Por Tensi Sánchez de actitudesmgz.com

When you feel trapped by routine and you fancy something different, London is the perfect city for you. London is the ideal place for a weekend change of scenery where you can fully recharge your batteries for a return to the office on Monday morning.
One good idea is to grab a flight there on a Friday morning with a return on the Sunday afternoon. This will give you plenty of time to explore the city and have some fun. Here is one possible plan to cover a Friday and Saturday that avoids public transport and gets you everywhere on foot.

FRIDAY

We land at about ten thirty and arrive at our hotel in less than forty-five minutes. The Doubletree Courthouse Hilton Hotel is a good choice because its location is excellent, in fact just a stone’s throw from Carnaby Street. In summer, you can also use the hotel terrace to enjoy a few drinks. Meanwhile, the indoor swimming pool with massage centre is available all year round. The hotel has a great deal of history as it used to be a magistrate’s court and some of the cells, the judge’s bench and witness stand can still be seen today.

Lunchtime approaches and we head off to our next destination. A ten minute walk from the hotel along the legendary Carnaby Street and Regent Street takes us to Piccadilly Circus, where San Carlo Cicchettiopened recently. This new concept in tapas combines quality traditional Italian food with good prices complemented by the very latest décor.

Not far from here is the Seven Dials area. The name comes from a monument with sundials to be found at the convergence of its seven streets. The seven streets are home to a multitude of shops, galleries and bars in which to lose yourself for a few hours. Here are our favourites:

Magma Books – you will find this bookshop to be a real treasure trove if the world of designer magazines and books excites you. Further down the same street is its partner establishment, Magma Design – here you can buy all sorts of objects and other curios related to design. Also on the same street is The Vintage Showroom – an unusual shop with a very English flavour that sells second-hand clothes for men.

If you like cheese, you simply must pay a visit to Neal’s Yard Dairy – you’ll be amazed by the varieties on display.

Hidden away in Seven Dials is a small square called Neal’s Yard – a magical place for enjoying a drink or snack on any of the terraces to be found there. The colourful building facades and flowers hanging in the windows are a source of inspiration for many fashion writers. You’ll love it.

We cross Neal’s Yard and on the other side of the street is the Miller Harris perfumerie. This brand was established in 2000 by perfumer Lyn Harrisen. A world of sensory excitement awaits behind its doors. Here you can buy fragrances, candles, soaps, creams, etc. Also worth noting is the wallpaper bearing the exclusive designs from the packaging used for the fragrances themselves.

The same street is also home to Coco de Mer, one of the most famous and unusual erotic shops in London. Succumb to the fetishes of your inner soul and buy yourself a little pleasure.

To end the afternoon, there’s nothing like dinner at Bill’s Restaurant in St Martin’s Courtyard – the perfect place to try the famous Bill’s Burger or the delightful Fish Pie, as well as some of their own brand products, such as Bill’s Beer.

SATURDAY

Carnaby Street is opposite the hotel and is one of the most charismatic streets in London where you can always find a wide range of different shops. Take note of these: Cowshed – with its exquisite décor, they offer beauty and café services combined. This is the perfect place to meet for a chat and treat yourself.

For the lovers of British Style, Peckman Rye is a small family shop that has been selling silk ties, handkerchiefs and bow ties for more than two centuries.

Bottletop is an unusual shop that sells handbags and accessories made from bottletops. Some of the designs are amazing and, most importantly, the brand supports a foundation that provides work to young people in dire straits. Lamuète Boutique sells French and Italian designs for women with urban-chic style. Finally, on the corner with Newburgh Street you will find Fourth & Main for functional yet elegant men’s fashion.

A different and entertaining way to have lunch in London might be to sign up for Sutra classes with chefJay Morjaria. For less than €15 and for one hour, you will learn how to make succulent vegetarian dishes and then enjoy eating them

The perfect place for any man can be found on Brewer Street, where various new shops have all opened recently: Wolsey, Jack Spade, Woolrich, Stone Island and our favourite, Rapha – an ode to the world of cycling with a very well decorated café-bar inside. If you like hats, then Laird London on Sherwood Streetis the place for you. They have an impressive collection of borsalino and panama hats.

The website for Regent Street has all the information you need, is well organised for shoppers and has recently added a range of new services, such as Gift Cards and the delivery of your purchases to your home or hotel without charge.

To end your Saturday evening, you simply must visit Sketch. This is the most fashionable place in the city and where you can choose from a wide range of exclusive cocktails; we went for their classic Old Fashion. This place really gives you an incredible visual and sensory experience that is hard to put down in words.

SUNDAY

A day dedicated to the markets of London. We will highlight two of the lesser known places to go:Spitalfields and Brick Lane. The latter of the two has become a symbol of multiculturalism that is constantly evolving.

Hundreds of stalls selling new and second-hand clothes, works of art by emerging artists and designer objects at good prices. We also recommend visiting the shops on the nearby streets and do not ignore thegraffiti you will see everywhere. If you like urban art, you can even sign up for a special tour. Finally, there’s nothing like taking a break at any of the international food stalls for a quick bite.

We return home after having had London at our feet for three days and, most importantly, with our batteries fully recharged.

What are you waiting for? Book your VUELING flight to London today!

By Tensi Sánchez from actitudesmgz.com

Pictures By Rubén Seco

In England, football culture is a world apart. Match days become a liturgy in which fans turn soccer players, the pitch and the ball into their own holy trinity. Football fever has London as its holy city, and its numerous stadiums as endearing temples of goal worship. The city boasts five teams in the Premier League, a list of companies added to a sizeable bunch of historic clubs. Here, then, are the 10 best stadiums in London.

10. Leyton Orient FC
Stadium: Brisbane Road. District: Leyton

While lacking a prize-winning record, and although having spent several seasons drifting in the Football League Two, Leyton Orient FC is one of London’s most endearing teams, as is their stadium. Inaugurated in 1937,Brisbane Road breathes everything one would expect from a historic British field – terraces, throaty songs and a sour smell of warm beer.

9. Queens Park Rangers FC
Stadium: Loftus Road Stadium. District: Shepherd’s Bush

While the West Endstands for an upmarket London, Queens Park Rangers FC encapsulates its glamorous side in football. Once the seat ofShepherd’s Bush FC (the club closed down in 1915), since 1917Loftus Road has been the home of The Hoops. Another iconic shoebox exuding footballing legend from its four grandstands, which its owners are unfortunately thinking of retiring.

8. Millwall FC
Stadium: The Den. District: South Bermondsey

Their football fans are known to be among Britain’s most belligerent, to which the followers of Millwall FC reply with their chant: “No one like us, we don’t care”. Founded in 1885 by a group of stevedores, from 1910 to 1933 Millwall played at a stadium known asThe Den.It was then demolished to make way forThe New Den,the first stadium to be built after the Hillsborough tragedy. It was also the home ground for the fictitious club,Harchester United,the fortunes of which were the plot of a television series,Dream Team,broadcast by the Sky channel from 1997 to 2007.

7. Tottenham Hotspurs FC
Stadium: White Heart Lane. District: Tottenham

Founded in 1882, Tottenham Hotspurs FC set up atWhite Hart Lane in 1899. Until 1972, it was one of the few stadiums that lacked advertising signage installations, after which it also succumbed to football marketing. Eternally vying for the hegemony of North London football with their eternal rivals, Arsenal, Spurs couldn’t keep turning down the prospect of extra revenues from advertising. Despite the charm of their home ground, the development plans of the Lilywhites, as the Spurs’ fans are known, involves building a new stadium alongside the existing one

6. Fulham FC
Stadium: Craven Cottage. District: Fulham

Fulham FC have always had a soft spot for their stadium, while berating the ground of their rivals, Chelsea, with whom they have kept up one of the staunchest rivalries in London football. Built in 1866,Craven Cottage is one of the most historic and architecturally beautiful grounds in English football. In front of the main entrance to the stadium is a statue of…Michael Jackson, a personal tribute to the King of Pop from his friend, the club’s chairman,Mohamed Al-Fayed.

5. Chelsea FC
Stadium: Stamford Bridge. District: Fulham

Stamford Bridgewas originally earmarked to be Fulham FC’snew ground, after having been based since 1866 at Craven Cottage just opposite. When the latter refused to move, another occupant of the premises had to be sought. Eventually, the London Athletics Club was founded for the purpose, and in 1905 it was renamed Chelsea FC. Located at the Shed End of the pitch is theChelsea Centenary Museum,surely one of the most interesting football museums in London.

4. West Ham United FC
Stadium: Upton Park. District: Upton Park

Thames Ironworks FCemerged in 1895, later to be calledWest Ham United FC, the team of the shipyards’ ironworkers. West Ham’s social legacy has led their fans, the “hammers”, to stake their claim as representatives of the East London working-class spirit. They dispute this class pride with their archrivals, Millwall. Their cockney essence comes to the fore on match days atUpton Park,West Ham United’s home ground since 1904. The Upton Park team is nicknamedThe Academy of Football,on account of its excellent work with homegrown talent, among other things. Sadly, as of the 2016–2017 season, West Ham will move to theLondon Olympic Stadium.

3. Arsenal FC
Stadium: The Emirates Stadium. District: Holloway

Unveiled in the summer of 2006, the Emirates Stadiumis one of the most striking colosseums in the world. Even so, Arsenal FC will always be associated with its old home ground,Highbury.After the club moved from these premises, Highbury has been reconverted into luxury apartments. The original facade of the stadium has been preserved intact, while the rectangular pitch has been turned into a green square. The flats are located on the site of the former main stands.

2. The Football Association
Stadium: Wembley. District: Wembley

Wembley stadium, crowned by its emblematic twin towers, opened on 28 April 1923. That same evening it hosted the FA Cup Final between Bolton Wanderers and West Ham United. From then on it has become, as Pelé once declared, “…the cathedral of football. It is the capital of football and it is the heart of football.” Demolished in 2003, the new Wembley was erected on the same site and, while it is no longer the original ground, it is still regarded astheSTADIUM.

1. Brentford FC
Stadium: Griffin Park. District: Brentford

Founded in 1889, in its one-hundred-year history,Brentford FChasn’t played a single season in the top flight. This modest record has not prevented The Bees, as the fans of this West London club are known, from topping this chart. Why is this so? Because, not only doesGriffin Parkevoke everything one could imagine when picturing an English football ground – it also has the unique claim to being the only football stadium in Britain (and, probably, the world) that has a pub in each of its four corners. It wins the number 1 spot, hands down!

Whether you like football or not, a tour of these veritable sports cathedrals is worth the trip to London. Check out our flights here.

Text by Oriol Rodríguez

First, the bad news – Marseille is not Paris. Unlike its long-standing rival, France’s second largest city lacks top-drawer museums, stunning landmarks and hordes of Japanese tourists queueing up outside Louis Vuitton. The good news is that… Marseille is not Paris. Pampered by the Mediterranean, this city of radiant sunlight, with its multicultural population and suburbs in the very heart of the city, is so much of an oddity that it earned itself the nickname Planète Mars.

With one of the largest ports in the Mediterranean, a chaotic urban layout and an abiding reputation for being a decadent capital, Marseille is above all France’s enfant terrible, a noisy, dynamic city full of contrasts, where street hawkers take over the pavements, walls are smothered in graffiti, one’s clothes are impregnated with a brackish odour and the Olympique de Marseille is the mortar that binds it all together.

Apart from the usual tourist destinations, the tables have turned since it was voted European Capital of Culture in 2013. Zaha Hadid, Jean Nouvel and Norman Foster all have their state-of-the-art buildings on the snazzy waterfront esplanade. The bohemian way of life, however, is to be found inland and that is where we are heading. With a map in our pockets, we embark on our alternative, urban bobo tour of the capital of Provence!

At La Friche la Belle de Mai

An erstwhile tobacco factory at the Gare Saint-Charles is Marseille’s liveliest cultural centre. We have come to La Friche! Exhibition areas, artists’ ateliers, theatre, skating ramps and even a nursery rub shoulders here. All in one hybrid amalgam and in constant flux, focused on contemporary creation in a precinct where the communal spirit matches the extensive programme.

The huge roof terrace, which affords spectacular city views, is filled to bursting in summer, as it hosts parties with guest DJs and open-air cinema on Sundays. For the rest of the year the music never stops, while the Cabaret Aléatoire features sessions ranging from rock to hip-hop.

If you need to refuel, head for La Salle des Machines, a café-bookshop where you can have a café au lait while you leaf through a catalogue of the latest shows. But, if you’re actually feeling peckish, Les Grandes Tables is the place to go. Here, the menu changes each day, but they always have the classic steak tartare and Caesar salad. Mondays usher in a market of local produce and, as you well know, French markets are peerless.

Outside, alongside the warehouses and level with passing TGVs, the walls of a city park are daubed in graffiti proclaiming “Skateboarding is not a crime”. Here, skaters spin their tricks, while others play basketball, scale the climbing wall, play in the children’s area or work the land in the community allotment. That’s Marseille – a heterogeneous magma where everyone and everything become fused.

A few metres to the west, among the maze-like streets of La Belle de Mai, stands Le Gyptis Cinéma. Their (original version!) listings are as eclectic as the city itself, featuring thematic film cycles, classics, titles you won’t find on the Internet and children’s movies. The facade is peopled with portraits of neighbourhood characters, the upshot of a communal street-art programme designed to put a face to the locals.

And, with that image fixed in our mind’s eye, we head for Cours Julien, the hardcore urban Marsellais scene.

Around Cours Julien – Street Art & Urban Vibe

Alternative, carefree and colourful, the Cours Ju, as locals call it, is the in district right now. Take the metro to Notre Dame du Mont, although the climb up from the harbour is a heart-stopper. A district of artists, musicians and designers and the bastion of the ultra-modern bobo community (bobo, in French, is a nickname for “bourgeois-bohemian”), the Cours Ju is an endless string of trendy cafés, restaurants of all kinds, vintage stores and streets covered in full-colour graffiti.

The fact is that no other spot in the “Hexagone” can boast such a tour de force of urban art of this calibre. Streets fronts along Rue Vian, Pastoret and Bussy l’Indien are overrun by countless pamphleteering murals of a social nature, with references to pop culture or signs announcing the cafés hidden inside. Street art is clearly part of Marseille’s urban DNA, both rebellious and multicultural, as evinced in their well-known hip-hop – see this fast-paced video set to a local rap rhythm to get the idea.

Against this backdrop, every square metre of what is Marseille’s Kreuzberg is inundated with alternative art galleries, terraces, cafés and stores selling anything from apparel to household goods. The best approach is to venture carefree into the chaotic maze of pedestrian streets and let yourself get carried away by the relaxed atmosphere.

In the Cours itself, the multi-faceted concept store Oogie sells apparel and books, but also serves food and houses a hairdressing salon which hosts DJ parties. Nearby, La Licorne makes soaps using traditional methods and, in the rue Trois Frères Barthélémy, the Brasserie de la Plaine micro-brewery sells craft beer and has a bistro where you can wolf down the market-cuisine formule du jour or menu of the day, which usually consists of a starter, main course and dessert for around €10.

The trendiest spot par excellence is WAAW, on the rue Pastoret. Halfway between a bistro and a cultural centre, WAAW’s activities range from presentations to silk-screen print shops. It is also the best place to make a technical stop, order the dish of the day or stock up for the evening on a pastis or rosé when it’s time for the popular “apéro” – a pre-dinner aperitif.

Night time ushers in drinks and music. Sited in the Place Jean Jaurès, L’Intermédiaire is one of the best venues for live and DJ-set alternative music. Next door is Au Petit Nice, which offers a huge selection of beers in an inner patio where you can while away the hours. And, in La Dame Noir, hipsters queue up to get into the most sought-after club in the area.

As if that weren’t enough, a local producers’ market sets up shop in the Cours Ju every Wednesday morning. Stamp traders get their turn on Sundays, while second-hand books are sold every second Saturday in the month. The Marché de La Plaine, in the Place Jean Jaurès, is a market selling fruit and vegetables, cheese, fish, takeaway food, cheap footwear and accessories of all kinds on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings, while the flower market is held on Wednesdays.

The Cours Ju has a special something which grows on you! Get going and discover cosmopolitan Marseille – book your Vueling here!

Text by Núria Gurina i Puig for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Photos by Caroline Dutrey, Coralie Filippini, JeanneMenjoulet&Cie, marcovdz, Pop H

By Iñaki Makazaga from Piedra de Toque

The most visited figure in Denmark and the main tourist attraction in the city of Copenhagen sits totally oblivious to the world at the end of a pier in the port (Langelinie). The Little Mermaid avoids all eye contact as she looks out to sea, almost with her back turned to her visitors. Perhaps this is because only she knows the true price of her fame (decapitated twice, mutilated three times and thrown out to sea several times) and the real story behind her own history. We decided to get on our bikes in search of answers and found the true face of Copenhagen: a city with a barbaric past that has now become a haven for peace.

We began our journey on the banks of the Sankt Jorgens Canal overlooked by the mansions reflected in its waters as we ventured out among the families, people enjoying sport and ducks picking at the grass. We pedalled along on the bicycles we rented from one of the 110 locations dotted around the city – one of the measures aimed at obtaining the title of ‘capital city with the best environmental quality’ in 2015. Every turn of our wheels left behind yet another tree as we travelled along the green corridor created by the canal. We took in the sights and decided to turn right at the third bridge to eventually arrive at the Botanical Garden and Museum (Botanisk Have) at 128 Gothesgade.

More than 20,000 different species of plant life now thrive in the grounds of these old city fortifications. The walls contain spacious gardens and the moat is full of aquatic and wetland plants, each with its own little information sign stuck in the ground nearby. We parked up the bikes at the entrance and walked in. It was March and there was a hint of change about everything as the snowy season began to loosen its grip. The earth was all churned up, the trees were leafless and the sky was grey. An enormous three-story greenhouse with four glass pavilions appeared in the distance where 1,000 varieties of cactus, coffee plants, pineapples and even palm trees are incubated and studied. We were overcome by temptation and bought two bags of seeds from the shop on the way out: one of Asian bonsais and another of red orchids. Maybe we thought we could take away our own part of the peace that reigns in this park and whose roots still soak up the blood of the people who fought to defend the city from enemy invasion.

We returned to our trail. We left behind the garden and the botanical museum to pedal our way through the areas surrounding Roseborg Slot, the royal palace built by Christian IV in 1606 as a summer residence that now also serves as a large museum. It houses thousands of objects related to the oldest monarchy in Europe and is full of paintings, furniture, weapons and jewels. The traffic light turned from amber to green and so we pedalled on.

The peace of the botanical gardens now changes to the hustle and bustle of central Copenhagen. The cars give way to cyclists between the buildings from which emerge the strong>spires of the Marmorkirken, a church inspired by Saint Paul’s in Rome and which was originally planned to be built using Norwegian marble. They soon realised there was a far simpler way to celebrate the 300-year reign of the family of Frederik V and the Norwegian marble was switched for Danish marble a century later in order to get the place finished. However, no expense was spared on the steps: 260 to reach the bell tower. The views of the city make the exhausting climb well worth it. We took the opportunity to check our map. We felt the call of the thriving city centre, with the pedestrianised Strøget street full of shops and terraces filling the cobbled medieval squares of Kongens Nytorv and Radhuspladsen. We left those for nightfall and continued towards the port where the Little Mermaid sat waiting for our visit.

We dismounted and walked the bikes for a while. We were in Nyhavn, the New Port, which was opened by soldiers between 1671 and 1673 so that ships could unload their goods in the city centre. It became the darkest part of Copenhagen for years, inhabited by sailors and ladies of ill repute. Cheap rooms, dark taverns, tattoo parlours and brothels. Nyhavn has emerged from its murky past and now offers one of the most attractive faces of the capital along the 300-metre stretch of port-front properties with narrow, colourful houses and pavements full of terraces. No matter how cold the weather is, a blanket, a heater and a candle embrace all visitors. Around the edge of the port can be found evidence of that era in the form of wooden ships such as the 19th Century lighthouse ship that has been converted into a restaurant. An anchor that belonged to a Danish frigate also recalls the maritime past and pays tribute to all those who lost their lives during World War II. We took photos of the brightly-coloured houses. Maybe Hans Christian Andersen himself looked out from one of them to look at the sky while penning his tales. The truth is that even the walls whisper their stories in this part of town.

Now back on our bikes we pedalled along the canal towards the sea with the humid wind blowing in our faces. The tide greeted us at the shore, together with a number of new pavilions. We entered the Citadel (Kastellet), another great fortification to protect against attack from the Swedes. The five-pointed star-shaped fort has also witnessed great swathes of history in this country. Used by Nazi troops as a main headquarters during World War II, it now belongs to the Danish army although the gardens and walls are open to the public. In the 19th Century, it was also used as a prison and small sculptures now speak of the horrors of war. A museum depicts the activity and names of the people who led the resistance against the Nazis. And the Little Mermaid, nowhere to be seen.

We kept on pedalling. It started to snow and a hoard of tourists announced we had reached another point of interest. At the end of the pier, resting on a rock and with her back to the tourists we finally met the star of one of the most famous stories written by Hans Christian Andersen. The very one who fell in love with a prince and who now waits for him to return looking out to sea. The snow continued to fall. The grey sky opened as if in slow motion: rain, snow, more rain.

Walt Disney tells us of a happy mermaid surrounded by seafaring friends who struggles to make her dreams come true. The reality proved to be much different. The colour of copper, alone, her nakedness constantly illuminated by camera flashes from the tourists. Yet she doesn’t smile. The thing is, Hans Christian Andersen wrote a different ending. The prince she gave up being a mermaid for ended up marrying another. The Little Mermaid died alone, without breaking the spell that would let her return to the sea without killing the prince. She preferred to wait, convinced that another ending would find her sooner or later. Like the Little Mermaid, Copenhagen has preferred to keep every palace, every fortification that speaks of its Viking and Barbarian past in order to convert them into gardens and museums that grow a new history of peace and tolerance. We joined the Little Mermaid and gazed out at the horizon in silence.

COPENHAGEN BY BIKE:

Time: 2 hours

Route: Sankt Jorgens Canal in Norrebro, Botanical Museum, Roseborg Slot, Marmorkirken, Nyhavn, Kastellet, The Little Mermaid.

Recommendations:

- Visit the museums mentioned: open from 10:00 to 16:00.
- Get a Copenhagen Card.
- Explore the city by bike and have lunch in the New Port after finishing the tour.

By Iñaki Makazaga from Piedra de Toque

Picture by Henrik Jessen

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