Alicante

3000 hours of sunshine a year are an asset that even the Romans respected. Not for nothing did they call the city in the south of Spain Lucentum, city of light.

Indulge: This classic among Alicante's gourmet addresses has been around since 1971 and has had a correspondingly large number of prominent guests. Chef of the century Joël Rebuchon is said to have described the Nou Manoulin as his favourite restaurant in Spain. Without a doubt, the no-frills cuisine and the imaginative interior design of wickerwork and wooden vaults are among the highlights of the local gastronomic scene. 

Sleep: This recently modernised boutique hotel has 23 rooms in the heart of Alicante's winding old town. In a building dating from 1912, Les Monges offers a cool mix of old and new. Wrought-iron balconies, heavy curtains, ceramic tiles and antique mirrors are combined with modern furniture and winking photo art. Double rooms from 80 euros. 

Discover: On the top floor of this airy building are the kinetic sculptures of the artist Eusebio Sempere, who died in 1985. The chrome-plated objects are set in motion every few minutes by an attendant. Sempere's important collection of contemporary art (Miró, Picasso, Tàpies, Chillida) forms the basis of the museum. The Museu de Arte Contemporáneo (MACA) is a wonderful place to come to rest.

 

Nice

Nice is considered an exception on the Côte d'Azur. It is understandable: The magnificent Belle Epoque architecture, the winding streets of Vieux Nice, the boules players in front of the Musée Matisse and the housewives with their shopping carts on the Cours Saleya - all this exudes an irresistible charm to this day.

Enjoy: Salade Niçoise: Potatoes? Green beans? Olives? Questions about the ingredients of a Salade Niçoise have always been a point of contention. In the cosy old town restaurant Lou Balico, the classic salad has been prepared for over 40 years without cooked vegetables, but with eggs, artichokes, tuna and more. 

Sleep: You wake up and look out to sea. If you book a room on the fifth floor of the newly opened Anantara Plaza Nice Hotel, you get a spacious terrace with a view. The rooftop gourmet restaurant with Asian-inspired Mediterranean cuisine, including fantastic sushi and a bar, is located on the top floor of the Belle Époque palace built in 1848. A spa is located in the basement and sun loungers are available for hotel guests on the beach. 

Shopping: The market on the Cours Saleya and the completely non-touristy and much better Marché de la Liberation sell everything that is fresh and delicious: fruit and vegetables, fish and cheese, olives and herbs. If you're looking for something sweet to take home, you'll find it at Maison Auer. From homemade chocolates to fruit jellies and candied fruit, you will find everything your heart desires in the confectionery, which was founded in 1820.

Brindisi

Brindisi is an insider tip on the Adriatic coast. The Apulian coastal town scores with its palm-lined sandstone streets, good cuisine and Mediterranean flair.

Enjoy: The Iaccato restaurant, which opened in 1950, is located directly on the harbour, and although it is one of the oldest in the town, it has a decidedly modern feel. This is thanks to Annalisa Romanelli, who has remodelled her grandparents' traditional restaurant and turned it into a casually elegant gourmet address with innovative, creatively interpreted fish cuisine.

Shopping: Teodoro Del Beato was 21 years old when he made his first pair of sandals for his wife without any prior knowledge. Over 40 years later, his leather sandals, belts and bags, handmade in Brindisi, are sold in his own Erredibi shops in Puglia and even abroad. He established the shimmering copper rose as a trend colour.

Discover: Originally they were twin columns - a rarity in the architectural repertoire of antiquity. One column collapsed during an earthquake and the second, almost 20 metre high marble column was demolished several times for safety reasons. Today, the Colonne Romane stands on the Scalinata di Virgiglio at the harbour and is considered a symbol of the city.

Lisbon

There are places where thousands of years of history go hand in hand with a youthful zest for life. Although Lisbon has long since ceased to be one of the world's most important trading cities and harbours, its former glory can still be seen.

 

Indulge: Two-star chef José Avilez is Lisbon's most famous chef. His empire includes several restaurants, including the uncomplicated Páteo, which is located in the courtyard of a former monastery and offers the best Portuguese cuisine. The fried octopus on black rice is particularly delicious.

Sleep: Brown's Central is a lovingly designed 84-room hotel in the centre of the Baixa district. The smallest rooms are very small indeed, but like all the others they are equipped with a fridge, espresso machine and marble bathroom. The velvet armchairs and sofas in the lobby and the chic brasserie are also great places to relax.

Shopping: Portuguese nostalgic products with a beautiful retro look are sold in three atmospheric concept stores: Whether soaps, porcelain or stationery - everything at A Vida Portuguesa looks like it's from the previous century, but is produced by specialised manufactories, monasteries and small artisan businesses.

 

Gothenburg

Located on both banks of the Göta River, the city is criss-crossed by several canals, earning it the nickname Little Amsterdam. The environmentally conscious city has a lot to offer: cool cafés, hip stores and architectural highlights.

 

Enjoy: Probably the best organic bakery in the city, Cum Pane , is run by German expat Christiane Edberg. Her customers come for the crispy sourdough bread, the fluffy cream puffs and the delicious cinnamon buns, which you can also eat on the spot with a coffee - provided one of the few seats is free.

Discover: Workplace or art project? The Kuggen, a building completed in 2011 and part of Chalmers University, is shaped like stacked cogwheels and has a façade made of terracotta panels that change colour depending on the angle of view, time of day and weather conditions. The stacked storeys provide shade, while solar cells, which follow the position of the sun, provide energy. The ground floor is open to the public.

Shopping: Nudie Jeans, Gothenburg's first and best-known shop for ethically produced fashion, was founded in 2001 by Maria Erixon and has since become a global hit. Nudie Jeans is made from 100 per cent organic cotton and every pair is sold with the promise of a free repair or taken back to be resold as a second-hand product or given to the Nudie Jeans Reuse programme. In 2022, 65,386 pairs were repaired and 20,772 were collected.