Beaujolais, one of France’s major vinicultural regions, lies some 50 km north of Lyons and stretches northwards through the French department of Rhône and southwards along the Saône and Loire rivers. Midnight on the third Thursday in November is one of the crowning moments in the region when, to the cry of le Beaujolais Nouveau est arrivé! (the new Beaujolais has arrived), local vintners release one of their youngest and most international wines. This red wine, made from the gamay grape – the most widely used in the area – is characterised by its quick, merely weeks-long fermentation and by the fact that the whole production is released onto the market simultaneously. This is achieved through what is probably one of the best known marketing operations in the viticultural sector, with a worldwide reach – Japan, the United States and Germany are among its main importers.

All this marketing madness has its origins in something far simpler, the local tradition of celebrating the end of the harvest. To this end, a young wine was made and consumed solely in the region itself. However, the official birth date of this wine is 1951, when authorisation was granted to release it onto the market on 15 November. It then became popular throughout France and sparked fierce competition between vintners, who vied to be the first to take their bottled wine to Paris. Also significant is the figure of Georges Duboeuf, one of the leading producers in the region, credited with having christened the wine Beaujolais Nouveau and being the leading promoter of the label. In 1985, the release date was moved to the third Thursday in November, while the festival was scheduled for the weekend to boost sales.

A Veritable Wine Festival

But, not everything related to Beaujolais Nouveau is commercial. There is also time for entertainment, the perfect excuse to visit this beautiful grape-growing region during the festival. All types of wine-related festive activities – known as the Beaujolais Days – are held across the region. The most famous one is Les Sarmentelles, held in the town of Beaujeu, the region’s historical capital. It lasts five days and activities include a host of wine-tasting events, and the chance to savour local cuisine, as well as to enjoy their music and dance. Sports enthusiasts will relish the Beaujolais Marathon, a race which takes runners past several chateaux and where wines and cheeses are offered at the aid stations. The whole race is run in a festive spirit, with a large number of participants wearing fancy dress. Even the city of Lyon gets involved in the celebration by organising the so-called Beaujol’ympiades, where you can join in by tasting the twelve Beaujolais AOCs.

Beaujolais Beyond Their Nouveau

Apart from their great festival, Beaujolais has a lot to see, discover and enjoy. Many tourist guides tend to compare this region to Tuscany, and they aren’t far wrong. Visitors to Beaujolais will discover beautiful scenery carpeted with vineyards, with the odd chateaux peeping out, in addition to charming stone villages and excellent culinary offerings.

Ready to toast the first wine of the season? Get your Vueling here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Goproo3, yves Tennevin, Shunichi kouroki

Federico García Lorca, the poet, playwright and a member of the Generation of 27, was undoubtedly one of the leading figures of 20th-century Spanish literature with worldwide acclaim. He is the artificer of such magnificent works as Gypsy Ballads, Poet in New York, Blood Wedding, The House of Bernarda Alba and Yerma, among others. The biography of Federico García Lorca is closely linked to the city of Granada and to some villages in the surrounding Vega of Granada. Just as these lands left their mark on his work, so has Lorca’s influence lingered there over time. We now retrace the footprints of this magnanimous artist.

The Lorca route sets out from Fuente Vaqueros, a small town on the Vega de Granada where the poet was born. The house where he was born, located at 4 Calle García Lorca, which has been turned into a museum, provides visitors with an idea of his first steps in life.

Near Fuente Vaqueros lies the town of Valderrubio. Apart from being the first place to grow Virginia tobacco brought from the Americas, it was here that Lorca spent his holidays during his infancy. Prominent places of interest include the house of Bernarda Alba, on the Calle de la Iglesia, which was next door to García Lorca’s family home. As you may have gathered, it was the source of inspiration for one of his most widely acclaimed stage plays, The House of Bernarda Alba, with its mordant portrayal of life in the Spanish heartland. The old family abode has been turned into a House Museum, with some of the poet’s personal belongings on display.

In 1909, the Lorca family moved to Granada, where our route continues. His first home in this city was at 50 Calle Acera del Darro and the second, at 31 Acera del Casino. In 1914 he started a degree in Law and Arts at Granada University. During that period, he began to frequent what was one of the most celebrated meeting places of young intellectuals, the Café Alameda, which is now the Restaurante Chikito. That what where the conversational circle known as “El Rinconcillo” used to meet. The group was made up of artists of different disciplines whose common aim it was to promote cultural renewal in the city. The Centro Artístico y Literario de Granada (CALC) and El Polinario – also a famous flamenco tablao– were other spots frequented by Lorca.

An upshot of these gatherings was that Lorca struck up a friendship with Manuel de Falla, also a member of “El Rinconcillo”. Together they organised the first Cante Jondo de Granada contest – also a first in the whole of Spain – which was held in the Plaza de los Aljibes at the Alhambra.

The second-last stopover on our itinerary, just two kilometres from Granada, is the town of Huerta de San Vicente, the family’s summer residence from 1926 to 1936. Set in a beautiful park, it became a retreat for Lorca and it was there that he was able to relax, and draw inspiration to write. It was also the place where he spent the last few days of his life. The home has now been turned into the Federico García Lorca House-Museum, with furniture, personal objects and photographs of Lorca on display.

When the Spanish Civil War broke out in the summer of 1936, Lorca was forced to seek refuge in the family home of the poet, Luis Rosales, although this did not prevent him from being arrested on 16 August 1936. Our final stop on this itinerary through Lorca’s haunts in Granada is an olive grove located between Vízcar and Alfacar, where Federico García Lorca was executed by firing squad in the morning of 18 August. This subsequently became a park named after the poet. In it stands a monolith in memory of the victims of the Francoist repression during the Civil War.

Good reason to book your Vueling to Granada and follow the Lorca trail through Granada.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Alfons Hoogervorst, John Levin

Surfing, which is attracting more and more enthusiasts, reaches its most exciting extreme when it comes to big waves, where man pits his strength and skill against the crude forces of nature unleashed. The Basque seaboard boasts a good number of these waves – well known to surfers – all less than an hour’s drive from Loiu airport.

One of the stars of this sport and speciality is Axi Muniain, a professional big-wave surfer and five-time finalist in the XXL Big Wave Awards, the equivalent of surfing Oscars. Regarded by many as a radical, innovative surfer, he has sailed the seven seas in search of the world’s biggest wave, earning him the nickname of “The Wave Hunter”. Axi says that “in the Basque Country the vast majority of big waves have the added danger of being near the coast – a rugged coastline with deep water where risk-taking increases. The waves are not as tubular as in Jaws or Mavericks. While similar in size, the proximity of the shoreline poses an added risk. But there are also some safe waves on large sandy beaches. The coast is full of contrasts, often with difficult access routes, which means it is not crowded. But, on the other hand, it makes rescue operations more difficult. The Basque Country and its big waves are for real pros.”

Signature Basque Big Waves

Meñakoz: This cove, situated between the municipalities of Sopelana and Barrika, attracts many of the bravest surfers in the world. Its right-handers are some of the most powerful in the Cantabrian Sea and are considered to be the mightiest on the Basque coast. Big and well-formed, the wave can reach a height of 8 metres. Be sure to have a birra in their beach hut as the sea views from above are spectacular.

Punta Galea: Included in the Big Wave World Tour, it is located in the municipality of Getxo. The wave, which forms near the mouth of Bilbao harbour, is as powerful as it is dangerous.

Izaro: Legend has it that this beautiful island was the setting for a passionate love affair between a monk from the local monastery and a beautiful young woman from Bermeo, somewhere in the 15th century. Located opposite Bermeo and Mundaka, it packs a wave which reach up to 9 metres.

Roka Puta: An excellent big wave – a powerful right-hander which can get up to 6 metres. Some of Spain’s best big-wave hellmen have honed their skills on it.

Sorgin-Zulo: This wave on Deba beach packs a huge mass of water. It is difficult to see the swell forming but, once up, it is unique. Said to be one of the largest and strongest on the Basque coastline, it can grow to a height of 5 metres. The rocky and sandy seabed makes it even more dangerous.

Playa Gris: Between the picturesque towns of Zumaia and Getaria, this is Europe’s most international and media-friendly wave, with numerous nominations in theXXL Big Wave Awards.

Agiti: A difficult – if not, impossible – wave to surf as it breaks near a cliff face, so one mistake can be fatal. Needless to say, anyone brave enough to ride it will get an amazing adrenalin rush.

All these big waves are, of course, set against the backdrop of stunning scenery along the Basque coast and the area also offers restaurants, bars and beach huts with magnificent cuisine.

Fancy seeing them for yourself? Hurry and book your Vueling to Bilbao.

Text by Tensi Sánchez of ilovebilbao.com

Images by Greg Rabejac and Ritxi Goya

Bayonne, capital of the French Basque Country, is one of the most surprising cities in the new French region of Aquitaine-Lemosín-Poitou-Charentes. Basque from head to toe, this city located at the confluence of the rivers Nive and Adour is well worth strolling through, as you will discover buildings that stand out for their colourful facades and traditional half-timbering. This reveals the Basque influence and indeed Bayonne is part of the historical territory of Labourd – Lapurdi, in Basque. One of the most widely visited spots in the city is the Basque Museum, which features one of the most important ethnographic collections in southern France. Their culture is present in some local businesses, such as the shops selling typical Basque fabric, in such sports as pelota – very popular among the Bayonnais – and in the language, as French and Basque coexist in Bayonne.

Bayonne, in the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, has long been unjustly upstaged by the thermal baths and glitter of neighbouring Biarritz, located less than 10 kilometres away. The historic centre of this locality in Aquitaine is made up of three quarters – Grand Bayonne, Petit Bayonne and Saint-Esprit. Prominent in the first of these is the Cathedral of Sainte-Marie de Bayonne, with its wonderful 13th-century cloister, the Château-Vieux (Old Castle), built in the 12th century by the Viscounts of Lapurdi, and the Spanish Gate, which the old main road leading to the border once passed through. In the Grand Bayonne you can also make out the three walls that encircled the city in former times – one, of Roman origin, a second from the period of King Francis I (early 16th century) and the last one designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the second half of the 17th century.

Petit Bayonne, for its part, is a secluded quarter presided over by the Château-Neuf (New Castle), built by Charles IV in the 15th century. Sited in this area is the aforementioned Basque Museum, on the Nive riverbank, housed in a 16th-century palace known as the Maison Dagourette. Inaugurated in 1922, it is a veritable ethnographic gem, boasting displays ranging from traditional burial sites to houses, furniture and craftwork. Lastly, on the far side of the river lies Saint-Esprit, with the citadel and train station as its major landmarks. That is where Spanish and Portuguese immigrant Jews lived after fleeing from the Inquisition.

Gastronomy in Bayonne

Bayonne market is an ideal place for trying the city’s typical dishes, like the tasty Gâteau Basque,in addition to cured ham, accompanied by peppers from the neighbouring town of Espelette, and chocolate, brought here by the Jews from the Iberian Peninsula who settled in Bayonne. Apart from the market, one of the streets treasured by lovers of the cocoa derivative is Rue Port Neuf,home to a number of craft workshops such as L’Atelier du Chocolat, where a delightful spicy chocolate is made, and Chocolats Cazenave, an establishment which has been running for one and a half centuries and counts among its specialities water-based chocolate and mousse.

Bayonne Mini-Guide

Sleep at…

The Hôtel & Restaurant Les Basses Pyrénées, a central hotel located just a few minutes from the Cathedral and Spanish Gate.

For a meal, be sure to visit…

La Karafe (25, Quai Jaureguiberry), with typicalpinchosand sausage.

Brasserie du Trinquet (4, Rue du Jeu de Paume), sited next to a court where Basque pelota is played on Thursdays.

You can shop at…

Tissage de Luz (3, rue Port de Castets) who sell tablecloths, bags and bedclothes bearing the typical Basque hallmark, as well as other more modern types in bright colours.

The airport of San Sebastián lies 40 kilometres from Bayonne. Book your Vueling here and discover it for yourself!

Text by Tus Destinos

Images by B. BLOCH - CRTA y tuvemafoto-OT Bayonne