City breaks – parsian news

‘The old town is adorned with twinkling lights’: readers’ favourite Christmas breaks in Europe

Our tipsters revel in Christmas markets, seasonal tipples and live choral performances from Bath to the Black ForestSalzburg’s Christmas markets are among the very best, and there are plenty of them too, with at least 10 main ones across the season. Th…

Our tipsters revel in Christmas markets, seasonal tipples and live choral performances from Bath to the Black Forest

Salzburg’s Christmas markets are among the very best, and there are plenty of them too, with at least 10 main ones across the season. The Salzburg Advent festival (1-17 Dec) at the Great Festival Hall, Residenzplatz, is a memorable show and highly recommended. With snow falling most winters, the city has that beautiful wintry romantic atmosphere. And best of all is a horse-drawn carriage ride through the snowy landscape, wrapped in a blanket, with a hot drink in hand. Especially perfect for a couples getaway.
Colin Snoad

A local’s guide to Vilnius, Lithuania: the best bars, culture and bargain hotels

We lift the lid on one of Europe’s best value cities with a tour of old-school canteens, prize-winning communist blocks, and a bar with Jesus on a carpetThis year has been a good one for Vilnius. The Lithuanian capital celebrated its 700th birthday on …

We lift the lid on one of Europe’s best value cities with a tour of old-school canteens, prize-winning communist blocks, and a bar with Jesus on a carpet

This year has been a good one for Vilnius. The Lithuanian capital celebrated its 700th birthday on 25 January 2023, and a few months later it was named the European Union’s green capital for 2025. Perhaps most symbolically – as Lithuania continues to firmly reject its Soviet past and align itself closer with the west – Vilnius played host to the Nato summit in July.

In short, there’s a lot for the Vilnese to be proud of and happy about. Given the progress the city has made since I first fell in love with it almost 10 years ago, local people want to share their joy and sense of accomplishment with visitors seeking a good time. The city even recently established a “night office” to ensure a night out is as enjoyable, friendly and safe as possible.

How I stuck my oar in – and saw a Venice I’ve never seen before

Venetians are reviving a centuries-old rowing tradition to promote a sustainable way of getting around, and to show visitors the city at its most authenticOne of the clues to how Venice was built is the stone it’s built on: the white, pocked stone capp…

Venetians are reviving a centuries-old rowing tradition to promote a sustainable way of getting around, and to show visitors the city at its most authentic

One of the clues to how Venice was built is the stone it’s built on: the white, pocked stone capping the fondamente that line the city’s canals is pietra d’Istria – a type of limestone that was quarried in what is now Croatia. So how did it get to the other side of the Adriatic sea, to form the foundations of Venice? By boat, of course.

“The city was built with traditional boats and for traditional boats. You have to see the city from the water to understand it,” says Emiliano Simon, one of the founders of Venetian rowing and boating association Venice on Board, as we stand on the white stone next to its offices in the northern Cannaregio district.

How I stuck my oar in – and saw a Venice I’ve never seen before

Venetians are reviving a centuries-old rowing tradition to promote a sustainable way of getting around, and to show visitors the city at its most authentic

Six perfect unsung city breaks in Europe – from Ghent to Naples

No famous capitals, fewer tourists, loads to see, excellent food – and all a train ride awayThe Netherlands’ second city is a winner for those weary of its more famous (and oversubscribed) rival. Sure, there’s water – it’s Europe’s largest port, after …

No famous capitals, fewer tourists, loads to see, excellent food – and all a train ride away

The Netherlands’ second city is a winner for those weary of its more famous (and oversubscribed) rival. Sure, there’s water – it’s Europe’s largest port, after all – with rivers, canals and harbours at every turn. But this sprawling metropolis doesn’t yield its pleasures as easily as Amsterdam, largely because second world war bombing destroyed most of the historic centre. Its pioneering postwar architecture is, however, what makes “Manhattan on the Maas” so fascinating.

Treasures include the 1970s Cube Houses designed by Piet Blom, the landmark cable-stayed Erasmus Bridge, the 1960 retro-futuristic Euromast and eclectic buildings in the leafily landscaped Museumpark. Alongside design museum Het Nieuwe Instituut and the Kunsthal gallery, a must-visit is The Depot, an ambitious €94m bowl-shaped “storage facility” for the city’s art collection, its rooftop cafe boasting panoramic views. Equally compelling is Delfshaven, which escaped bombing, and is now home to waterside pubs, a microbrewery and tucked-away restaurants.

Six perfect unsung city breaks in Europe – from Ghent to Naples

No famous capitals, fewer tourists, loads to see, excellent food – and all a train ride away

A miracle of design: Faro, the Palm Springs of Portugal

Faro is much more than a gateway to the Algarve: fans of modernism are now waking up to the way its sharp, angular buildings shine in the southern sunIn the glare of the morning sun, the streets of downtown Faro are a textural hot mess. A faded art dec…

Faro is much more than a gateway to the Algarve: fans of modernism are now waking up to the way its sharp, angular buildings shine in the southern sun

In the glare of the morning sun, the streets of downtown Faro are a textural hot mess. A faded art deco shopfront sits cheek by crumbling jowl with its neighbour’s rusting balustrades and handmade fondant tiles. A bank swerves around the corner like an ice-cream sandwich hit by pistachio light. Everywhere there are buildings you might generously describe as less art and more nouveau. These are layers of the near past – and I’m smitten.

But in this overlooked city, crowded with dusty anomalies, it is the modernist architecture – strict, sharp, punctuated by flat roofs and sloping angles – that attracts the most attention. Faro has more than 500 of these mid-century buildings, the highest concentration in southern Europe. Perversely, it’s only now that the curious are taking note. From looming, Rio-style high-rises clad in geometric scallops to modernist villas, the structural clarity and sheer chutzpah they share are catnip for the modern enthusiast.

‘I loved drifting along the canals’: readers’ best unsung city breaks in Europe

From Bergen to Córdoba, our tipsters share brilliant breaks in some of Europe’s less famous citiesTake a little staircase down from an old tollbooth on one of Leiden’s 88 bridges and hop on to one of the electric tour boats. I loved drifting along the …

From Bergen to Córdoba, our tipsters share brilliant breaks in some of Europe’s less famous cities

Take a little staircase down from an old tollbooth on one of Leiden’s 88 bridges and hop on to one of the electric tour boats. I loved drifting along the canals of this stunning old Dutch city past townhouses as fine as any in Amsterdam, the botanical gardens, windmills, university buildings and the 17th-century observatory. Except in summer, ducks, swans and local wild swimmers outnumber tourists. You can scout out the best waterside terrace cafes for lunch, daydream about living on one of the many well-kept houseboats with their flower-filled decks, and plan excursions by water further afield; the city canals link up along the waterways for countryside day cruises to Delft, Haarlem or the coast.
Maartje

Where best to enjoy autumn in Paris

Forget Paris in the spring … autumn is the best time of year to enjoy the city’s parks, gardens and forests. A local garden expert picks her favourites in the fallComing from New England, which is famous for its fall colours, I was disillusioned by the…

Forget Paris in the spring … autumn is the best time of year to enjoy the city’s parks, gardens and forests. A local garden expert picks her favourites in the fall

Coming from New England, which is famous for its fall colours, I was disillusioned by the sheer multitude of brown, crumpled horse-chestnut leaves on display in Paris in autumn. So I began my quest for hints of gold, amber, russet and scarlet and have been richly rewarded.

10 great European art anniversaries in 2019

From 100 years of Bauhaus to 500 years since Leonardo’s death, a host of landmark art events and exhibitions open around Europe this yearIt is 350 years since the death of Rembrandt van Rijn. There is a year-long programme of events in nine Dutch citie…

From 100 years of Bauhaus to 500 years since Leonardo’s death, a host of landmark art events and exhibitions open around Europe this year

It is 350 years since the death of Rembrandt van Rijn. There is a year-long programme of events in nine Dutch cities, focusing on Rembrandt and the Dutch golden age (listings at holland.com). In Amsterdam, the Rijksmuseum (15 Feb-10 June) will display all of its 22 paintings, 60 drawings and 300 engravings – the biggest Rembrandt collection ever seen in a single exhibition. Later in the year it has a Rembrandt and Velazquez show (11 Oct-19 Jan), while the Rembrandt House Museum has three exhibitions and the City Archives tell his personal story (until 7 April). In the Hague, the Mauritshuis (until 15 Sept) is showing 18 paintings attributed to Rembrandt; there’s a display of the painter’s early work at Leiden’s Museum De Lakenhal (3 Nov-9 Feb 2020, lakenhal.nl); and the Fries Museum (to 7 March) has an intimate show devoted to his wife, Saskia . Exhibitions are also taking place in Germany and the UK.
• See codart.nl for details