Thessaloniki is redolent with a chaotic – and even decadent –  air, set in the West but facing the East, proud of a past characterised by Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman influences, yet imbued with modern, contemporary momentum.Thessaloniki (or Salonika) is not as popular as the capital, Athens, and does not exert the same draw as the absolutely exquisite Greek islands, but its streets are full of the delights that warrant flying there to be able to stand before the White Tower. Here, then, are some of its myriad charms.

Although a typical drink throughout the country, in Thessaloniki, frappé coffee is a religion. You will see them everywhere and at all hours, local folk sipping away at them in huge glasses, stuffed with a sort of evolved, iced cappuccino topped generously with foam. Cafés, bars, restaurants, ice-cream parlours… it is served in all kinds of establishments, but the best of them all is Paradosiako, an exquisite café and ice-cream parlour located in Aristotelous Square, the hub and heart of the city.

Thessaloniki is a city of churches. Marvellous churches, like Agios Panteleimon, the Church of the Acheiropoietos and Agios Athanasios. However, the most iconic church in the city is clearly the monumental Church of the Rotonda or Agios Giorgios. Designated a World Heritage Site in 1988, together with the Arch of Galerius (just over 100 metres from the Rotonda), this is the oldest church in Thessaloniki or, as some sources would have it, the oldest church in the world.

Sport is taken seriously in Greece, and in Thessaloniki, no less so. It is quite an experience to visit that volcano of passions, the Toumba Stadium, to see PAOK FC playing. Or, if your thing is basketball, head for the clamorous Alexandreio Melathron arena, home to the historic Aris FC.

Adjacent to Aristotle Avenue stands the Ladadika, the former oil market. You can find all kinds of shops and stalls in this maze of alleyways, a blend of Western market and Arab souq, with wares ranging from food to garments, and from spices to implements. On the south side, near the sea, is an area with the most contemporary restaurants in the city.

The epitome of the Mediterranean diet, Greek food is an orgasm on one’s taste buds. Bent on savouring one of the most widely acclaimed cuisines in the country, it would be a sin to visit Thessaloniki without tasting such local delicacies as xoriatiki salata, melitzanosalata, moussaka, youvetsi, bouyiourdi or mydia saganaki.There are excellent restaurants and taverns all around the city, but Neos Galerios (Apellou 3) is one of those small family restaurants (a variation on the Spanish Casa Pepe) where you can eat plenty and well for a moderate price.

In 1917 Thessaloniki was devastated by a fire from which only the upper district of Ano Poli was spared. Ringed by part of the old Byzantine and Ottoman walls, this jigsaw of steep, winding streets, and one-storey houses with colourful patios, enjoys privileged views of the rest of the city down below. You can walk up to Ano Poli, but the climb is likely to wear out your shoe soles. Your best bet is to take bus 50 which follows a circular route past the city’s cultural landmarks.

Thessaloniki is Greece’s cultural capital, particularly when it comes to the world of cinema. The majestic Olympion Theatre, located in beautiful Aristotelous Square, is the site of the Thessaloniki International Film Festival, the leading event of its kind in the country. Less than five minutes away lies the old harbour which has been partly remodelled and given over to cultural activities. One of the old shipyards now houses the Thessaloniki Cinema Museum. The rest of the refurbished shipyards host such events as the local editions of the Barcelona In-Edit (a music documentary film festival), and OffsideFest, a football documentary film festival.

The symbol of Thessaloniki is the White Tower, the sort of landmark which visitors to any city are bound to come across, even unwittingly. Once used as both a fortress and prison, the structure you see today was built during the period of Ottoman domination by Suleiman the Magnificent, most likely on the site of a pre-existing medieval construction. The White Tower is the point of departure for a walk down the Nikis, a promenade which stretches for several kilometres along the city’s seafront.

Mt Athos lies about three hours’ drive from Thessaloniki. Sacred to the Greek Orthodox Church faithful, this mountain rises from a rocky peninsula alongside the Aegean Sea. Around twenty monasteries are located on this mountain, including some of the oldest and remotest monasteries on earth, which are home to about 1,500 monks. The Holy Mountain enjoys a form of local autonomy and access to it is restricted. Women are not allowed to set foot on the mountain, while access to male visitors is limited to 200 Greeks and 10 foreigners per day.

Don’t wait to experience the magic that is Greece – check out our flights here.

Text by Oriol Rodríguez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by L'imaGiraphe, Tilemahos Efthimiadis, Stella Vardaki, Dmitry Artyukhov

It was a film that led me to Turin. I was stunned by a giant edifice topped by a spire which towered over the city. It was the Mole Antonelliana, a vivid name alluding to both its blunt presence and its designer, Alessandro Antonelli, who had initially conceived of it as a synagogue. I discovered it in a humble but significant independent film entitled Dopo Mezzanotte (After Midnight), by Davide Ferrario, who lives in the city and has shot many of his films there. It is a hymn to cinema, a passion triangle with the action set in the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, which has been housed in the Mole since 2000. With an area of 3,200 square metres, it is the largest in Europe dedicated to “the Seventh Art”. It is a highly original, spectacular exhibition, both for its location and the layout of its collections, including pre-cinematographic devices, magic lanterns, and both old and modern stage items – notably masks from Star Wars and Bergman’s The Seventh Seal, Superman’s cloak and Marilyn Monroe’s bodice. It is actually one of the most frequented museums in Italy, quite a feat in a country with such a rich history and art heritage. It is also the site of the Turin Film Festival, next slated for 20 to 28 November, which has featured such filmmakers as Nanni Moretti, Gianni Amelio and Paolo Virzi.

The City that Bewitched Risi, Tornatore and Argento

The fact that Turin was Italy’s first capital is evident in its cinema, from Neorealism to erotic comedies, with a profusion of such explicit detective films as Double Game, Black Turin and Torino, centrale del vizio. It was in Turin that the master of horror movies and self-confessed lover of the city, Dario Argento, shot several scenes from one of his first hits, The Cat o' Nine Tails. He went on to film in their entirety his latest works, Do You Like Hitchcock?, Sleepless (Non ho sonno) and Giallo.

The city of the Juventus and Torino football clubs, the annual contenders at the “Derby della Mole”, is also an obligatory stop on the journeys depicted in the perennial classics. Enrico Loverso emigrates from the poor south to the Turinese industrial north in The Way We Laughed (Così ridevano) by Gianni Amelio. In Everybody's Fine (Stanno tutti bene), by Giuseppe Tornatore, an elderly, splendid Marcello Mastroianni visits his adult children distributed across Italy and finds the last of them – of course – in Turin. And, the irascible blind captain played by Vittorio Gassman sets off from Turin station in Scent of a Woman, directed by Dino Risi (the remake, with Al Pacino, came years later). Risi also happened to make his cinema debut in the same Alpine city, when he was assistant director during the shoot of Piccolo mondo antico (Little Ancient World), and it was there, too, that he one night declared his eternal love to the stunning actress, Alida Valli, while they were sitting in a carriage in the rain, in the romantic, lush gardens of the Parco Valentino.

The Setting for Robberies and Spies in American Movies

In The Pink Panther 2, with Steve Martin, one of the city’s most prized treasures is stolen – no less than the Turin Shroud. However, the film that has probably set Turin most on the map is the 1969 cult movie, The Italian Job, by Peter Collinson (which has seen a recent remake). In it, Michael Caine flees with his loot from the carabinieri in his Mini Coopers, through the Palazzo Carignano, along the inner staircases of the Palazzo Madama and around the exterior of the Gran Madre di Dio Church, skidding through the glamorous Galleria San Federico shopping centre, and driving over the flared roof of the Palazzo a Vela, built for the Italia 61 Exhibition and refurbished as a sports centre for the 2006 Winter Olympics. He also drives up the heady oval test track on the old FIAT factory – the city’s veritable economic driving force for decades – housed in the Lingotto building, now a multidisciplinary space for trade fairs and festivals. In his final getaway, his Minis reach the nearby Alps, the formidable mountain range which acts as the backdrop for this stunning city, after having crossed the river Po.

And, opposite the Po stands the majestic Piazza Vittorio Veneto, which appears in The Bourne Ultimatum, a saga starring Matt Damon. However, the café where we later see the fired up secret agent sitting is actually in Madrid! The fact is that the film crew were back working in Spain when a change to the script forced them to repeat the shoot of the scene originally filmed in Turin. The magic of cinema always involves some hidden devices!

If you fancy seeing the city for yourself, secure your ticket here!

Text by Carlos G. Vela para ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Felipe Cadona Colombo, Jean-Pierre Dalbera, Luigi Giordano, Marco Coïsson, MarkusMark, Nicola Gambetti

1. El Retiro – the Most Popular of All

Stretching across 118 hectares, El Retiro Park is one of Madrid’s best known green areas. Close to the centre and readily accessible, it has long been a favourite among both Madrilenians and visitors to the city. Its origins go back to the period 1631–1640, when a second royal residence, known as the Palacio del Buen Retiro, was built on this site, the surrounding parkland being designated as a leisure area for the monarchs. Hardly anything has survived from those times as the palace was demolished after the Peninsula War in 1808. Following the revolution of 1868, the park was declared a public facility.

If you have a day to spend in El Retiro, you can fit in a stroll in search of Madrid’s purportedly oldest tree, have some refreshment at one of the kiosks, go for a boat ride on the Estanque Grande (Large Pond), see one of the scheduled exhibitions in the Velázquez Palace or the Palacio de Cristal (Crystal Palace), soak up the lush vegetation, research the park’s history through its fountains and statues and discover one of the few sculptures of the Ángel Caído (Fallen Angel).

2. The Casa de Campo – Madrid’s Largest Public Park

This is the largest urban park in Spain, spread across 1,722 hectares. It was once a preserve of the Spanish Crown, for which it operated as a hunting area, among other things. With the proclamation of the Second Republic, the park was made over to the city of Madrid and turned into a public precinct.

The Casa de Campo is the perfect spot for doing such sports as cycling, running, hiking and football. It also has sports facilities for tennis and swimming, and you can go canoeing or sailing on its iconic lake.

But the park offers more than just sport, boasting a large number of leisure facilities: an amusement park, zoo, various fairgrounds, the Madrid Arena multi-purpose pavilion and the Venta del Batán. Another of the major attractions here is the cableway linking the Casa del Campo to the Parque del Oeste, affording magnificent views over the park and the city of Madrid.

3. The Regal Air of the Campo del Moro Gardens

Designated an “Art Historical Garden” in 1931, it stretches across 20 hectares, running from the west side of the Royal Palace to the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto. Legend has it that, in 1109, the Almoravid leader, Ali ben Yusuf, camped in these grounds during his attempt at reconquering the former Alcázar Real, which accounts for the name of the gardens.

The Campo del Moro Gardens are one of three parklands belonging to the Royal Palace. Comparatively unknown by Madrilenians, they afford unique views of the palace. It is the perfect spot for strolling around and relaxing. Two sculptural groups are prominent in the park’s central hub – the Triton Fountain and the Fountain of the Shells. A curiosity is the House of Cork, a small, romantically inspired templet of a simplicity that contrasts with the rest of the area.

4. The Royal Botanical Gardens – Hallmark of the Enlightenment

Founded in 1755 by Ferdinand VI near the river Manzanares, in 1781 they were moved on the orders of Charles II to their current location on the Paseo del Prado, next door to the Prado Museum, then known as the Natural Science Museum.

The Royal Botanical Gardens reflect the spirit of the Enlightenment, the period in which they were designed. The gardens are laid out on three stepped terraces and feature plants from Europe, the Americas and the Pacific, numbering around 5,000 species in all. The grounds include a library which boasts a herbarium of over half a million sheets, and an archive with nearly 10,000 drawings. It was designated an “Artistic Garden” in 1942.

5. El Capricho – A Romantic Spot

Situated in the Alameda de Osuna, it is a veritable gem and yet comparatively unknown by local citizens. In 1985 it was listed as a Cultural Interest Site. The gardens were commissioned in 1784 by Doña María Josefa Pimentel, the Duchess of Osuna, and reflect the romanticist taste of the time, with English, French and Italian references. Sited in the gardens is a palace, a shrine, fountains, sculptural groups, ponds and a maze, all in a botanically rich setting. Several anti-aircraft shelters were built there during the Spanish Civil War, although the sole surviving vestiges are some air vents.

Ready to discover a “greener” Madrid? Check out our flights here.

Text by ISABELYLUIS Comunicación

Images by Naliade, Pablo Sanchez, Kus Cámara, M a n u e l

The people of Manchester always have to settle for second prize. Perhaps it is a bitter victory to come behind rivals, first-placed London, the economic, social and cultural epicentre of old Britain, but Manchester is still plugging away. They have always had a better football team than any in the capital and, as far as music is concerned, they have sometimes hit Londoners where it hurts most.

When it comes to Manchester’s nightlife, what comes to mind willy-nilly is stories and pictures associated with The Haçienda, that hotbed of endless creativity that set the trends in club music throughout the United Kingdom for over a decade. It is now eighteen years since it was converted into an apartment block. However, its demise did not in any way herald a decline in Mancunian nightlife. Club culture has long enjoyed good health in that city and this, added to the fact that music spots have always been plentiful in Manchester, makes it one of the hotspots in Europe.

The city boasts countless centres of night leisure. One of the most vibrant of them, which is currently on an upsurge, is the Northern Quarter, located in Manchester’s historic centre, dating from medieval times. The Council aims to give the neighbourhood a new lease of life, offering low rentals to attract young entrepreneurs. Located here is one of the best house and techno clubs, Sankeys (Radium St. M4 6AY). It is worth visiting for the quality of their sound and, incidentally, their equipment was designed by the likes of NASA. A good way to start the evening in this district is to have a pint at Odd Bar (30-32 Thomas Street), a sort of pub which won the best city bar award and which has a quality DJ programme. For live music, a great choice is Moho Live (Tib St., M1 1SH). There you can find anything from upcoming bands to Soundsystems by seminal electronic artists like Nightmares on Wax.

Another not-to-be-missed club in the Oxford Road university area is Joshua Brooks (106 Princess St. M1 6NG), located on the corner of Charles Street and Princess St. Aside from being a bar, at night it doubles as a disco, where the music ranges from indie to dance and dubstep. For addicts of black sounds, the city’s temple is called Funkademia Sited in Mint Lounge (46-50 Oldham Street), their motto is “wear what you like, but dress well”. Saturdays evenings are the most crowded and feature sessions of the best northern soul, groove, old-school hip hop and disco music.

The Event

For some years now, one of Britain’s paramount electronic music events has been held in  Manchester. This is The Warehouse Project, a serie of events that gets under way at the end of September and takes places every weekend until the beginning of January. Under the watchword, “For Twelve Weeks This City Is Ours”, the event’s organisers have drawn up a programme featuring a pithy lineup, designed to cure your hiccups. This year will see the likes of Jamie XX, Luciano, Clark, Siriusmodeselektor, Leftfield, Adrian Sherwood, John Talabot, Andrew Weatherall, Goldie, Carl Craig, Four Tet... The venues differ from one year to the next. According to the festival’s policy, the location should be outlandish every time. Until 2007, this was sited at their current operations centre. It lies in the underbelly of Piccadilly Station(Store St. M1 2GH), an unsettling place on account of the presence of catacombs. Each club night has its own theme. This year we recommend the weekend devoted to New Order, on 5 and 6 December, with a stunning lineup featuring such names as New Order themselves (they will be performing both days), A Certain Ratio, Erol Alkan, Horse Meat Disco and Factory Floor, among others.

As you can see, the intense Manchester scene continues apace. Come and feel the vibe – check our flights here.

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Images by Tom Jerkins photographic, Odd Bar, Duncan Hull, The Warehouse Project, Funkademia