Volcanoes, nature, sport, gastronomy, tradition, architecture… It would be difficult to find another destination offering as much as Tenerife, whose privileged situation also makes it a perfect island to visit at any time of the year.

There’s so much more to Menorca than just idyllic beaches, fishing villages and charming paths by the sea. The island offers amazing food and a busy cultural programme throughout the year.

The Alsace Wine Route is speckled with numerous wine cellars where you can taste the famed wines of this French region. And, if you’re travelling with family, friends or your partner, you can opt to discover the world of winemaking through a series of leisure activities in a number of delightful towns and villages, some of them regarded as among the most beautiful in France. You will also come across an endless array of restaurants, from Michelin-starred establishments to the typical winstubs, a kind of bistro offering traditional cuisine from locally sourced products in a relaxed setting. And, seated at a terrace café, to wit. Take note of these venues, which we can highly recommend.

La Nouvelle Auberge
This former post office is located between the cities of Colmar and Munster. The ground floor features a bistro offering market cuisine at moderate prices. The first floor is given over to an acclaimed, award-winning gourmet restaurant, with the subtle creations of a chef who combines cutting-edge technique with simple Alsatian recipes, conditioned solely by seasonality and in line with the slow-food movement, of which La Nouvelle Auberge is a member. They offer four tasting menus with different dishes every day, depending on what the freshest produce from local producers happens to be. Some of their specialities include snail soup with garlic and parsley, oxtail consommé, smoked river fish fillet in red wine sauce and snail paté on toast, all paired with local wines. The interior design is that of a traditional, half-timbered Alsatian home, while the establishment boasts a pleasant, quiet, shady terrace set in natural surroundings.

Avenue 294
A comfortable, inviting establishment with refined decor where the chef crafts new suggestions every day, over and above a menu which is both contemporary and traditionally inspired. Special mention goes to the homemade desserts – watch out for the seasonal fruit tarts – and their wine list, extensive and with acclaimed local wines. As soon as the morning sun peeps through, they open a terrace behind the lovely red house that is Avenue 294. They have comfortable easy chairs and a plant-fringed area suited to having a last drink, for example. Pleasant ambient music accompanies the experience. A gourmet venue in a perfect setting you won’t want to leave.

Hôtel Beauséjour
A five minutes’ walk from the centre of the picturesque city that is Colmar – also known as “Little Venice” for its canals – you can relax in the garden-terrace of this establishment, owned by the Keller family, the fifth generation of restaurateurs. Their cuisine, based on seasonal products, is refined and very Alsatian, as evinced in the homemade foie gras with Gewürztraminer wine gelatine, or their organic five-meat sauerkraut. However, the standout feature of this restaurant-hotel is the interior patio, sited in a garden full of trees and flowers, totally cut off from the rest of the city.

Wistub Brenner
A genuine old-time Alsatian winstub located in the heart of Colmar. They offer the authentic – most compelling – local dishes, including sauerkraut, onion tart, Munster cheese salad and duck magret, cream cheese and potatoes and beef tripe with Riesling. We loved their beautiful, flower-filled urban terrace where you needn’t hesitate to spend a long after-meal sipping those fabulous white wines from Alsace, served in glasses with a green foot.

Le Cerf
Marlenheim, the first town you come to on the Alsace Wine Route if you start off from Strasbourg, has some great wine cellars and a great restaurant – Le Cerf. This establishment, which doubles as a hotel, has been run by the Husser family since 1930. It combines rustic interior design with avant-garde cuisine, which has earned it a Michelin star. Theirs is top-drawer cuisine, featuring regional dishes crafted using contemporary techniques, attested by the likes of sauerkraut or bouchées à la reine (stuffed vol-au-vent), and such international dishes as ravioli au foie gras or oxtail sashimi ramen, served up amid surrounding vineyards. Their terrace is a central patio where local red geraniums lend a touch of charm.

Book your Vueling to Basel, an hour and a half from the start of the Alsace Wine Route, and be sure to soak up the views in some of these magnificent terraces while tasting their delicious cuisine.

Text by Laia Zieger de Gastronomistas

Where Hipsters Converge – the Jewish Quarter
One of the liveliest areas of Budapest, where you come across a smashing eatery at every step, whether classical or hip. One of the most charming restaurants offering traditional cuisine is the Spinoza Café, with its intimate lighting and walls bedecked with vintage illustrations. The menu features Jewish specialities such as hummus, and the essential Hungarian dishes like goulash, a popular beef stew usually accompanied with spätzle, an unevenly shaped type of noodle. Dinner ends with one of Hungary’s most typical liqueurs, pálinka, a potent but digestive spirit which is here displayed in a priceless giant bottle on the bar counter.

If you prefer something more contemporary, there is no dearth of options. Like the Street Food Karaván, a concentration of dedicated food trucks and kiosks where you can grab a bite at their shared, open-air tables. The homemade hamburgers of Zing Burger will not disappoint either. Other options with a roof over your head include Situ (Kazinczy, 32), with a French touch, Vintage Garden, feminine and romantic, 3, Három, Three (Kazinczy, 3), informal and cool, and Doblo, a cheerful wine bar.

End off the night with a drink at one of the “ruin bars”,one of the most unusual concepts in Budapest. They are located in derelict buildings, reclaimed by young people and turned into bars with a hint of the underground and a big helping of imagination – creativity has taken over where funding reaches its limits. The most famed ruin bar is Szimpla Kert, with its entertaining, enveloping atmosphere.

Where To Eat In Buda: Baltazár Grill
While Pest is more dynamic, don’t leave the city without visiting Buda Castle and its stunning views. Here we recommend you eat at the Baltazár Grill, a hip bistro with its striking painting by Basquiat. They serve modernised Hungarian dishes (their paprika chicken and goulash soup are excellent) and marvellous hamburgers made in a Josper grill. The other side of the restaurant is a cosy wine bar where you can try some great Hungarian wines.

Where the Beautiful People Go – Menza
This restaurant is all the rage now. A blend of retro and futuristic aesthetics featuring an eclectic, contemporary and international menu with room for pasta, sandwiches, various meat dishes and even the odd fish dish – bear in mind that Budapest is a predominantly meat-eating city.

Where To Delight In Bistros With Charm
The bistro formula is in vogue in the Hungarian capital. After Costes and Onyx, the third restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star was the Borkonyha bistro, with a relaxed ambience but impeccable cuisine. Alongside the priceless Central Market stands the splendid Borbíróság, offering modern market cuisine and over a hundred quality Hungarian wines served by the glass. Highly recommendable is the duck and cherry ragout with potato and Cheddar cheese, and their foie gras beef with ratatouille and roast potatoes. Other bistros you will enjoy include Terminal, sited in an erstwhile bus station, and Zona, with beautiful interior design and Hungarian dishes with an international flourish.

Afternoon Tea – Cafés With Character
Tradition rules in one of the cities with the greatest pastry expertise. Before leaving Budapest, make a point of having afternoon tea in the stylish New York Café, housed in a 19th-century neo-Baroque palace where you will find it difficult to stop taking snaps… until you try one of their pastries, of course! Also classical but more sober is the Gerbeaud, one of the city’s most acclaimed pastry cafés. Make sure you try one of the local specialities, which are of exceptional quality here – the Dobos cake, made of fine layers of sponge, chocolate cream and a caramel topping.

Where To Sleep – Eurostars Budapest Center
This four-star Spanish hotel chain has an unrivalled siting on the edge of the Jewish Quarter and a stone’s throw away from the Danube. Housed in a Communist-era building, the rooms are spacious, bright, functional and elegant at affordable prices. The self-service breakfast is copious and varied, and the common areas comfortable, but the best thing is the service – they are helpful and, if you require a booking, they do it for you… and they speak Spanish!

Text and photos: Isabel Loscertales (Gastronomistas)