Beer is the most popular drink in the gastronomy of Munich and to sample it, you can take advantage of the dozens of Biergärten or beer gardensthat can be found all over the city, where, sharing huge tables in the sunshine, you can enjoy the cheerful Munich lifestyle, try out some Bavarian delicacies or even bring along your own food, but never the drinks!

The Munich biergarten season takes place between Spring and Autumn when the sunshine allows you to enjoy these traditional gardens as well as the many outdoor terraces that together offer in the region of 180,000 al fresco seats

Among the biggest venues are the 8,000 seater Hirschgarten, or 5,000 places at the Augustiner in Arnulf Street and the Paulaner in Nockherberg with space for 4,000.

Other notable meeting places include the biergarten in Viktualienmarkt Square, the one next to the Chinese Tower in the English Garden or the Waldwirtschaft, where jazz music livens up the atmosphere.

Augustiner-Keller

This biergarten overflows with tradition. With more than 5,000 seats under the shade of 100 magnificent chestnut trees, it guarantees the most authentic experience of them all. 45 of these trees are protected species and are duly numbered. The Augustiner-Keller itself appears as a beer store on a map of the City of Munich dated 1812. The cellar belongs to the oldest brewery in the city and is a perfect example of traditional Munich conviviality and its legendary hospitality.

www.augustinerkeller.de
Arnulfstraße 52 80335 Munich

Biergarten in the Viktualienmarkt Square

You can buy anything you feel like for your tea and eat it straightaway washed down with one of Munich’s famous brands of beer that take turns supplying this beer garden situated in the very heart of the Bavarian capital.

www.biergarten-viktualienmarkt.de
Viktualienmarkt 80331 Munich

Biergarten at the Chinese Tower

After a little sunbathing or having enjoyed a stroll around the English Garden, your visit to the park can be rounded off next to the Chinese Tower with “tea” accompanied by a fine beer in the shade of the chestnut trees. On Sundays the atmosphere is enhanced with live music from a wind band.
www.chinaturm.de
Englischer Garten 80538 Munich

Biergarten at the Staatliches Hofbräuhaus

The congenial Hofbräuhaus beer garden is a surprise, away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, where you can enjoy the world famous beer and culinary delights of Munich in a truly welcoming environment.

www.hofbraeuhaus.de
Platzl 9 80331 Munich

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

The geographical beauty of Scotland is known worldwide. Its identity, landscapes, moors, mists or castles, make this land a unique place with its own great personality. But if there is something Scotland is well known for is for the loch, a symbol for the country, where traditions, tales, myths and legends merge the waters with the character and personality of the Scots. The characteristic topography and landscape of this country cannot be understood without them.

Why don’t we take a swim in some of the most beautiful lochs in Scotland?

Loch Rannoch: Located in Perth and Kinross, this loch is over 14 km long. The River Tummel begins at the eastern end and the Tay Forest Park lies along the southern shore. The lake and its surroundings offer good places for fishing and walking. The small village of Kinloch Rannoch is on the eastern end of the loch, and near the western end a crannog, an ancient artificial island, can be found.

Loch Lomond: The largest in Scotland with its 37km long and 8km wide. There are a big number of islands inside the loch, many of which are artificially created in ancient times to be inhabited.

Loch Ness: This is the lake of Scotland, the best known and most visited. The legends and tales told about its waters have become worldwide famous. It is about 39 km long, it forms part of the Caledonian Canal and has one of the most visited and photographed ruins of Scotland, Urquhart Castle. If you have good luck, maybe you’ll see Nessie.

Loch Tummel: One of the most famous viewpoints in Scotland is the Queens View, on the north of Edinburgh. The views over Lake Tummel and surrounding mountains are spectacular. Also, very close, in the town of Pitlochry, every October you can find the sound and light show known as the Enchanted Forest, which attracts thousands of visitors.

Loch Duich: The Eilean Donan Castle, one of the most famous and photographed castles in Scotland, located between lakes Alsh and Duich, makes this large lake one of the most visited in the country.

Loch Coruisk: The trip to this lake is one of the most beautiful of Scotland. Located between the "Munros" of Sgurr Alasdair, Sgurr Dearg and Bla Bheinn, to access it you have to take a boat from Eigol and just get carried away by the landscapes that go through a half-hour drive along the bay until you reach the dock. Curiously, depending on the season, you can see colonies of seals sunbathing or swimming in the lake.

Image from Jacob Martin

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

We are Carlos and Sophie, designers and creators of CURIUM (a line of leather accessories for men) and THE BOX (a second line of accessories for women).

We live in Barcelona but constantly travel to different cities in search of inspiration. Milan is one of the global capitals of fashion that we visit regularly. Besides stores selling the most famous brands, Milan is also home to smaller establishments with their own character and personality.

One such place is Corso Como 10, a concept store where you can find a fantastic selection of photography, art, fashion and perfumes that ranges from dresses by Christopher Kane to jewellery by the North American designer Eddie Borgo.

For those of you on a tighter budget, the 10 Corso Como Outlet, in a somewhat hidden away back yard at 3 Via Tazzoli, sells clothes and accessories for men and women at knock-down prices with discounts of up to 70%.

Another of the places you simply must visit in Milan is Wok Store Apparel Art – an eclectic multi-purpose space where you can enjoy music events, visit a good exhibition or be daring with some of the latest creations from English, Swedish, Italian and Japanese designers; Opening Ceremony, Henrik Vibskov, Comme des Garçons – a real temple to creativity!

Daad Dantone can be found in a kind of passageway that connects Corso Vittorio Emanuele with Corso Matteotti in the historic centre of Milan. This is a family business that started out as a tailor’s in 1960 and now stocks such indie Italian brands as Antonio Marras (before they become enormous flagships). They are currently fascinated by the Japanese darkness: Mastermind, Number 9, Undercover; an alternative to Italian design. (*they have 2 stores: 24A Via Spirito and 25 Via della Spiga).

If what you want is to get away from the crowds, the place for you is Antonioli. You’ll find this place in the Canal Navigli district (deserted during the day), at 1 Via P. Paoli. There is absolutely no sign whatsoever that any kind of multi-brand store lies behind its doors but that is exactly what the owner, Claudio Antonioli, wants. You’ll find designs by Rick Owens, Martin Margiela, Raf Simons and Balmain, among others, or end up buying a scented candle by Mad et Len.
By the way, they open every day of the week!

The best way to end your day is to visit Pane e Acqua, the domain of Rossana Orlandi at 14 Via Mateo Bandello, where you’ll enjoy Mediterranean and haute cuisine in surroundings that recreate an industrial aesthetic with a certain air of romance about it.

By Sophie Pastor

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

By Michael Shuermann from Easy Hiker

I still remember the first time we came into contact with Ventimiglia market – without even knowing that such a thing existed. We were boarding the local train from Nice to Menton, eastwards down the coast of the French Riviera in the direction of the Italian border. We were amazed to find it packed to the rafters at around 11 am on a Friday. From other trips on that line, we had been used to having a choice of seats on a weekday morning, but on that day, it seemed as though the entire population of the Cote d’Azur was on the move.

We did not find out until much later what was going on, but all these crowds were going to the Italian border town of Ventimiglia – the last stop on that line – for the popular weekly Friday street market.
The market mainly offers clothes, handbags and other leather goods – of mixed quality, it must be said, but occasionally, you can find well-crafted products at large discounts.

One of the market’s attractions apparently has something to do with the fact that – whisper it – the Italian police is less strict than its French counterpart in pursuing brand counterfeiters, so the French customs occasionally stop people on their way back from the market, asking them where they bought their shiny and new “Louis Vuitton handbag”. Be forwarned.

The market also features a section where farmers offer domestic food products. You can buy specialties from all over Italy here – Calabrian sausages, Parmesan cheese, olive oil – but also local produce such as sun-dried tomatoes and home-made pesto sauce, one of the things for which the province of Liguria (which includes Ventimiglia) is famous.

Have a coffee in one of the many charming little coffee houses around the 1930s municipio, the City Hall. You are only 15 km away from the French border town of Menton, but you will already feel a marked difference in the general liveliness (and noise levels) of the street life.
On market days, there is also a particularly large number of ambulant traders around who are walking from cafe to cafe peddling key chains that glow in the dark, small novelty household items and the like.

We have gone shopping many times at Ventimiglia market, and often, what we have bought from the peddlers turned out to be our most unforgettable purchases. What would our lives have been without the cicada fridge magnet that starts to sing when somebody approaches it?
You can reach Ventimiglia conveniently by local train (TER) from Nice. Trains leave frequently, generally every 30 minutes throughout the day. Don’t forget to bring a valid ID!

By Michael Shuermann from Easy Hiker 

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