“It turns out that in 1917, Einstein, Lenin and Joyce coincided in Zürich.There, Einstein lectured at the ETH, Lenin busied himself preparing the Russian revolution, while Joyce wrote Ulysses. The city is growing on me every day.”

These lines were posted in the Facebook profile of a Spanish friend living in Switzerland’s largest city. She also writes, and is somewhat revolutionary. She doesn’t lecture, that we know of, but it’s early days still. What is such a Mediterranean girl doing in a place like that? The moment we arrived there we had our answer. You can enjoy the vibrant cultural scene, its restaurants, its lake, the river Limmat, its parks, the silence and its modest size as cities go, meaning you can cross it by tram, or be tempted to cycle or walk around it.

Did you know that what the Swiss miss most when they travel is bread? That the owner of the legendary Café Odeon was able to build it thanks to the money he won on the Spanish lottery? That muesli was invented by the physician, Maximilian Bircher-Benner, from Zürich University, and that the historic Opfelchammer restaurant, a favourite of the local novelist, Gottfried Keller, allow you to carve your name on the beams if you drink enough wine? You imagine there is a luxurious city awaiting you, having forgotten that the Protestant Reformation started precisely here 500 years ago and that all ostentation was banned. Like filled chocolates, Zürich holds out surprises. You never know what you’re likely to come across.

Zürichis not an economical destination, but there are ways of reining in your expenditure. Before setting out to discover the city, buy a ZürichCARD. It permits you to catch the train from the airport to the city, where you can take all the tram lines and gain free (or discounted) entry to over 90 establishments.

If you fancy dining at a traditional – yet modern – spot, make sure you head for Haus Hiltl, Europe’s longest surviving vegetarian restaurant, dating from 1898. It offers a buffet with a choice of over 100 specialities – you pay according to how much you fill your plate – in addition to a bookshop, store, culinary studio and bar lounge.

If you’re into the eclectic, you should drop in on Les Halles, an erstwhile warehouse which doubles as a restaurant and market and is famous for its moules frites (mussels with fries). There, you can also buy and eat sausage, cheeses, wines and other delicacies from the old Europe.

If you prefer to dine in a formal atmosphere, make your way to La Salle. They serve a fine steak tartare, various fresh pasta dishes and a classic, homemade meat pie with red wine and mashed potato sauce which you really must try.

You can while your way into the night at numerous bars and clubs, such as the Nietturm Bar, located on the top floor above La Salle. This stylish locale serves the Hugo cocktail (prosecco, elderflower syrup, sparkling water, mint, lime and ice), or you could order a glass of local Zürich wine while taking in the breathtaking views over the city.

If the weather turns nasty or you’re numbed by the cold, go on a cruise around Lake Zurich. And, while you’re at it, enjoy a Swiss brunch – with cheese, bread, salmon, jam, fruit and pastries – while vineyards and fairytale houses parade before your eyes as you drift soothingly along. The brunch-cruise only operates on Sundays and you must book beforehand through Zürichsee Schifffahrt.

If, on the contrary, what you fancy is hoofing it as much as you can, go for their street food. You can wolf down the sausages at Sternen Grill, a hot soup at La Zoupa and marroni (roast chestnuts) at the street stalls. If your stay takes in more than just the weekend, make sure you try their looped pretzels and the other bäckerei (bakery) specialities in season at Vohdin (Oberdorfstrasse, 12), a shop front that has been open since 1626.

If you can afford it, take up lodgings on the 10th floor of the Sheraton Zürich Hotel, located in Zürich–West, the in district. The rooms are spacious, bright and comfortable; wifi is free-of-charge and there are two culinary options – the Route Twenty-Six restaurant (from the 26 Swiss cantons), featuring sumptuous breakfast buffets, and the Café & Bar Nuovo,ideal for afternoon coffee or a nighttime Qüollfrisch naturtrüb beer.

If you fancy bringing back a genuine souvenir in your suitcase, head for a local supermarket and get yourself a mini fondue of Gerber cheese and a bag of Frey chocolates, two historic brands that will sit sweet on the palate. Although – be warned – it will never be the same as having a fondue at Adler’s Swiss Chuchi or hot chocolate at Péclard.

Make haste and savour the Swiss delights of Zürich! Check out our flights here.

Text by Carme Gasull (Gastronomistas)
Photos by Mireia Aranda and Zurich Tourism

For twelve days, from 13 to 24 May, producers, film-makers and film stars come together in the city of Cannes to compete for the coveted Palme d’Or. The Cannes Festival is one of the most prestigious cinema festivals in the world. That is why, year after year, it draws great stars from the world of cinema, while millions of film enthusiasts the world over await the awards ceremony with baited breath.

Under the presidency of Louis Lumière, regarded as the father of cinema, the festival was first inaugurated on 1 September 1939, fatefully just one day before the outbreak of World War Two, which led to its cancellation until it was reinstated in 1946. The idea of the festival was to rival the Venice Film Festival, the oldest in the world. It was a way of expressing displeasure over the fact that the Italians had excluded some French gems from their festival, in favour of certain titles of a political and nationalistic character.

Showcase of the Famous

While the festival itself is for professionals, Cannes is inundated with hoards of film enthusiasts and onlookers eager to get a glimpse of their idols. If you’d like to see them all together, you’ll have to stake out a viewing spot during the opening ceremony at the entrance to the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès. The moment of greatest expectation is when the stars ascend the famous red carpet of 24 steps, comparable to the Oscar award-winning ceremony in Hollywood.

How to Enjoy the Festival

The major screenings are held in the Palais des Festivals and, as we intimated, they are generally reserved for professionals. You can, however, opt to view the open-air screenings, which are free of charge, in the Cinéma de la Plage, located on Plage Macé, where a film is shown every night as part of a themed programme. During the festival, Cannes throngs with art and culture and activities are staged all over the place. A week before it opens, the Cannes Festival website will be publishing its 2015 Official Selection of activities, which include master classes or film cycles, among other things.

What to Do in Cannes?

Cannes is a privileged city, located in the very heart of the French Riviera and just 27 kilometres from Nice airport. It is surrounded by picturesque villages, including Le Cannet, La Roquette-Sur-Siagne, Mougins and Vallauris, while the idyllic beaches of the French Riviera lie south of the city.

Discover the Old Town – Le Suquet

Set a top a hill lies the oldest quarter in Cannes, Le Suquet, a maze of alleyways and stairways running between the Riviera’s typical Provençal houses. This is a good area for having a meal as it is packed with bistros and restaurants, and also features one of the best views over the bay, the harbour and the Lérins Islands.

The Promenade de la Croisette

The Promenade de la Croisette is a palm-tree-lined esplanade that stretches for three kilometres, from Casino Palm Beach to the Palais des Festivals. Next to the palace is a promenade with Hollywood-style fame for the over 400 handprints it bears of such film stars as Charlie Chaplin, Julie Andrews, Sylvester Stallone, Catherine Deneuve, Liza Minelli and Meryl Streep.

Take a Tour of its Paradisiacal Islands

The Lérins Islands lie within easy reach of Cannes harbour.  They comprise an archipelago which lies opposite the city’s bay and are made up of four islands, of which only two – Île Sainte-Marguerite and Île Saint-Honorat – are inhabited. The first of these is the most visited, with its pleasant, forested areas. Here stands the Fort Royal, where the Man in the Iron Mask was once held prisoner for over ten years. The life of this mysterious character was the subject of a film by Leonardo di Caprio.

Surround Yourself with Luxury – Visit the Grand Villas of Cannes

Wrap yourself in luxury with a visit to the Villa Rothschild in the district of Croix des Gardes. The villa, in neoclassical style with magnificent gardens, was once home to Lord Brougham. His influence over the nobility of the period prompted other residences to be built, turning Cannes into the prosperous city it is today. Another one worth visiting is the Villa Domergue, designed by Jean-Gabriel Domergue and inspired by Venetian palaces. Its gardens are adorned with statues of the owner’s wife.

Text by Scanner FM

Images by Pedro Szekely, Titem, Pietro Izzo, Pierre Le Bigot, Sam2907, Mathieu Lebreton

Exploring the Bretagne means reviving the exciting medieval European history, delving into its cultural roots, into its traditions and legends. You will discover stunning landscapes: its beaches, cliffs or amazingmedieval towns like Vitre or Fougères, and you will get the most out of the beneficial effects for the body of Atlantic waters. Bretons are fond of spas and some of the best spas to relax and get purified are located in Dinard and La Baute .

The beauty of the breton coastline is prolonged for its islands, to the North Brehart or Ouessant and the South Sein, Glenan, Groix and Belle-Ile to, paradise of wild beauty with its protected bays and their headlights, and a history and personality. Its ports were strategic points for trade as for military defense and even lands of banishment.

By the magic Broceliande forest, you will go over hidden trails that will take you by the Bridge of the Secret, the village of Paimpont and its beautiful Abbey and castles of Brocéliande and the passage of Holly.

To the north, in the estuary of the Rance river one comes to Dinan, with its charming old town, and one of the best preserved medieval cities. For its walled enclosure you will discover fascinating monuments as the basilica of Saint-Sauveur or the tower of l’Horlage.

The dilated Breton coastline, bathed by the waters of the Atlantic, mark the gastronomy of the region, which has succeeded like no other, preserve its gastronomic specialities. Fish and seafood take the menus of the restaurants as anywhere else. One of the best oysters in the world, the Belon, and of course, mussels collected here.

In general, all the shellfish and seafood as the spider crab, lobsters or crabs, is collected in its cold waters. This also translates into delicious fish soups. Although if there is a fish by the that the Bretons have a special fervour, that is the cod, which was prepared in all ways imaginable.

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

Whitney Richelle is an American journalist based in Florence, Italy. She blogs, hosts and edits videos, and works as project manager for studentsville.it. Follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Hamburg’s not on your European travel checklist. You’ve never seen a picture of it. And you’re not even exactly sure where it is. No, you don’t really know anything at all about that German city – not even the fact that you’re dying to get there.

1. You Love Water

Situated on the River Elbe, Hamburg is home to the largest port in Germany. But that means so much more than ships, docks, and cranes – we’re talking canals, and lakes, and beaches. You can cruise down waterways crossed by over 2,300 bridges, and while it won’t be in a gondola, that’s more than any city in the world – even Venice. Getting wetter, in the middle of downtown’s spindly church spires and turquoise copper rooftops, there’s a lake lapping at its palaces. On the Chicago-esque Alster, glide off in paddle boats, kayaks, sailboats and tour boats toward white waterfront villas and swaying weeping willows that make it hard to believe the other shoreline is a city center. And whether you sunbathe at the sand beaches here or along the river, you’ve got to cool down with a tall glass of “lake water.” Alsterwasser (Alster water) is a typical summertime drink of lager beer (usually Hamburg-brewed Astra) and lemonade.

Insider Info:
Alster Lake & Boat Tour Metro Stop: Jungfernstieg
Boat Rental Company List
Alstertouristik Canal & Lake Boat Tours
Sand Beaches: Övelgönne beach, Falkensteiner Ufer, Wittenberge beach, Blankenese beach

2. Your Favorite Color is Green
20% of Hamburg is parks, gardens, nature reserves, and recreational areas, so that’s about a one-in-five chance of finding yourself picnicking on sprawling lawns or strolling along tree-lined, waterfront trails. The city’s most popular park is Planten un Blomen (Plants and Flowers), 47 acres of botanical paradise. Free entrance gets you access to the largest japanese garden and tea house in Europe; tropical and cactus greenhouses; rose and apothecary gardens; and the epic fountain shows, featuring 99 nozzles shooting streams up to 36 meters high (118 ft.) The best performances are the Wasserlichtspiele (Water Light Play) concerts after dark, when the whole production gets illuminated in kaleidoscopic colors and synched to the rhythm of classical music scores – Bellagio style.

Insider Info:
Planten un Blomen (site in German only):
Metro Stop: Stephansplaz
Water Shows: 14:00, 16:00 and 18:00 daily, from the end of April to mid-October
Water & Light & Music Shows: Nightly at 22:00 from the end of April to the end of August, and at 21:00 from September to mid-October
Contact Email: plantenunblomen@hamburg-mitte.hamburg.de

3. You Take It Easy
Hamburg is one of the most affluent cities in Europe, but its wealth isn’t conveyed in designer clothes or luxury cars; it’s celebrated in the simple art of enjoying life. Take a cue from the Hamburgers (not the patties, the people) and lie in the grass, sit by the shore, don’t take your coffee to go. It seems like the locals are the ones on vacation here, which explains all the beach bars in the heart of the city. It doesn’t matter if most of them aren’t actually on the beach/shore, they’ve brought in the palm trees, umbrellas, and sun loungers to fool you. And what’s that between your toes? SAND. Drink a mojito barefoot and ask yourself if you got on the right plane.
Insider Info:
Beach Bars (Free Entrance): Hamburger del Mar (local favorite, port view), Central Park (massage with your drink, no water view), Strandperle (on the riverbank), Strandpauli (closest to the Reepherbahn, port view, always packed)

4. You Know How to Haggle
Hamburg’s most popular market gets the whole city up at the crack of dawn once a week. Some are drawn to the Fischmarkt (fish market) by its volatile low prices, others, by the notorious performance of frantic hand gestures and staccato German cries as one seller tries to out-bid the next – but everyone stays for the same reason: brunch. In the nearby Fischauktionshalle (fish auction hall), squeeze yourself in at a communal table to feast on fresh fish, meats, eggs, cheeses, fruits, and just-baked pastries amongst the locals. With everyone around you knocking back beers and tapping their feet to the live band, it feels like Saturday night never ended (precisely because most of them have been partying on since then). Take your haggling even further at the Isemarkt, which, despite being Europe’s longest market, is still relatively undiscovered by tourists. Stands of traditional sausages, seafood spreads, dark pumpernickel breads, garden produce, sticky sweets, flower blossoms, international specialties, spices, crafts, and clothing take you on a nearly one-kilometer-long (0.6 mi) sensory adventure under the city’s elevated metro rails.

Insider Info:
Isemarkt
Hours: Tuesdays & Fridays 8:30 to 14:00
Metro Stop: Between the Eppendorfer Baum and Hoheluft stops
Fischmarkt
Hours: Sunday mornings, 5:00-9:30 from mid March to mid November, 7:00-9:30 from mid November to mid March
Metro Stop: Repeerbahn or Landungsbrücke (10-minute walk from either)
Fischauktionshalle (site in German only):
Address: Große Elbstraße 9
Brunch Hours: 5:30 – noon from April to September, 6:00 to noon from October – March
Price: €16.50-€21.50 per person, depending on the menu
Reservation Email: info@fischauktionshalle.de

5. You’re Not A Vegetarian 
In a city where the people are called “Hamburgers,” it’s a good bet that meat is on the menu. Sources say that the American beef patty itself originated in Hamburg under the name Frikadelle, thicker and without the bun, the way you can still find them in the city’s restaurants and markets today. Then there’s the burger’s wild red-headed cousin, Labskaus, a regional specialty made with corned beef, beetroot, potato, and onion, usually topped with a fried egg. As with all of Germany, pork, from Birnen Bohnen und Speck (green beans with pears and bacon) to currywurst (a hot dog seasoned with curry powder ketchup), is all the rage. But what makes Hamburg a culinary standout is the surf to go with all that turf. Pannfisch (pan-fried fish) is common cuisine thanks to the city’s steady supply of river fish like carp, pike, perch and trout; and sea fish like mackerel, salmon, tuna, and herring (the latter of which you can find fresh or pickled on, and in, practically everything).

Insider Info:
*Try traditional Hamburger restaurant, Deichgraf (site in German only), for heavenly time-tested recipes in an elegant setting on the canal:
-Reservations
-Address: Deichstrasse 23
-Hours: Mon – Fri, 12:00-15:00 and 17:30-22:00; Saturdays, 12:00-22:00; Sundays (July, August, and September only), 12:00-21:00
-Metro Stop: Rödingsmarkt
*For a new take on regional dishes, Fillet of Soul (site in German only) serves up fusion cuisine masterpieces in a modern space next to the city’s contemporary art gallery:
Reservations
Address: Deichtorstraße 2
Hours: Monday, 11:00-15:00; Tues – Sat, 11:00-24:00 (kitchen closes at 22:00); Sunday, 11:00-18:00
Metro Stop: Steinstraße

6. You’re Bored By Traditional Museums
If you don’t like museums, see if visiting a few of these doesn’t change your mind. More than 5 million Europeans set sail from Hamburg to America, and at the BallinStadt Emigration Museum, not only can you search passenger lists for distant relatives, you can walk through period sets complete with talking, costumed mannequins with quite the stories to tell. At Spicy’s, you can smell, taste, and feel your way through 50 crude seasonings at the world’s only spice museum. And who couldn’t appreciate classical paintings with cross-eyed subjects and the pink and blonde (German?) version of Michelangelo’s David at the Diechtorhallen exhibition center for contemporary art and photography – the biggest of its kind in Europe? One last curiosity is the mind-boggling Miniatur Wunderland, the world’s largest model railway museum with more than 12 km (7.5 mi) of tracks. But it’s not at all just trains, there is literally an entire small-scale world inside. If you’ve never seen Austria, Las Vegas, Scandinavia, or the Grand Canyon – this is your tiny chance.

Insider Info:
BallinStadt Metro Stop: Veddel
Diechtorhallen Metro Stop: Steinstraße
Miniatur Wunderland Metro Stop: Baumwall
Spicy’s (site in German only):
-Address: Am Sandtorkai, 34
-Tickets: €3.50
-Hours: Tues – Fri, 10:00-17:00; also open on Mondays, July – October
-Booking: mail@spicys.de
-Metro Stop: Baumwall

7. You’re Ready To Take Nightlife to the Next Level
There’s a street in Hamburg where city nightlife rubs elbows with a bona fide red light district and explodes into a mecca of rebellious debauchery, and it’s called the Reeperbahn. Bars next to strip clubs. Dance clubs in between cabarets and sex shops. The flashing neon lights attract young and old, bachelors and bachelorettes (stags and hens for you Brits), Hamburgers and locals. You don’t have to be a regular to the scene to enjoy these uncommon nights out, but it helps to have a friend in the neighborhood. The St. Pauli Tourist Office offers tours in English by local guides who share the quarter’s unusual history, reveal its hidden sights, tell you where to absolutely go and what’s better left alone, and take you to their favorite bar(s) for a drink (or three) together.

Insider info:
Reeperbahn Metro Stop: Reeperbahn
St. Pauli Tourist Office Tours in English (Fridays and Saturdays at 21:30)
8. You’re a Beatlemaniac
Take it from John Lennon himself, who later quoted, “I was born in Liverpool but raised in Hamburg,” a very significant part of the Beatles early history unfolded in, none other than, the city’s red light district. From 1960 to 1962, the startup band played a total of 281 concerts in the St. Pauli quarter. You can visit the sites where the group once rocked out up to 12 hours a night and 98 days in a row, venue’s like the Top 10 Club, The Star, The Indra, and The Kaiserkeller – the last two of which are still functioning music clubs today. In Beatles Plaz, a city square shaped like a giant vinyl record, no true fan can resist taking their picture framed in the outline of band member-shaped statues (that extra one off to the side is Pete Best). Just make sure you turn around to get the colorful Reeperbahn in the background, not the dull storefront across the street.

Insider info:
Beatles Platz Metro Stop: Reeperbahn
*All sights where the Beatles played are along or near Reeperbahn street

9. You Think Bigger Is – Almost Always – Better 
So you love big cities but could do without how they can be dangerous, dirty, and hard to get around? In Hamburg, you might be alarmed by the overt kindness and English-speaking prowess of strangers, the only trash you’ll see is at the bottom of recycling bins, and it will be difficult to grasp exactly how you’re getting around so quickly in a city seven times larger than Paris and twice as big as London. The metro and bus system runs. like. clockwork. And for those of you traveling with no destination, a sightseeing loop through Hamburg’s most popular neighborhoods on the Die Roten Doppeldecker (Red Double Decker bus) will leave you with quite a few in mind. Observing from your second-story seat under the sun, or hopping on and off at some of the 27 stops delivers a sweeping overview of this XL city in just 90-minutes.

Insider Info:
The HVV: Hamburg’s Public Transportation (Metro & Bus)
Die Roten Doppeldecker Sightseeing Tour
All Die Roten Doppeldecker Tours
*Guides speak German and English. Tell them you don’t speak German and they’ll translate.

10. You Appreciate Good Value
Hamburg is no budget traveler’s Eastern Europe, but for being a big city on the west side of the continent, it’s on the low end of the spending spectrum. Compared to popular tourist destinations like Paris, London, Rome and Barcelona, your money will last longer and get you a higher standard of quality for the same price. Plus, if you like seafood and drinking, you can indulge at absurdly low prices in the city center: around €3.50 for a catch-of-the-day sandwich on a pier, and €2.50 for a beer at a bar. Another great deal is the Hamburg Card, an €8.90 ticket good for 26-hours of unlimited bus and metro rides, and additional discounts of up to 50% at 130 restaurants, tours, and attractions.

Insider Info:
*Brücke 10 has a patio seating on the pier and arguably the best fish sandwiches in town (site in German only):
Address: St. Pauli landing bridges / bridge 10
Hours: Mon – Sat: 10:00-22:00, Sundays 9:00-22:00
Contact
Metro Stop: Baumwall

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