Any traveller stopping over at the city on the river Túria has their sightseeing venues cut out for them – The City of Arts and Sciences, The Cathedral, El Miguelete, The Silk Exchange, The Central Market, Torres de Serrano, Torres de Quart, The Port, The Bioparc – if you have kids in tow –  and, of course, The Albufera. Needless to say, all this should be accompanied by a good paella for lunch, and an horchata for afternoon tea.

But, Valencia is a lot more than this. Indeed, locals delight in a practice which is almost a religion – what is known here as the esmorçaret, a mid-morning sandwich with freshly baked bread, accompanied by a dish of olives or nuts, a beer and coffee… all for less than five euros.

Here is a our recommendation of 8 must-visit bars where you will gradually become adepts of that healthy practice which is usually indulged in between ten and twelve o’clock in the morning.

For Omelette Lovers

Bar Alhambra. Every day Benito, the owner of this small bar in the Juan Llorens area, prepares an average of six, two-and-a-half-kilo omelettes. The main kind is the potato omelette, but you can also choose between potato and onion, as well as potato and spring garlic, potato and sobrasada, (a spicy, pork sausage) and potato and morcilla (blood sausage),among others. Another of their finger-licking specialities is the apaleao (dry-cured pork loin).

Bar Rojas Clemente. Hidden in one of the city’s smallest markets, its bar counter provides a spectacle of myriad types of omelette, scrambled eggs, sausage and savoury pies, a local classic. Be sure to try the goat’s-milk cheese, candied-tomato and spinach omelette.

Under the Valencian Sun

Kiosco La Pérgola. Located in the tranquil, sought-after Paseo de la Alameda, this is one of the city’s classic venues, both for its food and sunny terrace. The “bombón” is the star bite – with pork loin, mushrooms, cheese and a special sauce. You can also elect to order the sandwich with just mushrooms, or with grouper or liver, which in La Pérgola is a whole delicacy.

Size Rules

Bodega La Pascuala. All the rage among elevenses devotees, this venue is located in the seafaring quarter of El Cabañal, just a stone’s throw from La Malvarrosa Beach. Their star performer is the “Súper”, an oversize sandwich comprising a whole stick of bread, with horse meat, onion, bacon, cheese and typical Catalan tomato bread. The peanuts and olives are on the house.

Michelin-Starred Brunch

Central Bar. A Michelin-starred elevenses is also doable. Run by the acclaimed chef, Ricard Camarena, this bar is in the amazing Central Market in El Carmen District, the city’s historic centre. The star sandwich is named after Ricard Camarena himself and features pork fillet, onion, cheese and mustard – a festival of flavours!

A Classic – Calamari Sandwich

Casa Mundo. Founded in 1953 by a football player and Valencia CF’s greatest ever goal-scorer, Edmundo Suárez “Mundo”, this bar in the city centre has held out admirably against the invasion of franchises. Noteworthy is their famous calamari sandwich, but also the blanco y negro (black and white) with broad beans, as well as the chivito (steakburger) and pepito de pisto (ratatouille meat sandwich), which has been made to the same recipe for over 50 years.

La Piulà. A wealth of sandwiches with juicy, crisp, homemade batter-fried calamari. The optional condiment is a mild mayonnaise. Also well worth trying is their ciclista, made of ham, omelette and tomato as the main ingredients.

Hidden in the Historic City

Tasca Ángel. The last stop on our route is a secluded venue near the Mercat Central (Central Market), a few metres away from La Lonja (Silk Exchange). This bar features what are possibly the best sardines in town – their great draw and speciality – but they have other delicacies worth trying, too. From griddled vegetables to tapas you’d be hard put to find elsewhere, notably the riñoncitos (kidneys) and lleterola (gizzard), a favourite in the Horta Valenciana rural district. Oh, and don’t pass up theirajo arriero(salt cod, potato and garlic paste).

Check out your Vueling here and join the culture of the “esmorçaret”.

Text by Laura Llamas for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

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 amazing medieval 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 French Brittany is a large peninsula. Its 1,200 kilometers of coastline and its landscapes and gastronomy prove its close relationship to land and sea, as well as its ancestral traditions, dating back to its Celtic past, actually closer to Ireland or Wales that France itself.

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.

Rennes, capital of Brittany, although it is located at the gates of the Normandy region and is a prominent place of the architectural heritage and witness of the history of the region. Around the two Royal squares, Parliament and the City Council, and their features wood and Renaissance mansions half-timbered houses, centuries of history are drawn.

30 Kilometres from Rennes lies the lush forest of Oaks and beeches Brocelandia, domain of myths and legends Celtic. It is here where are located many episodes of the novels of the round table, as the search King Arthur ordered to find the Holy Grail and was also the place where lived the fairy Viviana, Knight Lancelot and Merlin the Mage, friend and Advisor of the young Arthur, which say caught there for love.

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.

From here the Coast Emerald spreads, with its Green shores dotted with villages, which passes from the walled city of Sain-Malo to the Coast of Pink Granite, which owes its name to its peculiar rock formations of pink shades. And between them, countless sites to explore: the rocky cliffs of Cap Fréhel or Rochefort-en-Terre with its low houses with slate roofs and the charm of the old villages.

Another attraction of the route by the Breton coast is to follow the Way of the headlights, which starts in Brest and ends in Portsall, to take a walk through the half-hundred lighthouses that dot its coastline.

Great painters such as Paul Gauguin and Maurice Denis have immortalized like nobody the Brittany. You can rediscover them in at the Museum of Fine Arts in Pont-Aven. Pont-Aven owes its reputation to the painters’ school that Gauguin led in this fishing village, arrived from Paris and willing to follow his teachings.This population keeps on preserving the nostalgic mills that were happening along the river, which so many times these artists recreated, and its fascination for the painting, but also you will be able to enjoy its famous confectioner’s.

Finishing up the Arch of the Brittany coast to the South, is Carnac, town which houses more than 3,000 prehistoric remains of between 5,000 and 2,000 BC years TIt is the oldest archeological site of Europe, divided into four major areas: Le Menec, Kermario, Kerlescan and Le Petit Menec. You can also complete your visit in the Museum of the prehistory of Carnac..

Eating in Britain

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.

But, apart from the fish, in Britain prepares excellent cheeses, as the curé nantais, and butter, cider and delicious pastries. Their crepes, croissants or Sabres will delight the greediest.

Image: Emmanuelc

Somewhere well worth discovering! Check out our flights here.

Hamburg is the city where John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best first started out, where they met and made their first recording. By walking through the streets of Hamburg, you can find numerous references to the time they spent in the city.

The time spent by the Beatles in Hamburg spans a period from August 1960 to December 1962. Back then, the city was the third largest port in the world and a bad reputation hung over it like a dark cloud. It was known as a city of vice, crime and prostitution. There’s no wonder why the parents of the English teenagers at the time did everything they could to convince them not to go.

Their first performance was at the el Indra club. The place has almost kept the same name but is now called “Indra, where the Beatles played first”. Find it at 64 Große Freiheit. A plaque by the door commemorates that event on 17 August 1960. Because nobody had heard of The Beatles back then, no record remains of their time at the venue.

When Indra had to close due to complaints from the neighbours, the Beatles moved on to playing at theTop Ten Club.Feeling very put out, the owner of Indra reported Harrison to the police (who was a minor at the time) and he was deported. One week later it was the turn of McCartney and Best to be deported for starting a fire after burning a condom in their room.

The city has also paid its own unique tribute to the time spent here by the Beatles with the Beatles Platz, a city square, but circular, meant to represent a vinyl record and where you’ll find statues of the five Beatles, including Stuart Sutcliffe who died on 10 April 1962 from a brain haemorrhage. On the floor of this square are inscribed the titles of some of the most successful singles released by the Beatles.

The musical career of the Beatles began here in St. Pauli. The composer, songwriter, orchestra conductor and producer from Hamburg, Bert Kaempfert *16.10.1923 +21.06.1980 and the music editor and lawyer from Hamburg Alfred K. Schacht *23.01.1916 +23.10.1990 discovered this band of young musicians at the Top-Ten-Club: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Pete Best and Tony Sheridan. They signed them up and, on 22 and 23 June 1961, the first vinyl recordings of the Beatles were released: MY BONNIE . THE SAINTS . WHY . CRY FOR SHADOW . AIN’T SHE SWEET…

Another of the venues where the Beatles performed during their time in Hamburg is the Star Club, also on Große Freiheit, and only a few metres from Beatles Platz. The place is no longer there but a plaque remains to commemorate the passage of the boys from Liverpool. It’s a little hard to find because you have to turn down one of the side streets leading off the main road.

The Star Club helped lift the band to stardom and was where the young group began to shine.

One day, back in 1960, five young musicians from Liverpool walked out on stage here at “Kaiserkeller” on Großen Freiheit. They were still young and rather rough around the edges, but Pete Best, George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney and Stuart Sutcliffe would soon become world famous as the Beatles. Sutcliffe died in 1962 and Ringo Starr took over from Pete Best in the same year. At the TOP-TEN club and STARCLUB, the Beatles were able to set out on a career path that would never be repeated.

The plaque was presented on 23 February 1990 to celebrate a party held here to remember those early performances by the group 30 years before.

Purely by chance, we headed over to Zwick at 1 Millerntorplatz for a hamburger. This place forms part of a chain of rock bars in Hamburg. Inside, they have a collection of very interesting photographs and posters featuring the Beatles. They play live music at Zwick and the place is decorated with a whole host of guitars in all shapes and sizes hung on the walls and in display cases.

Beatlemania was around until only very recently. The Hamburg Beatles Museum, with its thousand pieces and memories spread throughout the five-story building, closed at the end of June due to falling visitor numbers.

Do you fancy experiencing the Beatles Route around Hamburg? Book your flights here!

Trainspotting, a movie that became a totem for a whole generation, is the screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh, one of the writers who most accurately portrayed the darker side of Edinburgh. To mark the twentieth anniversary of its release and on the verge of a rendezvous between Mark Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and Frank Begbie,we take you on a tour of some of the most significant spots in Edinburgh where the film was set.

Princes Street

Princes Street provides the setting for the opening scene in the movie, one of the most iconic sequences in 90s cinema. The heroin addicts yet well-educated Mark Renton and Spud, who have just been shoplifting in a bookstore, are chased along Princes Street by security to the pulsating rhythm of Lust for Life by Iggy Pop. Princes Street, which was laid at the end of the 18th century, is the main thoroughfare and shopping precinct in the Scottish capital. It runs for one and a half kilometres and joins Lothian Road in the west to Leith Street in the east.

Cowgate

Mark Renton’s flight from the security guards of the shop where he has just pinched a few books ends when he is hit by a car in the Cowgate. A historic street in Edinburgh’s Old Town, as may be inferred from its name, it was once the route taken by cattle on their way to market. Sited alongside the ever ebullient Grassmarket Square, it is now one of the busiest areas in the city and home to some of the best pubs in Edinburgh, namely The Three Sisters, The Last Drop and the Beehive Inn.

The Volley

The psychopath Frank Begbie spends much of Trainspotting’s footage clouting whoever gets in his way. One of these drubbings is set in a popular pub and billiards saloon in the city called The Volunteer Arms, although known to everyone as “The Volley”. The bar still stands on Leith Walk, an avenue running from the city centre to the harbour area. Now, however, it has been revamped as the Cask & Still, an upmarket whisky bar which serves the finest gin and whisky distilled in Scotland.

The Worst Toilet in Scotland

Mark Renton is in the grips of cold turkey and the only thing he can score in the “market” are some opium suppositories. To compound his woes, there is nowhere to hide and he is forced to take them in what he appropriately describes as “the worst toilet in Scotland”, a foul bog located at the back of a bookies in the Muirhouse shopping mall. Twenty years on, this shopping centre is in a spooky-looking area with most of the businesses boarded up.

The Meadows

With the city in full Edinburgh Festival swing and all the pubs full of festival-goers, Renton, Spud and Sick Boy find nothing better to do than to take some ecstasy and wander through The Meadows. They chat up two girls from a nearby private school but end up messing about with some squirrels. Located south of the city centre, The Meadows is one of the largest parks in Edinburgh, one of those endless green commons so typical of British cities, with recreational areas for children, croquet clubs, tennis courts and football and rugby fields.

Leith Central Station

After a sojourn in London, Renton returns to Leith for Christmas and meets up with his old pals. He visits Leith Central Station with one of them, Begbie and describes the station as “a barren, desolate hangar, which is soon to be demolished and replaced by a supermarket and swimming centre.” Leith Central Station was closed to passengers in the 50s and finally made redundant in 1972, after which the building became a haven for the city’s drug addicts. Years later, the area where the platforms once stood was turned into a Tesco superstore, while the terminal building was refurbished as a waterworld complex known as Leith Waterworld.

Easter Road

Although not physically present, theHibernian FC and its grounds, Easter Road, are referred to constantly in the novel and film. Founded in 1875 by Irish immigrants, the Hibernian is Leith’s harbour district club and the team supported by all the main characters in Trainspotting. Easter Road is the headquarters of the “Hibs”, as they call it, the stadium having being unveiled in 1893. That shoebox with its endearing musty smell characteristic of British football stadiums is known as The Holy Ground or the Leith San Siro by the club’s fans. While the Hibs of Irish extraction is the Catholic team, its opposite number in Edinburgh football is Heart of Midlothian Football Club or “Hearts”, most of whose supporters are Protestant, a situation which mirrors the rivalry between the two greats of Glasgow – Celtic and Rangers.

Glasgow

While Irvine Welsh’s novel is set entirely in Edinburgh, most of the screen adaptation was shot in… Glasgow! White lies of the seventh art. Two of the most significant settings in Trainspotting actually located in Glasgow include Volcano, the disco where Renton meets his very own Lolita, Diane. Located at 15 Benalder Street, near Kelvinhall Station, don’t bother to search for it as it was demolished some years ago. The other location, which you will still come across, is Rouken Glen Park, where Renton and Sick Boy discuss Sean Connery’s film career and shoot a Rottweiler in the behind with pellets.

Those of you interested in touring the settings where Trainspotting was filmed can either choose to do so on your own or else sign up for the laid-on Trainspotting Walking Tour hosted by Leith Walks. From Leith Central Station to the “worst toilet in Scotland”, a tour guide will reveal the main locations in Irvine Welsh’s novel as it was ported to the big screen by Danny Boyle.

If you happen to be in Edinburgh, be sure to wander around the haunts where that iconic movie was set. Check out your Vueling flight here.

Text by Oriol Rodríguez for Los Viajes de ISABELYLUIS

Images by Naureen-s, Babatuel, Denna Jones, Joe Price, LHOON, GDU photography