First Discovery – The Pink City

It was in Toulouse I discovered that dusk can be pink, particularly if you watch it from the banks of the river Garonne. The light can be rather fickle, especially when it strikes from a high or low angle on the marble of the grand edifices which bedeck the city’s historic centre. The Place du Capitole, its daytime beauty matched at night by a lighting display, is the point of departure for any route through this city in the new Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées region. This is where the Capitole building stands, now home to the City Hall and National Theatre. Its eight pink marble columns symbolise the power of the eight districts that made up Toulouse in the 18th century. The square also has some hidden treasures, like the paintings under its colonnade where the city’s history is recounted.

Second Discovery – Home to Carlos Gardel and the Inquisition

In Toulouse I learned that Carlos Gardel was born in France, despite the Uruguayans claiming the king of tango as a fellow countryman, as I did that Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, author of The Little Prince, had stayed at the Hotel Le Grand Balcon, like all the pilots in the Compagnie Générale Aéropostale. Toulouse is also the birthplace of institutions, as antagonistic as they are important, like the Inquisition – founded to combat the Cathars – the Jeux Floraux, and the Gay Science, dating from the 14th century.

Third Discovery – A Vast Heritage

Toulouse is the site of the largest Romanesque church in the West, the Basilica of Saint-Sernin, also one of the major stopovers on the Road to Santiago on its passage through France. Close by stands the Convent of the Jacobins, a magnificent example of monastic construction and, further along the Garonne, we come across the Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Daurade, consecrated to the Black Madonna, draped in mantles made by great dressmakers.

Fourth Discovery – Pablo Picasso

It was in this city that I realised how passionate Toulousians are about Pablo Picasso. Les Abattoirs Museum, regarded as one of the leading cultural centres in Toulouse, features as an exhibit The Remains of the Minotaur in a Harlequin Costume, the work of the universal artist from Málaga.

Fifth Discovery – Aeroscopia

Toulouse is France’s aerospace capital  – the Airbus factory is located at Blagnac – particularly after the inauguration of the Aeroscopia Museum which, covering an area of 7,000 square metres, houses such legendary aeroplanes as the Concorde and the Super Guppy, the forerunner of the celebrated Beluga.

Sixth Discovery – Its Markets

In Toulouse I discovered that markets have a life of their own in France and that, apart from being venues for shopping, their restaurants attract a host of customers. The Victor Hugo Food Market, the Marché Cristal – where fruit and vegetables are sold in the open air – and the Marché des Carmes are some of the best known ones.

Seventh Discovery – N5 Wine Bar

Here, as in the rest of the country, the wine bar concept is very much in vogue. A fine example of this is the N5 Wine Bar, where you order wine by the glass (choosing both the type and the amount) and your order gets chalked up on a card which keeps track of your consumption. Be sure to try their tapas, such as the culatello di Brozzi, foie gras or Bronat cheeses.

Eighth Discovery – Toulouse Nightlife

Lastly, Toulouse is the French city with the most pronounced Spanish influence. You can tell as soon as you arrive when you start chatting to locals or when you give yourself over to the Toulousian night. In France’s fourth largest city, the people go out onto the street, regardless of the cold, and live it up for as long as they can hold out. Toulouse nightlife draws droves of locals and foreigners, many of them students, who gather at the nightspots on the Rue des Filatiers and the Carmes, Trinité, Wilson and Victor Hugo squares.

Toulouse is the perfect destination for a weekend getaway. Check out your Vueling here.

Text by Tusdestinos.net
Photos by Toulouse Tourism

A trip to Birmingham in the period from mid-November to the run-up to Christmas has a surprising added enticement, particularly for lovers of Christmas markets. That is when the Frankfurt Christmas Market and Craft Fair is held, a market in the purest German style in Britain’s second largest city. What’s more, it is the largest market of this type both in the United Kingdom and outside German itself. Not to be scoffed at!

For a few weeks, a number of quaint wooden stalls transform the city centre into a picturesque village revolving around the theme of Christmas. This magnificent market is sited in Birmingham’s emblematic Victoria Square – the heart of the city, with its Town Hall and Council House – as well as in Chamberlain Square and Centenary Square. As befits the occasion, Christmas lights and decoration are very much in evidence there.

So, what can visitors expect to find in the market? First, all kinds of Christmas decoration and gift objects, most of them hand made, such as wooden toys, candles and dolls. A large portion of the market is dedicated to craftwork sourced both locally and abroad.

Additionally, in line with German Christmas markets, fair-goers can spice up their visit by trying some of the German and Austrian culinary delicacies on offer: German sausage, pretzels, schnitzel, German beer, like weissbier (wheat beer), the popular mulled wine known as glühwein and hot chocolate. The market also offers attractions, ideal when accompanied by children, and the atmosphere is gingered up by live music.

More Christmas Shopping

In you haven’t had enough with just the market and require a stiffer spot of Christmas shopping, Birmingham is the perfect place to splash out. Here are some relevant recommendations:

Bullring. the city’s shopping area par excellence. It runs from New Street to St Martin’s Church and features no fewer than 160 shops, as well as two department stores. You are unlikely to remain impassive at the sight of the stunningSelfridgesbuilding, designed by the Future Systems architects studio and a veritable icon of the city.

Jewellery Quarter. As its name indicates, this is where jewellery business are concentrated. Here, 40% of the United Kingdom’s jewellery is produced. Located in downtown Birmingham, it boasts a tradition going back several centuries. The quarter houses some 100 retail outlets where you can purchase both new pieces and vintage jewels by weight.

Great Western Arcade. A shopping arcade located between Colmore Row and Temple Row, in the heart of the city. One of its major attractions are the premises themselves, as the stores are housed in an elegant Victorian building.

Custard Factory. Enthusiasts of things original and striking will find themselves at home on these premises, the former Bird’s Custard factory, situated in the industrial district of Digbeth. The interior is taken up artists’ and creatives’ studios, side by side with shops and bars where you can take a breather. There is a grand total of 30 stores displaying the latest trends in fashion, vintage garments, contemporary jewellery, artworks, bicycles, skateboards and many other things.

Mailbox. If exclusive design and luxury brands are for you, look no further than this shopping area located in Commercial Street. This complex includes the BBC Birmingham studios, the Harvey Nichols luxury department store, and two hotels. The back of the building, which gives onto a canal, is full of terraces with bars and restaurants for you to relax in after all your hectic shopping.

Ready for a Christmas shopping spree in Birmingham? Check out your flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Photos by Horst Gutmann, Custard Factory, Basti V, Tony Hisgett, Guy Evans

Up to Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean, comes all kinds of tourism attracted by its fantastic contrasts. Big claims are its magnificent landscapes, crystal clear waters and beaches – that nothing have to envy to the beaches of the Caribbean-, considered to be one of the most beautiful in the world. But up to Sardinia becomes also a tourism seeking to discover their valuable cultural legacy.

Ancestral traditions and rural ambiences that intermingle with modern cities and, in many areas, a luxurious tourism with big purchasing power. The fact that till not long ago, the island was a slightly exploited turísticamente, it does that the Sardinians still preserve predisposition is good towards the tourism. They always prove to be kind and ready to help and to advise.

The Coast Emerald is a holiday place of jet set. The area of the gulf in which it places Olbia finds full luxurious yachts, and it is frequented by celebrities of all kinds that culture and history come attracted by the fascinating nature miscellany. And the fact is that Olbia preserves historical buildings and architectural value as the Town hall, the Romanesque iglésia of San Simplicio, the ruins cistenses or the Carthaginian wall.

The oldest district of the town is the Castello, in which are the main points of interest. Perched high on a hill, you can easily access, either from the elevator of the market of Santa Chiara, from which it is located near to the Torre di San Pancrazio or climbing the staircase of St Remy that comes out of the piazza Constituzione. This square is a very lively place at night, with performances and lively local.In the district of la Marina, more mediterranean atmosphere, with plenty of typical taverns to eat. And let’s not forget the beaches! The most popular is the of Poetto, and one of the most beautiful of all the Mediterranean, as well as the marshes where you can see a host of migratory birds such as flamingos.

A place well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

Picture by Alsecommons

One August morning in 2014,  Stephen Curry, one of the world’s best basketball players, looked out of the window in the hotel where he was staying in the south of the island, together with the American national team, and wrote a message for posterity on the social networks: “Gran Canaria, God’s creation” was the immortalising phrase he wrote while taking in the scenery. He thus confirmed, decades later, that what the writer and journalist Domingo Doreste had said about his land of birth being a miniature continent was still true. The key to this is the combination of factors which make Gran Canaria a unique destination for nature lovers.

In 2005, almost half the island’s surface area was designated a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO, a tribute to the incalculable wealth of its species and a state of conservation which has kept human impact on the environment to a bare minimum. Indeed, man’s traces in the protected nature areas open to visitors is hardly perceptible. Each strip of land, whether on the coastline or in the mountains, reveals a genuine flourish of beauty.

One of the must-visit landmarks is Caldera de Tejeda, which affords stunning views of the north-west of the island. It is home to both Roque Nublo and Roque Bentayga, two basalt monoliths regarded as emblematic by the islanders. The summit is presided over by El Pico de las Nieves, at an altitude of 1,949 metres. This great height often puts it above the cloud level, setting up an effect known as the “sea of clouds”.

This spectacular backdrop, swathed in silence, exerts a great pull on visitors seeking direct contact with the living legacy of Macaronesia, the ensemble of five archipelagoes in the North Atlantic, made up of the Canary Islands, the Azores, the Cape Verde Islands, Madeira and the Savage Islands. The flora of Gran Canaria is one of the island’s great draws and has aroused interest among the scientific community for centuries. Over a hundred plant species are indigenous to this island alone, while another five hundred species are endemic to the Archipelago. Laurel forests and towering pines are conducive to immersing oneself in an environment blessed with a privileged climate. If you’re fond of botany, be sure to visit the Jardín Viera y Clavijo – also known as the Jardín Canario (Canary Island Garden) – given over primarily to flowers and plants endemic to the seven Canary Islands.

The indigenous fauna scattered across the island is also interesting. In addition to lizards, perenquenes (Canary wall geckos) and such iconic birds as the blue chaffinch, Gran Canaria is home to almost fifty types of nesting birds. The sea is another of its fortes. The waters surrounding the island feature a broad variety of fish, notably the comber, grouper, island grouper, cow bream and white seabream, among many others. It is also quite common to spot dolphins and whales coasting along at a safe distance.

Gran Canaria’s biodiversity can be seen in all its splendour from the Red de Miradores, a network of viewpoints comprising 31 observation platforms affording the best possible views and where you can take great photos. Further, if you’re an enthusiast of trekking, climbing or cycling, Gran Canaria offers endless opportunities in the form of routes with various difficulty ratings.

Accommodation at stunning sites is provided by a good range of rural hotels and houses spread across the whole island. Small spiritual retreats, where you can dispel all stress, located in gorges and other concealed tracts of land, guaranteed to enhance your experience of Gran Canaria.

Come and live it out for yourself. Check out our flights here.

Photos by Patronato Turismo Gran Canaria