Santiago’s zone of influence stretches through a score of municipalities, ranging from A Coruña to Pontevedra, all articulated around the river Ulla, while various branches of the Road to Santiago run nearby, too.

Hardly 10 km from the city lies a magical spot – Pico Sacro, a legendary hill as far as Galician culture and the Jacobean tradition are concerned. Located south-east of the city, its unusual outline rises sharply to a height of 533 metres. Santiago and the skyline of its Cathedral towers are visible in the distance from its summit.

Galicia is green, and the city of Santiago is also surrounded by green. Nature lovers can go on outings from the city to such amazing spots as the Fervenzas do Toxa, or to Insua; to unique forests like the Fraga de Catasós, with chestnut trees towering over thirty metres, or to mountain ranges like O Candán, with its ancient landscapes and great open spaces.

In a radius of just fifty kilometres you can discover the monumental wealth of such historic towns as Padrón or Melide, both directly related to the Road to Santiago; pazos (country homes) like the Pazo de Santa Cruz de Ribadulla, noteworthy for its camellias and centuries-old olives trees, and even places of quiet and repose like the Carboeiro Monastery, surrounded by splendid natural scenery.

Needless to say, being Galicia, it is also worth planning outings to try the delicious and abundant cuisine in Santiago’s environs, characterised by the use of fresh produce in season. Be sure to try the Padrón peppers, trout and lamprey, cocido (stew), beef, cheeses, melindres (honey fritters), filloa crêpes, almendrados (macaroons) and rosquillas (a ring-shaped pastry), and to end your trip by toasting with a local spirit.

Come and discover all these gems for yourself! Check out our flights here.

For further information on Santiago: www.santiagoturismo.com

For further information on the environs of Santiago: www.areasantiago.es

The island of Majorca is full of surprises. It has many leisure options, as well as nature, culture, traditions and contrasts. It’s worth spending a few days exploring, and you’re sure to come again! Join us on a five-day getaway to discover the best of the island’s slow life. Are you ready?

Lovers of good food will be especially impressed with Lisbon. Here, tradition and the avant-garde coexist in mutual harmony and quality. At times, they even fuse to create the coolest, most delectable foodie experiences. Take note of these five venues well worth visiting, and deserving more than just a bite.

An Unforgettable Brunch at Chafariz del Rei

An unassuming alleway to those who don’t suspect what lies in this quaint 13th-century building, breathing the luxury of bygone times, behind its imposing, locked door. Visitors have to ring the bell and wait. And, as they hear the key turning in the lock, the mystery deepens. Inside lie stately rooms with unusual, meticulous interior design. You have come to Chafariz del Rei, a place which is surprising and captivating from start to finish. It is ideal for enjoying a brunch (18 euros per head), comprising tea or coffee, natural fruit juices, homemade buns, bread, homemade jams, eggs any style, fruit salads, a cheeseboard, sausage and dessert. The best place to enjoy this food is of course on the terrace, bathed in sunlight, with the murmur of a fountain and a relaxing view. A divine moment you will never forget. But, you have to book in advance.

A Traditional Bill of Fare at the Cova Funda Intendente

The cantinas, an old Lisbon favourite, are still going strong. These genuine, popular eateries, replete with surly waiters, parties who talk (too) loud and paper place mats, where the menu is cobbled up by the family’s grandmother and two diners can wolf down food like there was no tomorrow for under 30 euros. With wine, coffee and dessert included. Take, for instance, the Cova Funda Intendente. Their speciality is – naturally – codfish, cooked to a thousand different recipes. Special mention goes to this fish done à brás (a sort of hashed codfish with egg, garlic, courgette, olives, onion and potatoes). The dish is as tasty as it is addictive. It is impossible to stop eating it, even when you’re about to burst. But, don’t even think of ordering one dish per person, as here the helpings are gargantuan. One helping is for two or more diners. As a first course, they make a superb bread soup (a vegetable broth with egg and sliced bread).

Original, Inimitable Pastéis de Belém

As soon as you set foot in the airport, your mouth will water by simply catching a glimpse of the pastéis de Belém, the country’s best known confectionery. And, you come across it all over Lisbon. But, in this case, I make no excuses for being a purist – the originals are inimitable. To try them, you have to go to Belém and wait patiently in the queue that forms on a daily basis in front of the Casa Pastéis de Belém and goes around the block. Here, where they make about 10,000 tarts a day, the confectionery was first invented. It’s worth waiting for. A mere bite into one of these custard tarts, eaten freshly baked and dusted with castor sugar and cinnamon, is simply divine.

A Cool Market for the Modern

Something has changed. Something is simmering here. Something is happening in Lisbon and the ferment smacks of a commitment to tradition, but with a modern touch. Tried and tested favourites always endure, but they adapt to an audience eager for new culinary experiences. This is what strikes you at the Mercado da Ribeira, now converted into a cool market boasting the best street food stalls in the city. Here you can feast on anything – local sausage or cheeses, internationally-inspired delicacies (pizza, prawn-and-beef hamburgers), traditional dishes (seafood grill, croquettes, rices…), preserves, cocktails, pastries, ice-creams, etc. The prices do, however, soar in comparison to the street stalls in the city centre, but a visit to this gastronomic market, which draws hundreds of people sharing tables each weekend, comes highly recommended. Mercado da Ribeira: Avenida 24 de Julho 50, 1200-109, Lisboa.

Charming Restaurant, Lisboan Fare

Typically Lisboan cuisine which gives a nod to the present, served in a priceless, modern establishment full of charm – the former premises of the Real Fábrica da Seda. What’s on the menu? Pastéis de bacalhau (cod fritters), duck with rice and octopus feijoada, a seafood stew with beans. The average price is 30 euros per head.

Come on! I’m sure your mouth was watering as you read this post. Check out our flights to Lisbon and feast on their culinary delights.

Text and images by Laia Zieger (Gastronomistas)

That Seville is famous for its tapas is a well-known fact. But the city also happens to be riding on a burgeoning culinary wave and, instead of just limiting itself to culinary tradition, it has jumped onto the internationally inspired bandwagon of carefree, innovative and excellent process of reinvention, as well as implementing novel techniques and flourishes of modernity.

Lalola – A Gourmet Tavern
I should perhaps dare introduce this restaurant as one of the best in Seville. Tasting the creations served up in this self-proclaimed “gourmet tavern” is well worth the long walk, as it is located far from the bustle of the city centre in the quarter of Los Remedios. Lalola is the domain of chef Javier Abascal, a youngster you are sure to hear about in the coming years. And, it’s just as well. His menu is an ode to his four loves – quality product, cooking over a slow fire, reminiscences of Sephardic cuisine and offal, which has its own section on the menu, allowing you to taste anything from boned pig trotters with creamy potatoes to beef sweetbread with aniseed  crumble and bamboo or monkfish foie gras. But, it doesn’t stop there, as the other shared dishes provide another surprise – organic chickpea hummus, La Vera red peppers and sesame, tuna tartare and algae noodles… Average ticket: €20 per head.

Mercado Lonja del Barranco – Variety For All Tastes
Go inside Mercado Lonja del Barranco and you can watch dapper gentlemen arriving in what is possibly the trendiest spot in Seville, with its Nordic, vintage aesthetic. Quite a shock after having strolled through the old Jewish quarter and come across a religious procession in the Triana neighbourhood. But, it rocks, as its taste lies in the variety. And, here, there is variety in abundance, highly recommendable for the hesitant, for foodies eager to taste a bit of everything and for parties of guests. Mercado Lonja del Barranco offers over 150 dishes, both local and international. Here, it’s no easy task deciding from among such a broad selection. I can recommend dipping into the seafood section and trying the typical shrimp omelette. Likewise the gourmet salmorejo stand, where you can taste the different varieties of this local speciality, and the cut ham stand… Tickets from €3.

Séptimo Wine Bar
Séptimo, because seven is a lucky number. And, Isabel and Floriant, the Hispano-French couple who run this locale, seem to have hit the jackpot. Some luck in it, of course, but you can’t detract from their job well done, driven as they are by a tireless passion, which you notice as soon as they start talking about a tuna fish in the kitchen with a sparkle in its eyes. Indeed, they have managed to continually fill to capacity their small, inviting premises ever since they first opened just over a year ago. Their offerings are gourmet tapas, “inspired by whatever”, accompanied by “whichever wine goes well”. That is how Isabel puts it and she adds, in the Sevillian accent we have grown to love, “we make our own style of tasty food”. Hats off to their duck pie, marinated tuna or tartare, the three dishes they rate as the star items on the menu and which are virtually always in stock, while the rest of the offerings are seasonal. Now, for instance, you can taste a marvellous sautéed artichoke with pumpkin, field mushrooms and presa ibérica (Iberian shoulder of pork), highly tender lamb nuggets in sweet potato sauce and the pièce de résistance – a milk torrija (French toast) served with a ball of ice-cream likely to make you shed more than one tear. Average ticket: €20 for two.

Perro Viejo – International Fusion
There just had to be a hipster sanctuary in Seville, and that is Perro Viejo. Located in the heart of the Andalusian capital and inaugurated just two years ago, this stunning, three-storey tapas bar features ultra-cool, ultra-modern, ultra-gorgeous interior design – everything is wood, iron and greenery, clearly inspired by an industrial aesthetic. Here, the tapas are a blend of tradition and international fusion (there are distinct Thai, Japanese and Peruvian influences in their cuisine), with the emphasis on new culinary trends, as evinced in their exquisite Japanese butterfish tataki, pulpo a feira (Galician-style octopus) with migas, organic egg and Iberian broth, glazed pork dumplings with chilli vinaigrette, charcoaled papas bravas (spicy sautéed potatoes) and ceviche (lemon-and-garlic marinade). All of this livened up with a great wine list and, above all, spectacular cocktails. Average ticket: €40 for two.

Book your Vueling to Seville and gear up to savour the best gastrobars in town.

Text by Laia Zieger of Gastronomistas.com