squares of Kongens Nytorv and Radhuspladsen. We left those for nightfall and continued towards the port where the Little Mermaid sat waiting for our visit.

We dismounted and walked the bikes for a while. We were in Nyhavn, the New Port, which was opened by soldiers between 1671 and 1673 so that ships could unload their goods in the city centre. It became the darkest part of Copenhagen for years, inhabited by sailors and ladies of ill repute. Cheap rooms, dark taverns, tattoo parlours and brothels. Nyhavn has emerged from its murky past and now offers one of the most attractive faces of the capital along the 300-metre stretch of port-front properties with narrow, colourful houses and pavements full of terraces. No matter how cold the weather is, a blanket, a heater and a candle embrace all visitors. Around the edge of the port can be found evidence of that era in the form of wooden ships such as the 19th Century lighthouse ship that has been converted into a restaurant. An anchor that belonged to a Danish frigate also recalls the maritime past and pays tribute to all those who lost their lives during World War II. We took photos of the brightly-coloured houses. Maybe Hans Christian Andersen himself looked out from one of them to look at the sky while penning his tales. The truth is that even the walls whisper their stories in this part of town.

Now back on our bikes we pedalled along the canal towards the sea with the humid wind blowing in our faces. The tide greeted us at the shore, together with a number of new pavilions. We entered the Citadel (Kastellet), another great fortification to protect against attack from the Swedes. The five-pointed star-shaped fort has also witnessed great swathes of history in this country. Used by Nazi troops as a main headquarters during World War II, it now belongs to the Danish army although the gardens and walls are open to the public. In the 19th Century, it was also used as a prison and small sculptures now speak of the horrors of war. A museum depicts the activity and names of the people who led the resistance against the Nazis. And the Little Mermaid, nowhere to be seen.

We kept on pedalling. It started to snow and a hoard of tourists announced we had reached another point of interest. At the end of the pier, resting on a rock and with her back to the tourists we finally met the star of one of the most famous stories written by Hans Christian Andersen. The very one who fell in love with a prince and who now waits for him to return looking out to sea. The snow continued to fall. The grey sky opened as if in slow motion: rain, snow, more rain.

Walt Disney tells us of a happy mermaid surrounded by seafaring friends who struggles to make her dreams come true. The reality proved to be much different. The colour of copper, alone, her nakedness constantly illuminated by camera flashes from the tourists. Yet she doesn’t smile. The thing is, Hans Christian Andersen wrote a different ending. The prince she gave up being a mermaid for ended up marrying another. The Little Mermaid died alone, without breaking the spell that would let her return to the sea without killing the prince. She preferred to wait, convinced that another ending would find her sooner or later. Like the Little Mermaid, Copenhagen has preferred to keep every palace, every fortification that speaks of its Viking and Barbarian past in order to convert them into gardens and museums that grow a new history of peace and tolerance. We joined the Little Mermaid and gazed out at the horizon in silence.

COPENHAGEN BY BIKE:

Time: 2 hours

Route: Sankt Jorgens Canal in Norrebro, Botanical Museum, Roseborg Slot, Marmorkirken, Nyhavn, Kastellet, The Little Mermaid.

Recommendations:

- Visit the museums mentioned: open from 10:00 to 16:00.
- Get a Copenhagen Card.
- Explore the city by bike and have lunch in the New Port after finishing the tour.

By Iñaki Makazaga from Piedra de Toque

Picture by Henrik Jessen

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