In terms of tourism, Germany is much more than just Berlin, Munich and Hamburg. In recent years, some cities from the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) are gaining prominence like any other, having shaken off the dust and deadweight of the Socialist regime they lived under during the Cold War. One of these newly emerging cities is Leipzig, its waxing popularity driven by the art scene, its recent history and the great vitality of its inhabitants. In the following we pinpoint the reasons that make Leipzig the ideal destination for your next getaway.

Leipzig – A Music Destination

Listen up, classical music lovers! Music is very much in vogue in Leipzig, and I mean goodmusic, largely owing to the city’s past. It is famous for composers of the calibre of Johann Sebastian Bach, who was cantor of the Choir at St Thomas Church, one of the oldest in the world. And of Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck, who entertained their contemporaries as musicians and as a couple. For Felix Mendelssohn, Leipzig was where he spent the last few years of his life, while the city is the birthplace of Richard Wagner. The Augustusplatz is the city’s music hub and the site of the Gewandhaus concert hall, a Brutalist-style building which houses one of the most widely acclaimed symphonic orchestras. Right opposite stands the Opera, the third oldest in Europe. Oddly enough, the two institutions share the same conductor.

Leipzig – A Defiant City

The chain of events that led to the downfall of the GDR unfolded precisely in Leipzig. Throughout 1989, a number of masses and peaceful protests were held around the Church of St Nicholas that gradually wore down the old, established regime and led to the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Stasi, the feared secret police of East Germany, witnessed these events in silence, as, faced with growing grass-roots pressure, they declined to intervene. Leipzig boasted numerous printing presses in the second half of the 20th century and, in order to monitor their activity, the Stasi had their headquarters set up in the so-called Haus zur runden Ecke (House of the Rounded Corner). Today it is a museum showcasing the workings of the former State security, which so hobbled the lives of the GDR’s citizens.

Leipzig – A Trade Centre & River Port

Leipzig has long been a major trade centre and, to provide merchants conducting their business with shelter from the inclement weather – rainy and overcast most of the year – around twenty covered arcades were built. Two of the best known arcades are Speck’s Hof – the oldest in Leipzig, which currently showcases some magnificent paintings and ceramic medallions, and the Mädler arcade with its stylish glass skylight and the historic Auerbachs Keller restaurant, where Goethe overheard the stories that inspired Faust when he was studying in Leipzig. As a tribute to the celebrated writer, there are two statues dedicated to the main characters in this paramount work of universal literature.

Leipzig’s commercial calling is partly due to the White Elster river, a sub-tributary of the Elbe, which numerous canals criss-crossing the city flow into. They also provide a different way of discovering it – from a small boat.

Leipzig – An Artistic Melting Pot

The Saxon city is currently one of the favourite destinations among painters, designers and creators from the world over on account of the lively art scene that has blossomed in the Spinnerei, once Europe’s largest spinning mill. Today it is an unusual, colossal cultural centre where contemporary art is produced and exhibited. It features twelve art galleries, a hundred art studios and over a hundred cubicles rented out to creators who flock to Leipzig to soak up the latest trends and share their know-how with other colleagues. Here, they feel very much at home.

Leipzig – A Grand City

Leipzig is a distinguished city with character and some striking monuments and other buildings. Prominent in the Augustusplatz is the Paulinum, one of the Leipzig University buildings, featuring a facade emulating the Paulinerkirche, the former university church which was senselessly dynamited in 1968 during the times of the GDR regime. Another building which stands out, at least for its height, is the City-Hochhaus, known as the “wisdom tooth” on account of its design. The top floor of this landmark houses the Panorama Tower restaurant and viewing platform. Their lunch menu is very reasonable and the eatery is worth visiting, if only for the splendid views.

The city also features a colossal monument which, apart from being oversized, also has an unpronounceable name – the Völkerschlachtdenkmal– which was built to commemorate the Battle of the Nations in 1813, specifically the defeat of Napoleon at Leipzig by a coalition of nations, namely Prussia, Russia, Sweden and Austria.

Come and discover this German city – check out your Vueling here.

Text by Tus Destinos

Images by Robin Kunz, Michael Bader, Peter Hirth, LTM-Tom Schulze, Nils Petersen

A getaway to Leeds is the perfect excuse to do two diametrically opposite things. First, you should take the chance to do some quality shopping, as the city boasts an abundance of shopping centres, markets and pedestrian precincts packed with stores – a pleasurable exercise in which we put the credit on our card to the test. In contrast, you can also make the most out of your trip by exploring some of the jewels that lie in the Yorkshire and the Humber region, which is where cosmopolitan Leeds is situated. In the following we propose four outings to destinations less than two hours from the city where you will discover just how special and manifold is this beautiful area in the north of England.

1. Saltaire – In Search of the Region’s Industrial Legacy

Our first stop is Shipley, situated in the Bradford metropolitan district. Here we find the Saltaire model industrial village, a jewel from the Victorian era which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2001. Strategically located next to the river Aire and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, it was founded in 1853 by Sir Titus Salt, a philanthropist and entrepreneur of the Yorkshire wool industry – wool was the region’s major driving force during the Industrial Revolution.

This model village was purpose-built to house both the wool mill and the living area for the workers and their families. It featured a number of different spaces, designed to meet the needs of the community: a hospital, school, library, recreational areas, a church, etc. This enabled the workers to live near their place of work and also provided them with better conditions than in the nearby city of Bradford.

Nowadays it operates as a leisure area in which most of the buildings have been restored and turned into shops, art galleries, restaurants and cafés, but it still conveys the idea of the region’s important industrial past.

2. The Evocative Scenery ofWuthering Heightsin Haworth

The picturesque village of Haworth, situated some 36 kilometres west of Leeds, owes its fame above all to the Brontë sisters (Emily, Charlotte and Anne), who wrote their acclaimed novels right here. Most of the tourists who come here do so on account of one of their best known literary works, Wuthering Heights, penned by Emily Brontë, and to see for themselves the places depicted in the novel. Apart from having a walk through this peaceful setting, permanently marked by the curiosity of sightseers eager to capture snippets of fiction, we recommend hiking through the area and soaking up this unusual scenery which acted as the source of inspiration for what has become a veritable classic of English literature.

3. Outdoor Art

You’re an art lover but you hate enclosed spaces – in that case the Yorkshire Sculpture Park is for you. Located half an hour from Leeds, in the grounds of Bretton Hall, stands this unusual “museum”, where you can delight in their magnificent collection of modern and contemporary sculpture in an inimitable setting. Something to note – it boasts Europe’s largest number of bronzes exhibited in the open-air by Henry Moore, the most international local artist in this region.

4. Castle Howard – A Movie Set

North of the historic fortified city of York, which is well worth stopping over in, stands this magnificent country house, as these rural palaces owned by the British aristocracy are known. Castle Howard was built between 1699 and 1712 for the Earl of Carlisle. While its exterior, designed by the architect, Sir John Vanbrugh, is an exquisite example of the English Baroque, its interior will not leave you unmoved either. There you can enjoy the incredible collection of paintings by the likes of Canaletto, Leandro Bassano, Titian, Annibale Carracci, Marco Ricci, Joshua Reynolds and Gainsborough, among others.

A visit to this priceless mansion, which has been the home of the Howard family for over 300 years and is open to the public, has the added value of having served as a cinema and television set. It was here that Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon was filmed,as was Brideshead Revisited – both the successful 1981 series and the film from 2008, adaptations of the literary classic by Evelyn Waugh.

You simply must visit the region of Yorkshire and the Humber – book your Vueling to Leeds here!

Text by Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Tim Green, John Robinson, Nick, Michael D Beckwith, vagueonthehow, Karen Bryan

To start, let’s recall that Edinburgh is both a World Heritage Site and also the first place to be designated by UNESCO as a “City of Literature”, because of its numerous well-preserved buildings and monuments and its age-old literary traditions.

The city is best seen at a walking pace, and as a pedestrian you’ll find its hidden nooks and crannies and perchance the spirits of the city’s famed authors and even more famous creations, such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his shrewd detective Sherlock Holmes, Robert Louis Stevenson and the two-faced Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, or Sir Walter Scott and his heroic Ivanhoe and Rob Roy characters. And there’s even a chance you’ll see some of the city’s literary figures in the flesh, for we shall start our tour in the café with the red façade where the contemporary author J. K. Rowling penned many of her early stories and planned her books about the boy wizard Harry Potter.

1. Few people noticed the young Rowling scribbling in her notebooks at a table in the unprepossessing Elephant House café. The establishment, which opened in 1995, remains a favourite of literary types, thanks to its selection of the city’s best coffees and teas, which continue to stain many pages of manuscript. Huge breakfasts are also served, as well as hot midday and evening meals, plus the usual sandwiches and cakes, etc. And there’s an excellent wine list, too. No excuse for not sitting down and writing your book!

2. Or you might prefer to take a stroll down Edinburgh’s legendary Royal Mile, linking the city’s two most popular monumental sites, Edinburgh Castle, standing above the city atop the towering volcanic basalt plug known as Castle Rock, and, at the other extreme, Holyrood Palace, the official Scottish residence of the British monarch. A slow and attentive walk down the four stretches of the Royal Mile, called Castlehill, Lawn Market, High Street, and Canongate, will infuse you with the unique, friendly atmosphere and stony charm of this historical city.

3. If you appreciate the macabre, on your walk down the Royal Mile you must stop at Mary King’s Close, a warren of gloomy underground streets and enclosures widely believed to be haunted by the ghosts of the past. Once a thriving market, the close was named for a woman who lived there and traded in cloth in the early 1600s. According to urban legend, when the plague struck the area in 1645, the authorities walled it off, leaving scores of people inside to die. Since, then reports of strange lights and noises have fuelled beliefs that the zone remains haunted. Visitors often brings dolls to calm the ghost of the legendary Annie, a child plague victim thought to have been left by her parents to die in the Close, and whose heart-rending cries can still be heard. Perhaps.

4. For a Facebook-worthy selfie showing Edinburgh Castle in the background, the place to go is Princess Street, Edinburgh’s main shopping street, which featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting. Apart from the shopping opportunities there, the street happens to be the best place from which to capture a panoramic view of the castle, since there are no buildings on the castle side of the street, but only gardens and monuments.

5. If you’re looking for quirkier and more out-of-the-way shops, head for the wildly picturesque Victoria Street, a curving slope just off the Royal Mile that is a favourite of photographers because of its colourful specialised shops selling liquors, cheeses, handicrafts, and all sorts of treasures. You’re sure to find bargains in the several charity shops selling used clothing and other items, the proceeds from which are donated to worthy causes. Harry Potter’s creator J.K. Rowling acknowledged that this street was her inspiration for Diagon Alley, where her wizards bought their magical gear.

6. Edinburgh is not made entirely of stone, despite initial impressions. It also features expansive green zones, such as the parks of Calton Hill and Arthur’s Seat, where the city’s joggers, cyclists, and dog-walkers go. Both offer fantastic views of the city from on high. The 251-metre Arthur’s Seat is the peak to which, according to legend, King Arthur used to repair when he needed time alone to think. Atop Calton Hill are two monuments to British victories over the French, Nelson’s Tower, commemorating the battle of Trafalgar, and Scotland’s National Monument, an unfinished construction modelled on the Parthenon in Athens, built in the 1820s to honour Scotland’s dead in the Napoleonic wars.

7. At Ocean Terminalin the Port of Leith, Edinburgh’s harbour, stands the Royal Yacht Britannia, used by the British royal family from 1954 until 1997 when it was converted into a floating museum that is well worth a visit –don’t miss the little bedroom where Queen Elizabeth II slept during her nearly 1,000 state voyages.

8. To finish up, you might visit Greyfriars Cemetery and have your picture taken next to the statue of one of Edinburgh’s heroes, Bobby, a Skye terrier traditionally believed to have stood watch by his master’s grave for no less than14 years, until his own death in 1873, after which he was buried next to his master.

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Text and Photos: Nani Arenas

Lisbon has that special magic of the cities that simply reek of history, that charm of the cities where so many things have happened and that offer so many ways to enjoy them. Lisbon, an intellectual and Bohemian city like few others in Europe, can be found at the mouth of the River Tagus on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. The historic centre is built on seven hills, meaning that many of its streets are quite steep and that the three cable cars and one lift are very much appreciated by locals and tourists alike. Yes, the cable cars in Lisbon are truly special and give you the sensation of being in a city where things take their time and where being in a rush is not something the city’s inhabitants are fond of. Prepare yourself for enjoyment, relaxation and a wealth of experiences as you stroll through the delightful districts of this city.

Chiado is located between the famous Bairro Alto and La Baixa. Almost everyone who has been to Lisbon before remembers the district of Chiado for the statue of the Portuguese poet, Fernando Pessoa, sat at a table on the terrace of the Café A Brasileira. However, Chiado has much more to offer: businesses, cafés dating back to the early 20th Century and old shops. Chiado is the part of Lisbon where writers used to meet in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries, meaning that it has a certain aura of intellectualism (similar to Saint-Germain-Des-Pres in Paris) well-earned for having witnessed many literary geniuses walk its streets.

1. Young people gather at the Mirador de Santa Catarina for a drink at the feet of Adamastor while they observe the sunset as the day gives way to the Lisbon night life.

2. Starting you night in Chiado at Bicaense is never a bad idea. One of the coolest venues in Portuguese night life, this place has style, lacks pretension and offers a relaxed atmosphere. DJs and drinks to begin the night before heading over to the liveliest part of the Barrio Alto.

3. One interesting aspect of Chiado is Caza Das Vellas Loreto. This candle shop offers little in the way of cool and is nothing special if you are looking for unique places in the Portuguese capital but that is precisely what makes it special. If you happen to be in Chiado, take a look around this candle shop – they come in all shapes and sizes.

4. Cafe A Brasileira is the place you simply must visit in Chiado if you are a fan of poetry, literature and/or Pessoa. It is a legendary café and meeting place for the literary community in Lisbon. There is one table that has a seated statue of Fernando Pessoa. You have to see it.

5. Try a saikirinha (sake mixed with kiwi) on the chill out terrace on the top floor of the Hotel Bairro Alto. This is where all the beautiful people in Lisbon meet. It was recommended to us by one of the most influential bands in Lisbon, Buraka Som Sistema. Absoutely essential if you want to know what the local people get up to in Lisbon at night.

6. Perfect for enjoying a nice steak. Bohemian atmosphere, busy, happy. Treat your stomach and eat at La Brasserie De L’Entrecôte. Your stomach will thank you for it.

7. If your budget won’t stretch to an excellent steak or if you prefer to eat something lighter, theRestaurante-Lounge Storik offers wonderful international cuisine that will give something to remember from your visit to Lisbon.

8. Another interesting place in Chiado in terms of shopping and somewhere that is 100% Portuguese is A Vida Portuguesa. Here you will find a little bit of everything Portuguese: embroidery, pencils, traditional Portuguese products, soaps, icons of saints, etc.

9. The Cafe No Chiado is the perfect spot for a chat or reading the paper. You can also enjoy a bite to eat if that’s what you’re after. An oasis of peace and tranquillity to be enjoyed alone or in good company.

10. At the Teatro Mário Viegas, they perform the best and newest pieces from the world of Portuguese theatre. If you like the theatre, you should go see a show.

These places make you feel like going yourself, right? Check out our flights for a short break in Lisbon here.