Some myths about European cities could do with an upgrade. One of these has Hamburg labelled as an eminently professional destination associated with the work sector. While there is some truth to that, it would be a crass error to reduce Germany’s second largest city to the sole status of business haven. Indeed, under the hood of that metropolis, which forms its own federal state (it covers an area of 755 square kilometres), seethes a cultural scene which is well worth venturing into. This nerve centre of Germanic arts also boasts a highly prominent music scene.

Any fan of The Beatles knows that Hamburg is the place where the group hatched their plot to rise to stardom. There are even routes which take you to the spots trodden by the Fab Four. But, far from aiming to live off the past and beatlemania,Hamburg features a powerful network of concert halls with highly varied programmes, both in terms of live music and DJs eager to blast out any kind of sound. Hamburg is a cosmopolitan capital and this comes out in their open-mindedness about all artistic activity.

A tour of these live music clubs might start at III&70, a venue on Schulterblatt street which spotlights upcoming artists. From singer-songwriters to rock groups, electronic music and jam sessions (the most crowded nights of the week).III&70 also has a café famed for its generous breakfasts and an outdoor terrace with some fabulous table football.

Still in the Schulterblatt area, a short walk away we come to Kleiner Donner, the hub of Hamburg’s hip hop scene. While small, this basement locale packs a punch. Here, DJs and MCs eager to make their mark combine explosive scratches with freakish rhythms. This is one of the city’s coolest clubs – be sure to get there early at the weekend; otherwise you are likely to get shut out, as their capacity is rather limited.

Pressing on with the itinerary as far as Nobistor street, in the city centre, we stop off at Molotow, one of the most respected concert halls in Hamburg. Inaugurated in 1990, in the run-up to the times of alternative rock fever, such groups as The White Stripes and At The Drive -Inhave graced their stage. Their current offerings are headed by punk, as well as independent pop and rock bands. Like Kleiner Donner, this is a basement venue which acts as a pressure cooker when crowded. A hundred per cent rock and roll.

Let’s leave behind the “modern” styles and venture into the world of jazz and swing – the latter on the up and up of late. Indeed, Hamburg’s Cotton Club is a living history of live music in Germany. In fact, it is the oldest venue is in town devoted to jazz – in 2009 they celebrated their fiftieth anniversary. Located near Planten un Blomen, a park and botanical gardens in the heart of Hamburg – their own Central Park, to be sure – Cotton Club offers live music all days of the week. And, their gigs are reinforced by an exquisite array of house cocktails.

Another historic place of mandatory pilgrimage is Logo, sited next door to Universität Hamburg. Opened in 1974, its small stage was honoured by the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, The Jayhawks, Peaches, Modest Mouse, Rammstein, Blink 182, Ben Folds Five, Dillinger Escape Plan, Phoenix and Oasis before their rise to stardom. Nowadays they feature established groups interspersed with upcoming talent touting to make a name for themselves in pop and rock. Logo also offers an appealing programme of tribute bands.

Fire up and discover Hamburg’s musical scene – book your Vueling here.

Text by Xavi Sánchez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

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

By Panenka www.panenka.org

Panenka, the football magazine you can read, leads us through its passion for the soccer to other countries, this time to the Czech Republic’s capital, Prague. They show us their ideal eleven for places related to sport king as for the most touristis ones.

SPORTING ELEVEN

1 Dukla | The Czechoslovak Army’s team was one of the most hated. With democracy had a hard time but has returned to the top.
2 Strahov | They say it is the second largest stadium in the world (200,000 people can fit) but it seems a field with bleachers.
3 Palacio Michny | Home for Czech Sport: in 1862 the Sokol movement, paneslavian style, here
4 Teatro Nacional | Well worth the visit, even more when you know that there it was held the state funeral in memory of a legend: Emil Zatopek.
5 Sparta |> Workers club in Prague, founded in 1893, with 11 leagues from Czechoslovak division since 1993. Play in the old Letna.
6 Club de Tenis | Inside Stvanice island is located the club that forged the best tennis players in the East: Martina Navratilova and Ivan Lendl.
7 La Carrera de la Paz | At the Rude Pravo’s newspaper’s offices was founded in 1948 ‘Tour Cyclist of beyond the Wall ‘.
8 Dolicek | A humble stadium where a young Antonin Panenka devised his countercultural penalty. The Bohemians play again in here the second division league.
9 Slavia | The other main team in Prague, the one for the bourgeois and intellectual, has just scored three championships in the last two decades.
10 Krematorium | Here have ended up some Czech sports legends like Frantisek Planicka, goalkeeper of the finalist at Italia’34.
11 O2 Arena | 18,000 seats to enjoy Ice Hockey, the sport that delights the Czechs. Six times world champions after 1993.

TOURISTIC ELEVEN

A Astronomical Clock | Located in the wall of Old Town City Hall, is one of the biggest tourist attractions.
B Petrin Hill| A promontory perfect for taking pictures of the city and stroll through its old vineyards. A funicular gets you up to the top.
C Jewish Cemetery | Testimony of the richest Jewish past of the city. Up to 12,000 graves are in this breathtaking corner
D Museum of Communism | The dictatorship left so many bad memories that when finished, two decades ago, Czechs and Slovaks were forever separated.
E Mucha Museum | Before the totalitarian gray, Prague was a city colored by modernism. Alphonse Mucha brought Art Nouveau to the city.
F Karlovy Lazne | You get into the biggest club in Central Europe for just 180 crowns. Different ambients, 50 meters from Charles Bridge.
G Oktoberfest | The Czechs average the highest consumption of beer on the planet. The Oktoberfest Prague is in late May.
H Bridge Tower | One of the most characteristic elements of the city’s skyline, leading into the Stare Mesto (Old Town).
I Dancing House | Not everything is medieval in Prague: Frank Gehry designed this deconstructivist building on the banks of the Vltava in 1997.
J Wenceslas Square | Emotional center of the Czech Republic. This square-like avenue starred the Velvet Revolution (1989).
K John Lennon Wall | A wall painted in memory of former Beatles’ generated this monument to the Freedom of expression.

Ilustration by Pep Boatella / @pepboatella

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

Cardiff is hosting the 2017 UEFA Champions League final on 3 June. Although the city is overshadowed by the likes of Britain’s most popular destinations, namely London, Manchester and Liverpool, Cardiff, an ancient Roman fortification, is currently experiencing a moment of splendour. Indeed, it has a plethora of allurements to warrant you visiting the city, whether or not your team is due to file onto the pitch at the Millennium Stadium. In the following we reveal the most iconic spots in the Welsh capital.

Cardiff Bay
This is one of the city’s nerve centres and the economic driving force behind its development in the early 20th century. However, when the coal trade slipped into decline, the Cardiff docks turned into a derelict, forsaken precinct. In the 1990s, the Cardiff Council decided to revive Cardiff Bay, converting it into an area open to the public. It is now the favourite haunts of many a Cardiffian and is one of the most attractive areas in the city, boasting some of the best leisure and gastronomic amenities.

Llandaff Cathedral
One of the most emblematic examples of religious architecture in Wales. Built in the 13th century, Llandaff Cathedral is a huge, mesmerising Gothic construction, although some corners reveal vestiges of the Norman and later periods, notably the stunning “Christ” modelled by the American sculptor, Jacob Epstein, which hangs in the central nave. For those interested in paranormal phenomena, Llandaff Cathedral has spawned all manner of ghost stories, to the extent that they now run a “Ghost Tour” on which visitors are shown the spots where ghost sightings have taken place. Interestingly, not far from the Cathedral lies Llandaff Cathedral School, where Roald Dahl studied.

Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle is a must-visit spot for all newcomers to the city, just as the Colosseum is in Rome, the Acropolis in Athens and the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Built on the site of a former Roman fortification, its origins go back to the 11th century. Although much of the original structure is still intact, in the 19th century the Marquess of Bute commissioned the architect, William Burges, to undertake extensive remodelling works, based on the Victorian and Neogothic precepts in vogue at the time, which turned the castle into one of the most opulent contemporary constructions.

Cardiff City Hall
Flanked by Cardiff Crown Court and the National Museum of Cardiff stands Cardiff City Hall, one of the most stunningly beautiful buildings in the city. Built in the early 20th century, even its exterior features extraordinary architectural beauty in the purity of its white limestone facings. However, don’t let its formidable appearance stop you from going inside. You can double check in reception, but usually you can visit all the rooms you find open. If you’re in luck, you will be treated to such sights as the Marble Hall with its collection of sculptures of illustrious figures from Welsh history, the Assembly Room and the Council Chamber.

National Museum of Cardiff
Next door to the Cardiff City Hall is the National Museum of Cardiff, the most important museum in the city. Like the neighbouring Cardiff Crown Court and Cardiff City Hall, this is a stunning Edwardian building on which construction began in 1912. Building work was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I and could not be completed until 1927. Admission is free (like virtually all British museums) and the interior houses a variety of exhibitions, ranging from different natural science disciplines to art – the highlight is their collection of Impressionist paintings, featuring such geniuses as Van Gogh, Monet and Cézanne.

Wales Millennium Centre
At the entrance to Cardiff Bay you will come across the Wales Millennium Centre, home to the Welsh National Opera. Opened in 1912, this modern building presents elements in slate, metal, wood and glass, all sourced in Wales. Inscribed above the main entrance are two poetic lines, written by Welsh poet Gwyneth Lewis. The first, in Welsh, reads “Creating Truth Like Glass From Inspiration's Furnace” and the second, in English, reads “In These Stones Horizons Sing”. Housed in the interior is the Donald Gordon Theatre, with a seating capacity of 1,900, and two adjoining rooms, which host opera recitals and extravaganzas, symphonic orchestras, ballet, theatre and contemporary music throughout the year.

Techniquest
Techniquest is the largest museum of science, technology and knowledge in the United Kingdom. Located on Stuart Street, a stone’s throw from Cardiff Bay, it stands out for its characteristic glass and steel structure. Striking a balance between education and entertainment, Techniquest is home to permanent and temporary exhibitions, as well as a theatre which hosts various science-oriented events, a planetarium and a centre of knowledge and technology dedicated to educating visitors in scientific principles through playful experiments.

Y Mochyn Du
After so much sightseeing, you will need to replenish your energy at some stage. And, where better to do so than in a typical Welsh pub? None comes more highly recommended than Y Muchyn Du (Black Pig, in Welsh). It lies some 20 minutes from the city centre, right at the entrance to Sophia Gardens and alongside the city’s main cricket stadium. However, once you get there, you will realise your journey has been worth it – walls plastered in rugby memorabilia, a Welsh-speaking clientele, traditional Welsh cuisine and a good assortment of local beers. In short, one of those venues that breathes authenticity.

The Backdrop for the Final
Football will be king on 3 June, but the National Stadium of Wales, also known as the Millennium Stadium, is one of the great temples of rugby, a sport about which the Welsh are passionate. The pride of Cardiff, the stadium was built in 1999 in time for the Rugby World Cup, and was the venue for the opening ceremony, the first and the last game, when Australia took the honours. With a seating capacity of 74,500, it is one of the world’s largest stadiums with a retractable roof, as well as one of the most striking and architecturally elegant anywhere on earth. Home to the Welsh rugby and football national teams, it is here that the new champion of European football clubs will be crowned.

Text by Oriol Rodríguez

Images by John Greenaway, David Ip, Michel Curi, John Mason, Jon Candy