There's no doubt that the hipster and hipster fashions are here to stay. While the "hip" subculture dates back to the 1940s, the movement is again on the rise and is clearly marking out its territory.

Bilbao’s fame as a cultural mecca has reached as far as China and beyond, but people may not realise the extent of the hipsterisation of this former industrial city in the Basque country on the northern Spanish coast, thanks to the transformations undertaken in recent decades and the quirky, youthful pulse of contemporary Bilbao. Even the football team, known by its English name of “Athletic Club de Bilbao”, or “Athletic” for short, fits the hipster mould thanks to its peculiar philosophy. And it’s the sole team in the Spanish league that fields only local players.

There are plenty of place for visitors to sleep. One of our choices would be Basque Boutique, a small hotel located in the heart of the Casco Viejo or old city centre. Guests are immediately immersed in the culture, since each of its eight rooms is dedicated to a particular aspect of Basque life or gastronomy: the Karola (a giant red industrial crane that still stands), Marijaia (the rotund figure of the legendary lady who presides over the city’s annual fiesta), or the baldosa de Bilbao (the city’s traditional geometrically patterned paving blocks). The hotel achieves a perfect fusion of tradition and the avant-garde, mixing vintage décor with such modem comforts and television, Wi-Fi, air-conditioning, and en suite bathrooms. It’s an unforgettable experience you sholn0’t miss.

Another spot that exudes charm is the little Pensión Caravan Cinema. Also in the city’s old quarter, it uniquely combines history, atmosphere, and comfort. Each of the five rooms is dedicated to a contemporary Spanish film director: Pedro Almodovar, Alejandro Amenábar, Alex de la Iglesia ,Julio Medem, and Fernando Trueba. Both comfortable and surprisingly economical. If you’re into Spanish movies, this is definitely for you.

Now that we’ve unpacked, it’s time to sample Bilbao’s famed mini food portions, known as tapas in the rest of Spain but pintxos in the food-obsessed Basque country. One place everyone should try is Brass, on Licenciado Pozas street. For breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon aperitif with a pintxo or three, this is where to go. Talented DJs also perform there after sundown, evenings, and you’ll probably want to stay all night. It’s the most hipster establishment of Bilbao, and the prices are quite reasonable.

On the same street is the la tabernilla de Pozas, an old-fashioned tavern that will take you back to the Bilbao of many decades ago. Instead of pintxos, what you’ll find on the high, wide bar are sandwiches made with tuna or anchovies (bocadillos de atún or anchoas), but you’re have to ask for them –there is no sign or indication.

Charlotte, in calle Heros, serves breakfasts, and then pintxos, as well as the most scrumptious pastries. It’s also famed for cocktails that some rank well above those concocted in New York. It’s American-style décor adds to its popularity amongst the local hipster community.

We mustn’t omit Mr Marvelous, on the same street , which is lined with interesting places. A variety of delicious croquettes, incredible loin of venison, poached eggs with truffle and mushroom sauce –you won’t be able to stop eating!

If you still have room after the pintxos, you may want a proper meal in one of Bilbao’s many excellent restaurants, such as la Camelia, for ecological sushi and the organically grown and exquisitely prepared vegetarian dishes. Who knew healthy food could taste this good?

Bascook,in Barroeta Aldamar street, belongs to the famed chef Aitor Elizegi, whose skills and inspiration have won him dozens of awards. Bascook combines traditions and innovation. The food is delicious and the atmosphere cosy. There a very affordable prix fixe luncheon menu.

For the gastronomically adventurous there is Kokken, where fine dining and fine art go hand in hand. The cuisine is Scandinavian and so is the décor –modern, functional, and very welcoming.

One further proposal is that you try Colombo, on Rodríguez Arias street. You won’t know how good croquettes, hummus or ceviche (marinated raw fish) can taste until you’ve tried them here. And the wait staff couldn’t be more attentive and charming!

When we’re able to rise from the table, we might think about hitting Bilbao’s astounding profusion of shops, Hitz for example, sells stationery supplies, gifts, and perfumes in a vintage atmosphere, set off by old steamer trunk, typewriters, and other antiques –totally hipster!

Another must is Flamingo Records, selling vinyl disks –including rare treasures and first editions– In every musical category and style. You won’t leave empty-handed.

The hipster clothing store par excellence is Arizona Vintage Clothing. It features 100% American style gear and accessories.

In the Bilbao La Vieja or Ibaiondo district you’ll find Vacas Flacas, the city’s most spectacular second-hand clothing shop, where goods of the highest quality can be purchased at bargain prices. But you must telephone an hour in advance for an appointment.

One of Bilbao’s most unusual establishments which no visitor should miss is La Casa de Atrás, with a huge selection of old books, many of them out of print for decades, as well as numerous vinyl records. There’s also an on-site tattoo parlour. Could you ask for anything more?.

One of our favourites is the famed furniture and decorations shop Almoneda Campos, on calle Bertendona. Its speciality is old-fashioned lamps and chandeliers, but there’s much, much more to see and fall in love with.

Time for a snack? How about one of city’s most hipster –and friendliest– bars,Residence, on calle Barraincúa, and very close to the Guggenheim museum. The best place in town for a tall gin and tonic or an exotic imported beer. Live music, too!

Another very special spot is La Catedral de la Cerveza, (“the beer cathedral”), a mecca for serious beer aficionados, on Carnicería Vieja street in the old quarter, featuring brews from Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Scotland, Sweden, and the Basque Country itself. You can even buy kits to make you own beer.

Let’s not forget bar Marzana, on the street of the same name, which has become a marvellous amalgam of the old and new. Don’t worry if there’s no table. You can sit on the street and enjoy the incredible river view.

A last drink, but where? How about La Karola? It is named for the famous crane that still towers above the site where Bilbao’s Euskalduna shipyards once stood, and which was named in its day for the young lady who used to cross the bridge over the river every day, and whose beauty transfixed the district's industrial workers and passers-by. The bar, opened 40 years ago, has enviable views of the river and food so delicious it will take you breath away.

But there are still more places to visit, such as the café-theatre La Ribera, in the lower part of the La Ribera (“the riverbank”) market. Great food and live music –chiefly jazz and indie. For atmosphere, there’s nothing like it in Bilbao.

If you happen to be visiting the city on the last Sunday of the month, you won’t want to miss The Sunday Market, inspired by such street markets as London’s Brick Lane or Spitalfields. The theme “A passion for pretty things” applies to everything you’ll see there, from decorative items and antiques to vintage clothing, cupcakes, handicrafts, gadgets, art, flowers, charming little shops, bars, and restaurants, live music, etc. Another street market, thel Dos de Mayo is set up on the first Saturday of the month, and is a great excuse to tour the neighbouring shops like Atakontu, Cultto, or Trakabarraka,and perhaps to sample a vermouth at one of the many local bars. If it’s a sunny day the atmosphere is amazing.

And here we end our hipster tour of Bilbao, first reminding you that there’s much more to this fascinating city that you’ll discover for yourself when you come. Now’s the time to book a ticket on vueling!

Photos: Fernando Sanz
Text: Tensi Sánchez de actitudesmgz.com

Brussels is the heart of Europe, the birthplace of Art Nouveau, the comic capital of the world and the headquarters for numerous EU institutions. A stroll around Brussels will enable us to discover its marvellous architecture, enchanting nooks and crannies and the typical gastronomical delights from the city, such as the chocolate, the beer or the mussels.

The centre of Brussels is home to two charming taverns that can be found on side streets off the busy Rue du Marché aux Herbes. The first is À l’image de Notre Dame, a place with traditional décor and a cosy ‘popular beer bar’ atmosphere that will transport you back in time.

Another of the taverns to be found near the Marché aux Herbes is the Toone Marionette Theater, a place full of history and owned by a popular puppet master dynasty. It comprises a typical tavern, a puppet museum and a small theatre with shows that are as popular with the locals as with the tourists.

The Saint Hubert Galleries link the area around the Monnaie Theatre with the Grand Place. They are a passageway between two worlds, linking a more modern Brussels to the most historical Brussels. The place is home to luxurious boutiques, traditional sweet shops, magnificent bookshops, avant-garde galleries and cafés.

Right next to the exit from the Galeries Royales, we will find the À La Mort Subite restaurant – a place with hundreds of years of history where one can enjoy the namesake beer as well as many others. The name comes from a 19th Century game of dice that the employees used to play during their break. This is one of the most traditional places in the city with long wooden benches, high ceilings and a collection of old mirrors. The thing to do here is try the Cherry or Kirk beers with a bit of cheese or one of their toasted snacks.

Steering clear of the bars around the edge of the Grand Place (which are mainly focused on tourist hunting and where the waiters try to catch you on the fly so you sit down to enjoy their typical and expensive mussels with chips), you will soon arrive at the Impasse de la Fidélité – the side street where you’ll findDelirium Tremens, one of the most famous places in Brussels and a paradise for all beer lovers. It is an enormous underground basement that is decorated in a very rustic fashion with barrels and flags on the ceilings. They serve hundreds and hundreds of different brands, which come in all different colours, aromas and flavours, each one served in a different glass that is especially designed to enhance the beer in question.

When leaving, don’t forget to visit the Jeanneke Pis fountain (Peeing Girl) at the end of the street. This is the female equivalent of the Manneken Pis, the most representative symbol of the city.

The time has come to visit the Grand Place, the main square in Brussels and considered one of the most beautiful in the world. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998 and houses a large number of historic buildings, such as the Town Hall (Gothic in style and situated in the middle), the Cathedral of Saint Michael and Saint Gudula and the Royal Castle of Laeken (with its large greenhouses). Around the square, it is possible to see traces of the old city and an architectural style known locally as the ‘Spanish style’ due to the fact that the main historic buildings in the Flemish style date back to a time when what is now Belgium (then Flanders) was one of the provinces controlled by the empire ruled by Carlos V.

Moving on, we come to Le Roi des Belges, a modern café at 34 Rue Jules Van Praet where having a quick breakfast or lunch becomes a delightful experience. Pleasant music at the right volume, meticulous service and a selection of delicious and healthy dishes, such as salads, quiches and lasagne, make it the perfect place to stop for a bite to eat.

However, one of the most popular and central places in Brussels for enjoying small fish dishes is Mer du Nord. A few tall tables where you can stand up to eat in the square, just behind the Saint Catherine Church, mean you can stop and try the typical baby prawn croquettes, the delicious fish soup or the typical mussels. Did you know that the best mussels are eaten during those months that contain the letter ‘R’, such as December, January, February and March?

Surrounded by the exclusive shellfish restaurants of the Santa Catherine district a delicious gourmet hamburger restaurant called Ellis Gourmet Burger can be found.

These shellfish restaurants fill up with both locals and tourists at dinner time for a meal of exquisite quality. But if your budget won’t stretch to a table on one of their terraces, one of these enormous hamburgers will fill you up for between € 8 and € 10. You also have the option to order a trio of mini-hamburgers for € 13 in order to try the various specialities all in one sitting.

If you keep walking through the Place Sainte Catherine, you’ll find the Micro Market Marché culture centre and a bar-restaurant inside called Via Via Café where they serve international food and organic drinks. This centre organises parties, DJ sessions, concerts, screenings and seasonal exhibitions. It is a meeting place for young creators and lovers of more alternative art.

And if you prefer somewhere with more of a rock music atmosphere and American-style meat dishes, Le Corbeau is the place for you. Located on Rue Saint-Michel, it can be found in what was once one of the oldest breweries in Brussels.

One of the greatest attractions in Brussels are the journeys to be had along the side streets full of comic wall art. Brussels is the comic capital of the world and is the birthplace of such legendary characters as Tintin, Lucky Luke, Spirou and the Smurfs. One of the more fun activities to be enjoyed in Belgium is to discover the large-scale reproductions of elements and pages from comics that you can find on any street corner. The idea began in 1991 as a way to renovate old buildings but has now become an identifying symbol of the city.

We took it as a bit of fun and took photographs of the ones we encountered on our visit but there is an entire route to be followed that should not be missed by any lover of Art Nouveau.

Finally, we recommend you take the train to Gantes for a day trip. Gantes is the Flemish city with the largest number of historic buildings, a strong cultural vibe and a privileged location between Bruges and Brussels – 50 km from each. The city has five abbeys, three convents and eighteen museums, as well as numerous other attractions that are all concentrated in the central district.

Makes you want to go, right? Do it! Check out our prices here!

Any visit to Vigo comes with a premium – their cuisine. You can eat oysters in the Calle de la Pescadería, or go for wine and tapas in the Plaza de la Constitución (in the old quarter). But, there are also restaurants that produce good-quality dishes based on fine ingredients (particularly fish and seafood), capable of serving up some tasty, original dishes at affordable prices. We visited five establishments in the city and, after a highly edifying tour of La Brújula cannery in Ribadumia (just over an hour and a half from Vigo and Santiago de Compostela), we stumbled on a scrumptious eatery in nearby Oubiña.

The Othilio Bar 
The casual interior design in this restaurant (the bicycle presiding over the premises from above, the vintage racquets hanging on the wall) becomes passion and reliability in the kitchen and dining-room, ever efficient and impeccable. Hence, it is always full to bursting. And, not because customers enjoy seeing the twins, Carlos and Pablo, in action, but because their offerings are superb – their superlative marinated salmon nuggets, delicate sea bass carpaccio, Cambados scallop with griddled cardinal prawns, suckling lamb simmered for 10 hours… Top-notch products processed with modern techniques which Carlos learned while seconded to El Celler de Can Roca. And, serving up all this at affordable prices is a merit in itself. If they canvassed for a Michelin star, they would get one for sure. They have talent, know-how and motivation and, they are brothers – like the Rocas and Torres! But, then again, perhaps things should stay as is, so our budget will allow us to savour their fare more often.

María Manuela
Whoever likes feeling at home, while being able to relish things they would never be able to taste in their house, should definitely head for María Manuela. This tiny, elegant, warm wine bar serves up tapas that have earned the accolade, “Best Tapa in Vigo”, two years running and offers tastings of fine, interesting wines while pampering customers without smothering them. Must-trys include the cream of prawn and roast piquillo peppers with citrus reduction, Malagan anchovies, tuna tartare with avocado and apple, and chicken sachet with cheese custard (a round pie). Imagination, passion and good produce, often Galician but also sourced from other areas, in generous helpings. Plaza de Compostela, 31.

Detapaencepa
If you visit Vigo as a tourist, you’re not likely to go past this restaurant, as it is located in an area of office buildings a quarter of an hour from the old town. Yet it is well worth sitting down to a meal at Detapaencepa, either on the ground floor on high stools, or on the quieter first floor with low tables. It’s not hard to find something you like here, as they have acres of menu on which tapas are king. Dishes that come highly recommended include octopus with cachelo (potato) foam – lighter than the traditional a feira variety, as the potato has been creamed – smoked sardine and ratatouille pastry, a foie gras and apple mini-sandwich and steamed clams with olive oil. Take note, they have 300 types of wine, of which about ten can be ordered by the glass.

Las Barricas
One of the most popular restaurants in one of the most crowded leisure areas in Vigo – the Bao beaches. It’s common to encounter people queueing up to get their hands on their patties which, apart from being huge, are among the best in town. The patty fillings include octopus, cured pork sausage, beef, ham and field mushrooms, tuna fish, calamari and pork fillet. But, Las Barricas and their loyal customers are not in it just for the patties. They also offer a variety of other dishes, like an open sandwich of codfish and tomato preserve, octopus and tetilla cheese, and mini-burgers with Brie and caramelised onion, accompanied with ketchup and honey mustard sauce. Take note of the wine list, with numerous Galician varieties, notably a couple of Albariños made by the restaurant owner, Pablo Rey. The name, Las Barricas (The Casks), is well-earned. Should anyone be unimpressed by it, let them look down at the flooring, made of wooden wine crates.

O Rei Pescador
Eager to have some good fish or seafood, or Galician recipes based on Galician produce? Then head for O Rei Pescador, in the picturesque Plaza de Compostela, near the harbour and old quarter. There you can delight in their superlative Galician monkfish, which will melt in your mouth, as well as baked fish (turbot, sea bass, red pomfret…). You are bound to order a second helping of cuttlefish croquettes, as plump and crisp without as they are dense within, and praise the extremely tender and tasty Galician-style octopus known as pulpo a feira,in addition to the souba (tiny sardines), codfish and zamburiña (Galician scallops in a tomato fish sauce). You are also likely to enquire whether you can take home some of their scrumptious patties – bear in mind, though, that they contain a little cured pork sausage.

Fábrica La Brújula (Ribadumia)
If you head out of Vigo or Santiago de Compostela in search of a gourmet experience, why not do a spot of “canning tourism”? Drive to Ribadumia, a good half-an-hour from either city, and drop in on the flashy, Modernist La Brújula Canning Factory, which opened in early 2016. On your free tour of the cannery you will appreciate the work and pampering that goes into each can, learn jargon words like líquido de gobierno (a liquid which boosts storage life) and esmocado (the act of cutting and cleaning each piece) and you will be told that the longer the clams are canned, the tastier they become, even though this defies logic. The best way of testing this is by tasting them, so you should call to book a date and time and order a tasting session, which in this case is a pay service. With that flavour on your palate, you can then wander through the old quarter of neighbouring Cambados and/or visit one of the wineries in the area, which come under the Rías Baixas DO.

Casal do Umia (Oubiña)
Schedule an escape to the Solnés district – half-an-hour’s drive from either Vigo or Santiago de Compostela – to treat yourself to an octopus dish which is considered almost legendary. The venue is even frequented by the president of Galicia’s regional government or Xunta, so don’t underestimate this simple restaurant, set in a rural homestead in Ribadumia, the enclave where Mariano Rajoy spends his summers and goes for brisk walks. The homemade cuisine is cooked by Lourdes, who once worked as a pescantina (selling fish in the market), and served up by good old Emilio, a former fisherman. We had to wheedle the octopus recipe out of him – it includes potato, which turns dark from sharing the pot with the octopod, so it’s best to focus on its flavour and tenderness and serve it with a muxicu, a sort of special pulpo a feira, with hollow, jacket-fried potatoes stuffed with a refined sauce of allioli, octopus and La Vera red pepper. If you’ve got room for another dish, go for their patties filled with longfin tuna from La Brújula. To accompany the feast, order the wine they make themselves with grapes from their vineyards. For dessert, a cream caramel, without question. What consistency and flavour!

Text by Ferran Imedio of Gastronomistas.com

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