Cinque Terre (Five Lands) is the name of the 10 kilometers long seacoast that goes from Punto Mesco to Punta di Montenero, including five villages: Monterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore, aligned in this order if you come from Genoa.

They are part of the Liguria region -with Genoa as the capital city- and not just five random villages. Along with Portovenere and the islands of Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto, the setting was declared World Heritage site and it’s considered one of the most beautiful places on Earth.

These five traditional villages have some odd architectural characteristics. For instance, most of the houses were built on the steep rocks of the coast and are somehow suspended between the sea and the land.

These are little fishing villages, very well preserved over the years, protected against the massive urban growth and not altering the delicate ecological balance.

From Genoa you can reach Cinque Terre easily by train, taking the regional train that goes from Genoa to Pisa and across all these villages. This is the best option to get to Spezia province, because traffic to vehicles in the narrow cobbled streets of the Cinque Terre villages is limited.

Therefore, the best option is to walk within the routes that connect all the five fishing villages, to discover stunning landscapes, beaches, hills and pines forests. The most famous is the Blue Route, a 12 kilometers walk. Or, if you’re looking for something easier, get the Via dell'Amore, between Riomaggiore and Manarola, with a nice view over the Liguria coast.

At Cinque Terre you’ll enjoy a colorful mosaic in one of the most beautiful areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Also the gastronomy, with regional specialties and great fresh fish from the area or wines with their own designation of origin, like the delicious Sciacchetrà.

Riomaggiore by rdesai | Manarola by Mathias Ripp | Corniglia by sailko | Vernazza by AnticheSere | Monterrosso by Mauricio Pellegrinetti

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

Snow White, Cinderella, Hansel & Gretel, Dauntless Little John, Sleeping Beauty or Tom Thumb are some of the famous characters from the fairytales written by the Grimm Brothers. We all know these tales; we have read or hear them when we were kids, they blew up our imagination to distant places where kindly fairies, handsome princes and princesses or evil queens lived.

Now you can live your own adventure again following the Fairytales route in Germany, which will make your childhood dreams come true.

About 600 kilometers, from Bremen to Hanau, through charming villages and enchanted forests that will take you to an atmosphere from the 19th century and the landscapes where the main characters from the fairy tales lived adventures and misadventures.

The route follows emblematic sites like Hanau, the city where Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm, the worldwide famous writers who create the most well known fairytales, were born. At the center of the Market Square, in Hanau, there is a significant monument in their honor.

The trip also passes by Kassel, the route’s main village, where many of the fairytales take place and you can also find a museum dedicated to the Grimm brothers, the Sababurg castle in Hofgeismar – linked to the Sleeping Beauty’s tale -, Bremen – from Town Musicians of Bremen -, the city of Polle – where the story of Cinderella takes place – or the city of Hamelin, where the famous flutist enchanted kids and rats with his music.

This route is especially recommended for families but also to grownups that retain their childhood’s spirit. Get ready to this magic trip that starts with a “Once upon a time…”

Picture by Christoph Runge

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This Marseille’s quaint neighborhood is the oldest in the city and is located behind the old port, an area comprised between Castle of Sant Jean and Basilica of Sainte-Marie-Majeure . Its Provencal style streets and frontages have an maghreb atmosphere, due to the large Muslim settlement that has occurred in recent decades in this port enclave . Le Panier is characterized by a humble and even somewhat ramshackle appearance, because in ancient times had been a conflict zone, home of pirates and privateers.

Currently, this area has been converted and has nothing to do with what was once. Artisans and artists have reoccupied the streets and set up their workshops. A host of colorful houses, narrow streets with the most peculiar shops, upstairs and downstairs and typical food little bars and restaurants that gives so much charm to the district. The laundry hanging from the windows on the street gives this neighborhood an unusual authenticity. It is ideal for a walk, take pictures, go to lunch one delicious hot chocolate in one of the cafes or visit any of their famous Marseilles soap factories. Bakeries and pastries also charge a special role.

This traditional neighborhood contrasts with the rest of Marseille, more stately. There would still have one of the most emblematic points of the city attractions such as La Vielle Charité , museum and cultural center or Place des Moulins that is also noteworthy for it is on top of the old neighborhood, still retaining two former fifteen windmills, now rehabilitated as dwellings.

Image:  phgaillard2001

Don’t you want to immerse yourself in this enchanting city of Provence? Check out our flights here.

By Eddy Lara Brito from www.DestinosActuales.com

The place where Barcelona embraces the sea and vice-versa

The great thing about living in Barcelona is the ability to be in a city of just the right size – big enough to be a grand European metropolis yet small enough to offer unbeatable quality of life, as well as proximity to the sea. Just right.

Since the early 1990s, when it became an Olympic city, Barcelona has experienced perhaps its most important transformation after a century of growth with the Ildefons Cerdà city expansion. This change has basically involved putting the focus firmly back on the Mediterranean. 20 years have passed now and the Barcelona coastline is undoubtedly the hub of the city, especially during the summer.

They say that Barcelona is a city that lacks anywhere new to be discovered but, when you live in this city, you realise that part of its personality lies precisely in that many hidden corners and places emerge, die and are reborn again. One of my favourite places in Barcelona is the Moll de Xaloc in the Port Olímpic.

Here you can enjoy all the splendour of Barcelona in peace and quiet. There is nothing better than an autumn evening for observing the sun draw the city skyline on the horizon: the Tibidabo, Montjuic, the Sagrada Familia, the statue of Columbus… with the Mediterranean on the other side, closer than ever and intensely blue. This is precisely where Barcelona embraces the sea and vice-versa.

By Eddy Lara Brito from www.DestinosActuales.com

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