Search results for

Though my favorite Provencal hotel is now gone from Saignon, it is still the quintessential, hilltop town worth visiting when you’re biking, hiking or driving through this area of France. The dreamy town center (all of three streets) will provide you with views of this fountain, as well as the gorgeous Luberon Valley. The small church in town is a pilgrimage stop for those walking from Rome going to Santiago de Compostela in Spain. No place in Provence ever stole my heart quite like Saignon did. It’s a quiet place with just one bakery in town and only a handful of restaurants, but it has plenty of charm. For a great walk and the best view around, follow the sings for ‘the rock’. Due to its height and location in the valley on this rock formation, Saignon was used as an ancient observatory and a signal station.

I can think of worse places to be stuck than Bozeman, Montana. And when my flight was recently cancelled, stranding me there for two days, I decided to venture downtown and check out Plonk Wine Bar. Plonk is a term that refers to a poor quality wine. But the 600-plus bottle wine list here was full of surprising selections, like the Celler Cal Pla Black Slate—a blend of Garnacha, Cabernet Sauvignon, and a bit of Merlot and Syrah from Spain‘s Priorat region. Equally impressive are Plonk’s cocktail and craft beer selections. I snagged a seat at the bar, took in the cowboy-meets-wine country ambiance, and ordered a glass of Torrontes from Argentina. The bartender suggested I pair it with a decadent dish of seared scallops with foie gras and braised short ribs. It was exactly what I needed to make my travel frustrations disappear.

Carrer de sa Lluna, a pedestrian street that is the main shopping area of Sóller, has a refreshing mix of shops that include some that clearly cater to tourists alongside essentials like a hardware store and bakeries where both visitors and locals line up for pastries. About halfway along the length of Lluna, Georgs is a one-stop shop if you are looking for some food items to take home—olive oils from Mallorca, flavored balsamic vinegars (the orange one is especially excellent, which is fitting given that Soller sits in a valley filled with orange and lemon orchards), artisanal salts, and sweets, including candied almonds and other nuts. The prices are reasonable: You’ll be able to find a perfect gift for your gourmet back home for under $10.

Like all of the best Spanish tapas restaurants, Barrafina has no tables. In London’s Covent Garden, all the eating is done at a long marbled bar, lined with red leather stools, and there are no bookings: you get here first, you get served, all the while watching the chefs at work. The idea is that it’s just like being in Spain (the inspiration for Barrafina was Barcelona’s Cal Pep), and it really is: the atmosphere is chaotic and the food comes from all corners. One minute you’re eating a ortiguilla (a type of sea anemone found in the Balearics) in a paper cone, the next a chicken wing served in a Canarian mojo picón sauce.

In colloquial Arabic, an avid traveler is jokingly dubbed Ibn Battuta in honor of the medieval globe-trotter by the same name. Battuta set off on a legendary adventure in 1325 that took him from modern-day Morocco all the way to Somalia, China, and Spain. The Ibn Battuta Mall honors this journey with epic architecture divided into several “courts” symbolic of each place he visited. Ready for more? The mall balances its historical themes with hundreds of modern shops—you can even grab a Starbucks coffee or catch a movie in the majestic Chinese court.

Once part of the massive city walls, Torres de Quart was constructed between 1441 and 1460 on top of an earlier gate. At one point it housed a women’s penitentiary, and later on it became a military prison. Be sure to look closely at the exterior and snap some shots of the large pock marks scarring the front of the towers. They were made when the gate was bombarded during the French siege of the city in the early 19th century. If you’re lucky, you just may see some parrots that have taken residence there popping their heads out of the holes.

A block-long bright yellow building standing almost fortress-like above the surrounding streets in Willemstad, the Mikve Israel-Emanuel Synagogue bears testament to the long history of Judaism in the Americas. Built in 1730, it is the oldest continuously operating synagogue in the western hemisphere. Its most notable feature is the sand floor. While there are several different explanations for it, the sand is not a nod to the Caribbean location. The most common theory is that it was created to continue a tradition from Spain and Portugal where, when Jews were prohibited from practicing their religion openly and met in private homes, sand was used to muffle the sounds of worshippers.

Don’t miss the small museum across from the front entrance to the synagogue. Its artifacts and photographs record how Curaçao‘s Jewish community has survived and thrived over the centuries.

There are many places to view Flamenco in Granada. There are large shows in Sacramonte that cost 25-35 Euros and have a flare for showing the dramatics and storytelling of the dance, and there are shows that have no dance and play in dark underground pubs. There is every range of Flamenco played and performed. Le Chien Andalou is easy to find, unlike some places father into the Albycin, it is cheap at 7 euros, and the food and drinks are neither life changing nor horrible. The music changes every night, I have been a few handfuls of times and have witnessed a sampling from slightly better than mediocre to quite incredible performances. It is often wise to stop by and make a reservation as the space is limited in this little wine cellar room full of short stools and low tables. I recommend this place for those wanting to experience Flamenco to either be intrigued by it, to fall in love with its depth and soul, or to walk away at least saving 20 euros while discovering it was not to your taste. For those with a bit more adventure to explore the streets of the upper Albaycin, and a with a bit more of a budget for delicious food (or if Le Chien Andalou has left you wanting to experience more flamenco) then I recommended: Restaurante, Flamenco Jardines de Zoraya(from a past highlight, and one of my favorite spots for Flamenco, Food, and the best Sangria!)

Who cares if it’s a Barcelona cliché. Give in to the urge and get to Plaça d’Espanya to see the Magic Fountain show. It’s always crowded, but everyone should see it at least once, and it’s free. The show is especially gorgeous during the closing ceremony fireworks for Barcelona‘s city festival, La Mercè. Prefer a view from above? Head to Las Arenas, a shopping center in Plaça d’Espanya housed in a renovated bullfighting ring, where you can watch the show from the rooftop. Nearest metro stop: Espanya (L1 and L3).

Cafe Sevilla is located in the downtown Gaslamp district in San Diego. It’s a great place to hear live music while sharing tapas and drinks with friends. The interior is huge with flags hanging from a 20ft ceiling, a bull on the wall behind the bar, and other Spanish-inspired decor. The owners are from Spain, and this restaurant has been here in San Diego for over 20 years. On weekends, it’s a good idea to make reservations for dinner since it does fill up quickly. There’s a little stage that is always occupied by flamenco, rumba and/or Spanish guitarists. If you want a little more quiet, ask for a table on the second floor—you can still hear the live flamenco, but it feels a little more private. Or, you can sit outside on the patio for people watching. 5th Ave in San Diego is a hopping little place, and Cafe Sevilla is a great start to your evening.

Even if you can’t attend a match, you can still imagine the crowds cheering on the home team at the Football Club Barcelona’s stadium, admire a shrine to Argentine superstar Leo Messi and learn about the history of Barcelona’s world-renowned soccer club with interactive displays in the museum. There’s also an indoor ice-skating rink and a massive FC Barcelona store where fans can buy official jerseys and more emblazoned with the team’s name and colors.

Among the sea of rooftop bars across Barcelona, Azimuth, atop the newish Almanac hotel, is one of the few that can be enjoyed year-round. The glass-enclosed lounge overlooking the Gran Via offers nice city views but it’s out on the spacious wraparound terrace that you’ll want to park yourself, on a cushy white sofa with a stellar perspective of La Sagrada Familia’s striking towers. (Even in winter, heat lamps and cozy fleece blankets keep things warm al fresco.) Along with a well-conceived seasonal cocktail menu, there’s an especially good wine list that features several Austrian and German wines by the glass—rare in this Spanish-wine-dominated city. The low-key, sophisticated space gets a bit buzzier on weekend evenings when local DJs spin tunes until 1 a.m.

Some 1,400 bomb shelters were built across Barcelona during the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939) to protect its residents from Fascist air strikes. Among the handful that survive, Refugi 307 is the largest and best preserved. Its three entrances and 650 feet of tunnels were carved into the sandstone hill of Montjuïc; the shelter could hold up to 2,000 people during an air raid and was one of the few with running water, toilets, and an infirmary. The only way to visit Refugi 307 is with a guide, who will put the history of the civil war into context before leading you through the network of passageways. Tours are conducted on Sundays, in English, at 10:30 a.m., and you’ll need to make a reservation by emailing [email protected] and specifying “English tour” in the subject line. The cost is 4 euros (around $4.50).

There’s so much to see at Montserrat, the picturesque mountain located a few hours outside of Barcelona. Nature lovers will enjoy the wide range of hikes while, non-sporty types can bask in the breathtaking views available from almost any vantage point. Take the two funiculars, Santa Cova and Saint Joan, to visit the corresponding difficult to reach chapels. With travel, plan to spend a whole day at Montserrat. Between the mountain, basilica, museum, and monastery. Food is available from several shops and cafeterias, but many visitors plan ahead with a picnic. On Sundays local vendors sell cheese and honey outside the monastery. Purchase a ToT or Trans Montserrat card in Barcelona, they include transportation and funicular rides to different parts of the mountain. The ticket is good for a certain length of time, no need to specify a specific day, so wait for nice weather. Barcelona’s transit system is very easy to use, but trains to and from the mountain can be busy. Arrive early to guarantee a seat for the two hour journey.

It’s not that newer is necessarily better—Antonio Obrador, the hotelier and designer of famously luxurious retreats like Mallorca’s Cap Rocat, would hardly choose a neoclassical, turn-of-the-century palacio for his latest project, were that the case—but when a hotel gets the kind of buzz that the Urso Hotel & Spa got when it opened in the fall of 2014, there’s usually a reason.

In the hip, up-and-coming Salesas neighborhood, across the street from the recently reopened (and equally lively) Barceló food market, Madrid’s first five-star boutique hotel looks, from the outside, like many grandes dames: ornate, decadent, and just a bit over-the-top. Inside is another story; while many of the original details (hand-painted azulejo tiles, grand marble staircase, stained-glass windows, windowed wooden elevator) have been painstakingly restored with the help of local craftsmen, the style is undeniably contemporary, with even a hint of Scandinavian-inspired minimalism to offset the pull of the antique. This devotion to design alone would have merited the aforementioned buzz, but Obrador and his team didn’t stop there, throwing in one of Madrid’s most innovative restaurants, most soothing spas, most understatedly cool bars, and, of course, the superlative service required of any five-star stay.