Majorca is one of the pearls of the Mediterranean. Over the years, the island has drawn from its traditional resources to reinvent itself in line with current trends. No wonder, then, that it is one of Spain’s design meccas. This is where the Camper footwear brand was born, and the painter, Miquel Barceló, too. It was also the destination of such artists as Joan Miró and the pianist, Frédéric Chopin. This thirst for creation and good taste has led its capital, Palma, to build up a bountiful network of shops, restaurants, bars and hotels which can wreak havoc on the unsuspecting design lover. From the old town to the grass-roots quarter of Santa Catalina, from the classical to the most genuine vintage, one things emerges clearly – Palma is design.

1. In Progress
In the heart of Santa Catalina lies the store run by Sonia and Jesús, two enfants terribles of vintage who specialise in artefacts from the fifties to the eighties. Here you will find anything from chairs and lamps to Pontesa crockery, Arcoroc glasses and old Palma shop counters. With special emphasis on “Made in Spain”, on many a Saturday they organise aperitif concerts and exhibitions by local artists.

2. Rialto Living
As soon as you set foot in Rialto Living you will feel as though you’re in the chic venues of Capri or the Hamptons. This “living store” is housed in an old palace in the city’s historic centre and its offerings range from furniture and art to books, fashion and a restaurant. Old and modern mingle in the ambience, with that Mediterranean flourish we are so fond of.

3. Frida Watson
Seen from the shop window, items in the Frida Watson collection confirm love at first sight. This store in Santa Catalina features pure Scandinavian design from the fifties to the seventies in harmony with Vitra clocks, Murano glass and retro lamps that resemble flying saucers.

4. Hotel Cort
The work of interior designer, Lázaro Rosa-Violán, Hotel Cort is one of the most elegant in town. Perfect lighting, hydraulic flooring and island colours compound a blend of elements that can make your head swim. Further, the sophisticated hotel restaurant is the ideal spot for a quiet dinner with your partner.

5. La Pecera
Few places can reconcile mid-20th-century European furniture with vintage and contemporary Majorcan items so deftly. La Pecera is a small but alluring store where you can find lamps, designer furniture, decorative items and craftwork. C/ Victoria, 4

6. Ariela Schönberg Vintage Collective
German furniture is one of Ariela Schönberg’s fortes. This, one of the latest shops to open in Santa Catalina, features designer artefacts and anonymous furniture from the whole continent.

7. Posada Terra Santa
Despite its rather solemn name, the Posada Terra Santa (Holy Land Inn) is one of the loveliest hotels in Palma. Housed in a 16th-century palace, its 26 rooms display a blend of history and modernity with comfort. Additionally, their swimming pool, with views of the Cathedral, is the perfect spot for chilling out and letting yourself get drawn in by the city’s charm.

8. Sa Costa
Sa Costa is a classic in Palma. Their antiques show wonderfully next to vintage formica, plastic and iron. As soon as you enter the shop, you realise you could spend hours admiring the dozens of furniture pieces and other items that people this store in the city centre. Costa de Sa Pols, 7A

9. Patrón Lunares
The classic essence of the Mediterranean arrives in Palma, skippered by the Patrón Lunares tavern and their chef, Javier Bonet. A pretty venue decorated with hydraulic floor tiles, iron columns and retro furniture where you can eat good seafood and enjoy the island’s flavours.

10. Galería Veintinueve
Now in their recently opened new premises, Galería Veintinueve continues to be a hit, with their dual facet of contemporary art exhibition centre and venue for large 20th-century pieces by such designers as Jacobsen, Scarpa and Colombo. The store and patio are spectacular and the collection of art and furniture will leave you impressed.

11.  Viveca
Antiquities, ceramics, textiles and lots of vintage – this is the essence of Viveca Palma, where Íñigo Güell and Ingrid Iturralde have unveiled a store featuring 18th-century Swedish furniture and iconic 20th-century furniture. A real pleasure.

12. Louis 21
Upcoming artists jostle to exhibit their creations in Louis 21, one of the leading springboards for promoting the careers of emerging artists. With another gallery in Madrid, their philosophy is to elicit interaction with the public and the collaborative urge.

Come in search of fine design in the Balearic capital – check out your Vueling here.

Text by Aleix Palau for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Aleix Palau

Málaga has become the hot capital of culture, due to the recent opening of local branches of the Centre Pompidou and Saint Petersburg State Russian Museum Collection, added to other art successes with the Carmen Thyssen Museum, La Térmica, the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) and the Picasso Museum (a fine retrospective of Louise Bourgeois is currently running until 27 September). The city centre’s beautiful pedestrian precinct – distributed around the stately Marqués de Larios street as its hub – it’s pleasant climate all year around, its beaches and its gastronomy make it the ideal getaway destination. Here are 7 essential eateries you should not miss in Málaga.

1. El Pimpi

You can’t leave Málaga without stopping off at this emblematic bar with its eminently Andalusian patios filled with potted carnations. One of its draws is the casks autographed by the most variegated celebrities who have dined there, from Antonio Gala to Miquel Barceló and Pablo Alborán. It has a huge terrace, too. The food is very good and prices average about €30.

2. Los Baños del Carmen

This former spa opposite the beach, once a luxury baths and now decadent, preserves a charm of its own. Refurbished as a restaurant boasting an enormous terrace with a stately air, this is the ideal spot for soaking up the twilight hours. The menu du jour costs €18 and the à la carte is very Malagueñan: tapas de la bahía (from the bay), fish on a skewer, charcoaled meat… and concerts are usually held on weekend afternoons.

3. Mercado Atarazanas (Atarazanas, 10)

This lovely market with wrought-iron ceilings, colourful stained glass and a marble, Mudéjar entrance features several stalls that sell their tapas on the street, with tall tables for eating standing up. Dogfish, octopus, razor clams, prawns, venus shells, Malagueñan mixed fry… fittingly all very fresh and at excellent prices (averaging €3.5 for a half-portion). Ideal for having an aperitif.

4. Andrés Maricuchi

El Pedregalejo beach offers one of Málaga’s most prized specialities – espetos or skewered fish, particularly the sardine variety. They are charcoaled on cute barbecue boats set in the sand. Prominent among the many beach bars with a carefree, happy ambience is the Maricuchi. Instead of a menu, they recite their dishes to you. Their sardines are crisp on the outside and tasty on the inside. Around €20.

5. Montana

If you are seeking a more curated cuisine in romantic surroundings, this town palace has a gastronomic restaurant upstairs and a tapas bar below, set in a gardened terrace. Some of the recommendations: scrambled egg with whitebait and peppers in yuzu sauce, ox carpaccio with olive oil ice-cream and wasabi cheese, and timbal (tartlet) with griddled bacon, field mushrooms, foie gras and balsamic reduction. Classicism and modernity in one. Average price – €45.

6. José Carlos García Restaurante

Haute cuisine for gourmets. The chef, Carlos García, was awarded the province’s first Michelin star for creative cuisine in his Café París restaurant. They recently opened another, more distinguished, upmarket restaurant in the harbour. It comprises an intimate dining area with just six tables, a kitchen enclosed in a cube in full view of diners, a priceless terrace and an events room. Tasting menu – €110.

7. KGB

The more daring foodies should head for Kisco García Bar, a trove of world cuisine. One of their hits is pure Asian and Andalusian fusion – the Vietnamese nam de pringá (€4). They also give a nod to Russia with their vodka omelette, and to other parts of the world, as with their Peking Express bread. They also feature an array of thoroughly southern dishes, like the Ángel León-style shrimp omelette. A curiosity – the premises once housed Dani García’s gastrobar and, as a lot of the latter’s guests still came to order their excellent ox-tail hamburger, the dish has been incorporated into the menu of the bar opposite, belonging to the same owner as KGB – Wendy Gambas. 

Málaga seems to have just everything. A good climate, excellent museums and endless culinary delights to wit. Come and live it out for yourself. Check out our flights here.

Text by Isabel Loscertales (Gastronomistas)

Photos by Isabel Loscertales, Montana, José Carlos García Restaurante

Did you know that Little Tokyo district of Düsseldorf is certainly the closest you can get to Japan without leaving Europe?
Since the 50s the Japanese settled in Düsseldorf for supplies of materials and machinery for rebuilding their country after World War II. Today, with more than 450 Japanese companies and 11,000 people, it is the third largest Japanese community in Europe. This has made the city a must-visit destination for all lovers of Japanese culture and cuisine.

Immermannstrasse 41

Located at the heart of Little Tokyo, this superior 4 star hotel belongs to a prestigious Japanese hotel group. The Torii Bar in the hotel lobby is now a classic as a meeting point for the Japanese community in the city, because in the same building it is located the German-Japanese Centre. In the hotel itself is also found Benkay Restaurant, highly acclaimed by all as the best teppanyaki in town, and the sushi bar Fish Corner run by the cheff Hisato Mochizuki. It is to highlight a careful selection of sakes, where you can staste such delights as Dassai 23, the more refined sake that is produced, or Shimeharitsuru “Jun” of Niigata prefecture .

Takumi Takumi and 2nd

Immermannstrasse 28

Just opposite Nikko Hotel is located Takumi, a unique ramen bar where you can try 100% vegetarian ramen broth noodles. Possibly it is one of the only places in the world where you can taste ramen sitting on a terrace. A few meters away it is Takumi 2nd (Ostrasse 51), from the same owners, where you can also try tonkotsu miso ramen made with pork broth and miso or their delicious homemade gyoza dumplings.

Ostrasse 55

Another ramen bar, with a far more extensive menu where you should not miss Chashu Tokusei miso ramen or ramen “de lux” with miso and marinated pork slices. To round it up, you can ask them to add some wantan in the same bowl. Other curiosities include Chanpon, a bowl of noodles with crispy vegetables, typical of Nagasaki, or Tantan Men, spicy noodles that you must taste. On the opposite sidewalk is Naniwa Sushi & More, which, as its name suggests, you can order sushi and some other dish.

Klosterstrasse 70

A simple restaurant, where many Japanese families get together to eat all kinds of authentic dishes such as Takosu or viengar-seasoned octopus; beef tongue grilled or Gyutan, a typical dish from Sendai; tebasaki fried chicken wings, or Kushikatsu breaded kebabs, very typical dish in Japanese taverns because it is very easy to share, where the kebabs are immersed in a communal tonkatsu sauce jar. Unwritten rule is that you may only dip once into the sauce before a bite.

Nagomi

Bismarckstrasse 53

I must confess I do not have time to try this establishment but I was totally delighted by its spacious sushi bar made ​​of wood and its design. Definitive proof was it was full of Japanese customers. Later on, the Bon owners, a Japanese bookstore located at Marienstrasse 41, confirmed it was one of the latest restaurants they just opened in the neighborhood and it was a very successful one. Another place I reserved for my next visit was Kagaya tavern (Potsdamer 60), an authentic izakaya where you can taste some of the best sakes with a ramen bowl or some other dish.

Nagaya

Klosterstrasse 42

The only Japanese restaurant with a Michelin star in Germany. The Japanese cuisine in combination with traditional European dishes and sushi are a must for all of these who consider themselves a gourmet. A few meters away is Soba-an (Klosterstrasse 68), run by Reiko Miyashita and her husband, who makes her own handmade soba noodles. An alternative to fast food that should not be missed.
If you are still hungry and you want to take a piece of Japan in your hand luggage, you can approach Shochiku supermarket (Immermannstrasse 15), where you will find all kind of tools and products such as sauces, dressings, Japanese curries and even a fish market where they prepare specific fish pieces to make sushi at home.

By Roger Ortuño

So you feel like visiting Düsseldorf, do you? Book your flights here!

The idea is not new. For some years now, these artificial urban beaches have popped up each summer in Berlin, Hamburg and under the bridges of the river Seine in Paris. You won’t have to cram the whole family into your car, or embark on a long, hot journey to feel the sand under your feet and freshen up in the water. In Brussels, this tropical paradise is known as Les Bains de Bruxelles and it lasts for five weeks on the Quai des Péniches, along the Brussels Canal. It opens from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, and from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

True, there aren’t many waves, but some ingenuity has been applied to making the beach as attractive as possible; indeed, it draws an extremely diverse crowd of beach-goers. The 6,000 m² of sand are dotted with deck-chairs, palm trees and coconut palms, striped sunshades and beach bars serving vividly coloured cold beverages. The atmosphere is a family one during the day and sports activities include beach football, volleyball, boule and ping-pong, as well as games for young children. Pedalos and kayaks can be hired at reasonable prices on Sundays. You can also go for a ride along the canal on board the Bruxelles les Bains, which offers various tours – the short one takes 55 minutes; the longest one is a 2-hour cruise, and there is also a “cocktail cruise”, by night – while the harbour’s history and geography is expounded on by a guide.

This chill-out on the beach is accompanied by the Let It Beach festival, now in its third year. A variety of concerts liven up the evening on weekends, while on Fridays the music turns to folk, rock, pop and hip-hop. Jazz and world music take centre stage on Saturdays. The Sunday programmes target the younger set, with workshops, dances and, of course, more concerts. Night reverie is bolstered by free sessions of Croisetteke, every day from 6 p.m. on, in addition to theBoat Club,an exclusive floating club which hosts the liveliest parties in Brussels.

Not Without My Ice-cream!

When the thermometer seems to be driving endlessly upwards, another delicious way of keeping cool is to have an ice-cream. And, for those who can’t contemplate a day at the seaside without ice-cream, here are some of the best parlours in town:

Comus & Gasterea (Quai aux Briques, 86)

A place for trying the newest and most unusual flavours. It features some of the strangest ice-creams in the world, with such flavours as caviar, olive oil, Roquefort, lichi, wasabi aubergine and basil, home-made and free of additives or colouring agents. All you need is to be patient, as queues can sometimes build up outside its doors.

Capoue (Rue de Wand, 112)

Chez Capoue is one of the oldest ice-cream parlours in Brussels and, while at Comus & Gasterea you find the most unusual flavours, in Capoue they make the most daring combinations, notably bounty, blood orange and spiced bread. They are also have them sugar-free for diabetics, or lactose-free for those allergic to dairy.

Il Monello (Chaussée de Charleroi, 31 -33)

While Il Monello opened only recently, it has already made a name for itself in the city for its traditional pastries and homemade ice-creams. They also serve the latter atop a waffle for those seeking consistency (or calories).

Zizi (Rue de la Mutualité, 57A)

Zizi, a veritable institution in Brussels, is the city’s best-known ice-cream parlour. In the sixty years they have been open, they have never altered their manufacturing process. The flavours are natural and free of colouring agents.

Brussels Rules!

Brussels is a refreshing destination this summer, but not only because of its urban beach. Throughout the summer, every Friday from 5 p.m. to 11.30 p.m., the Apéros Urbains or animated afterworks are held in some of the most attractive spots in the city. Also featured is the Midis Minimes classical music festival, with daily concerts lasting 35 minutes from 12.15 p.m. (until 28 August), held in the Church of Saint-Jean et Etienne aux Minimes and in the Conservatorio Real.

Come and experience it for yourself. Come on! Pick up your towel and check out the flights to… Brussels!

Text by Scanner FM

Images by Eric Danhier