What do cities like Cannes, Berlin,Venice, San Sebastián or Locarno have in common? Well, they all host long-standing film festivals and, for a number of days and at different spots in town, all feature both screenings and parallel events as a tribute to the seventh art. Visiting these cities during a festival reveals a different side to them. Instead of the conventional tourist escapade, it involves experiencing the city from a cultural viewpoint like any of its residents. To the above-mentioned cities we should add Rotterdam, famous for having one of the largest maritime harbours in the world. It is also an industrial centre and a capital of football, with three teams in the Dutch top-flight Eredivisie – Feyenoord, Sparta and Excelsior. Over and above that, however, Rotterdam is privileged to host a highly potent film festival which turns the city into one of the leading world cinema hubs for a period of twelve days.

This time around, the International Film Festival Rotterdam (its official name) will take place from 25 January to 5 February 2017, and the programme is dedicated to art house films, both European and international, and the leading figures of independent cinema. This year is dedicated to a retrospective of Jan Němec, one of the paramount filmmakers in Czech cinema, who died a few months ago. A tribute to his figure will involve screening his best known films, as well as a posthumous film, The Wolf from Royal Vineyard Street. The official festival lineup will feature the latest movies by Jim Jarmusch, Paterson and Gimme Danger, in addition to the long-awaited film, Jackie, by Pablo Larraín, starring Natalie Portman.

The focal point of the festival will be De Doelen, a venue with an eventful history in downtown Rotterdam. Its location gives you plenty of time to stroll around and discover the city between screenings. De Doelen was built in 1966 and is both a convention centre and the primary venue of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. The other cinemas providing screenings are also in the city centre, in such charming theatres as Oude Luxor and the Pathé Schouwburgplein. They are relatively near some museums which are well worth visiting, including the Maritime Museum, devoted to the importance of maritime culture and various aspects of sailing. Apart from the exhibition space, it features a canal in the surrounding area offering all types of parallel activities. The Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum is Rotterdam’s stellar art museum with an amazing collection, a dream come true for any painting enthusiast. Its exhibits include works by Salvador Dalí, Tintoretto, Hubert van Eyck, Willem Heda and Pieter Bruegel, among others, but it doesn’t stop there – the museum also covers other art disciplines (industrial design, installations, graffiti) and itinerant exhibitions that are refreshed each month. By the way – the Boijmans Van Beuningen Museum is just a stone’s throw away from Museumpark, one of the city’s lungs and most beautiful parks.

Apart from the aforementioned films and cycles, the International Film Festival Rotterdam also hosts a number of out-of-the-ordinary special screenings. One of the most prominent is a whole, day-long session dedicated to children. This year it falls on Sunday 29 January and features a selection of films which the little ones can enjoy in the company of their parents. Other events worth mentioning include two short marathons to be hosted on 4 February. Lasting six hours each, they will be held in the Kino Rotterdam, a cinema where you can also have dinner or a drink, if you wish. Check out the rest of the festival events here.

Be sure to discover Rotterdam through the prism of its cinema festival – book your Vueling here.

Text by Xavi Sánchez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

In Europe, summer is synonymous with music festivals. And as far as such events go, one type stands out head and shoulders above the rest – the ones dedicated to electronic music. The genre agglutinates a heady culture which, added to the fervour of audiences and its clear-cut hedonistic calling – the aim is to dance and have fun – provides a winning combo for the dog days on the Old Continent to throng with must-visit electronic gatherings.

Mysteryland is one of these events, as well as a must-attend rendezvous for all dance lovers or anyone eager to revel in festivals radiating a special charm. Mysteryland offers both ingredients on the weekend of 26 and 27 August – a high-carat lineup and the privileged grounds of Floriade, a complex of gardens and lakes just twenty-five kilometres from Amsterdam and just five from Schiphol, one of the main airports in the capital of the Netherlands.

The best way to get to the Floriade gardens is by train, although the festival organisers offer a bus service from Hoofddorp station in the Haarlemmermeer municipality. This region is famed for its forests and also features the Cruquius Museum, its centrepiece being the largest steam engine in the world, and the legendary Stelling van Amsterdam, a line of wartime fortifications of great historical importance.

Returning to Mysteryland, as intimated earlier, one of its claims to fame is its stunning lineup of artists and groups. Even the most avid fans will be satiated by a clutch of nearly two hundred performances, as will those eager to learn more about dance culture. These two hundred concerts and DJ sessions, backed by powerful visuals and pyrotechnic shows, will be hosted at various venues scattered about the Floriade gardens. Take, for instance, the programme scheduled for the main stage, an all-star game of contemporary electronic music headed by Deadmau5, Alesso,Alok, Broederliefde, Charming Horses, Craig David, Armin van Buuren, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Benny Rodrigues, Digital Farm Animals, Made in June, Oliver Heldensand Sam Feldt (live), among others.

And, apart from the two main stages, the festival also boasts a space for the legendary Dave Clarke – a not-to-be-missed appointment – as well as the prestigious Mad Decent label, with Ape Drums, Boaz van de Beatz, Boombox Cartel and Dillon Francis. It also has a spot for the Dutch producer couple, Jordy and Sander Huisman, and their MC, Yuki Kempees – together they make up Kris Kross Amsterdam.

Aside from the lineup, Mysteryland offers several options for accommodation. Most suited to all pockets is the campsite at the festival grounds. Access is included in the price of some of the camping packages which you can check out here. The camping area is open from 25 to 28 August and, if you go for it, you also get an extra musical billing, a number of performances in the campsite itself, where you can get into the festival pre-party and the Saturday after-party. The latter is only suitable for the more gung ho, assuming they haven’t already flaked out after a weekend of non-stop dancing. And, if you prefer the comfort of a hotel, Mysteryland also offers ticket packages and day entry plus hotel accommodation.

A couple of tips for ensuring your Mysteryland experience is unforgettable. The festival organisers urge everyone to wear bold outfits, so don’t be shy when it comes to choosing something outlandish – the more colourful, the better. And, listen up – don’t forget to bring along your earplugs – the concert performers and DJs will be blaring out liberally, so their use is officially recommended. In fact, if you forget them at home, you can get some earplugs at the information stands in the Floriade gardens.

Gear up to the rhythm of electronic music at Mysteryland – book your Vueling to Amsterdam here.

Text by Xavi Sánchez Pons

Marseille is full of surprises, or at least that’s the feeling you get when venturing into the city. This gateway to the Mediterranean has much more to offer than what is apparent at first sight. For starters, it has two harbours – the Vieux Port (Old Port), enclosed and fortified, a vestige of times when the coastline was invaded by pirates and hostile nations. And, the new – and larger – harbour which opens out to the sea and is a symbol of contemporary times. The elegant buildings lining the city’s streets have an unkempt, decadent yet inspiring air, while the fishing quarters smack of new trends in the guise of art galleries and cafés, and avant-garde spaces such as the MuCEM (Museum for the Civilisations of Europe and the Mediterranean) and the Villa Méditerranée, attesting to Marseille being much more than just a port city. And, in the midst of all this stands the highlight of this article, one of the works which prompts many architects to pilgrimage to Marseille –Le Corbusier’s Cité Radieuse.

This huge building, recently designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, together with 16 other architectural works by Le Corbusier, is one of the essential icons of modern architecture and one of the artificer’s major achievements. In this massive and equally beautiful colossus in concrete, the precursor of Brutalist art and ideologue behind architecture as we know it today successfully shaped the vertical city he had dreamed of, which he named the Unité d’habitation (Housing Unity). This was the first in a succession of similar residential buildings which were subsequently erected in Nantes-Rezé (1955), Berlin-Westend (1957), Briey (1963) and Firminy (1965).

Cité Radieuse, known locally as La Maison du Fada (The Nutter's House), is a large apartment block located in the south of Marseille on the Boulevard Michelet. It was designed in 1945 and built from 1947 to 1952. It is made up of 337 duplex apartments distributed over twelve storeys. Apart from its residential function, Le Corbusier also incorporated amenities into the design, including a commercial area on the seventh and eighth floors, gardens, a paddling pool, a gym, a theatre and a nursery on the spectacular rooftop. The edifice was built in rough-cast concrete and its standout feature are the supporting pilotis or piers, as well as the polychromed decoration on the balconies which set up a rhythm across the facade.

Most of the apartments are now private property, although sightseers are allowed to visit the common areas of the building. On the seventh and eighth floors you can see how most of the commercial units have been turned into design and architects studios. An exception to this is La Ventre de l’Architecte, a luxury restaurant affording splendid views of Marseille and the coast. The crowning touch is provided by another communal area, the rooftop, an area of surprises where architectural forms have been turned into spectacular sculptures affording views over the city. A pilot apartment can be visited as part of a guided tour, but be sure to book in advance with the Marseille Tourist Office. Those who would like to broaden their experience of the Cité Radieuse can stay overnight at the Hotel Le Corbusier, housed in the building itself.

Don’t miss the chance to visit Marseille and its architectural jewel, the Cité Radieuse. Book your Vueling here!

Text and photos by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

In our last post about Ibiza we went in search of the island’s culinary delights, coinciding with the #IbizaSabor2017 event, and found that it features a whole world of flavours waiting to be discovered. On this occasion we delve into its facilities for promoting well-being and present them in the form of places and activities for nurturing our body and mind to the full, turning our visit to Ibiza into a restorative experience. Fancy discovering this with us?

Take it Slow

By this stage everyone knows that yoga is highly beneficial to both body and mind. A few asanas to tone our body, a good set of stretching exercises and a decent spell of meditation give a boost to our everyday well-being. If on top of that we do it in a setting in the heart of nature, the experience can be absolutely arresting. This is what you’ll get at YogaRosa Retreats, the ideal place to pamper yourself on a yoga retreat in a dream environment where you will also come across Austrian chef Philip Gandler, who adds a touch of experience to the wholesome cuisine. Another place to get rid of stress through yoga is Ibiza Retreats, a painstakingly renovated property located just 5 to 10 minutes from Santa Eulàlia, Santa Gertrudis, San Lorenzo and the turquoise waters of Cala Nova beach, where they schedule nearly 30 retreats between late February and the end of October.

Discovering Rural Ibiza

You might be surprised to learn that there is life beyond Ibiza’s beaches and discos. Venturing inland reveals a host of beautiful rural areas where you can enjoy an alternative experience to the usual Ibizan sojourn. You could elect to stay in accommodation like Can Pardal, an exquisitely restored 16th-century Ibizan house in the north of the island set amid olive groves and fruit trees. Or else visit an organic farm, Can Obrador, located on the Camí des Pedrisset, on the main road between Ibiza and Santa Eulàlia, where you can learn the workings of environmentally-friendly farming systems, or see the Can Caus organic farm in operation up close.

My Life For a Spa!

Fast-paced modern living makes it well nigh impossible to pamper yourself so, why not use your getaway to Ibiza to treat yourself to a spa treatment in amenities where you will emerge feeling renewed? There are various hotels on the island which include a spa among their services, as at Migjorn Ibiza, featuring a spa where they apply geothermal, Thai, chocolate and essential oil techniques. Other venues include La Posidonia, with views of the Mediterranean from their spa which alone make the experience worthwhile, and the evocative spa at the Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza, where you will come out feeling like new.

“Mens sana in corpore sano”

Sports enthusiasts will find that Ibiza has myriad open-air spots, full of magic and charm, where they can engage in sporting activities. The beaches are one of the main draws, where you can dive in crystal-clear water, go on a kayak tour, have a whale of a time doing kite-surfing, sail around the coastline or while away the time doing paddle boarding. You can also sign up for a bicycle tour of the island, go rock climbing or simply enjoy the island’s natural beauty while hiking along its footpaths.

Book your Vueling to Ibiza and discover the wellness awaiting you there.

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS