There's a nice long weekend coming up, perfect for a getaway. That's why we have selected five of Europe's most unusual, accessible and fascinating destinations. Forget the most popular destinations and forget Amsterdam and London for once: Europe has a lot to offer.
The historic centre of Valletta, Malta ©Anton Zelenov/Getty Images
Valletta, Malta
This very year, Valletta will be the European Capital of Culture. Get ready to enjoy festivals of baroque art, pop music and international cinema, a biennial of contemporary art, as well as an informal lifestyle shaped by its proximity to the sea and beaches and a climate that offers more than 300 days of sunshine a year.
Malta's capital is an extraordinary city. Walled, it occupies a space of only 600 m by 1000 m in which the streets all lead to the sea, and is a harmonious cluster of 16th and 17th century houses with typical Maltese balconies. In recent years, many new restaurants have opened in Valletta and a nightlife hub has emerged in Strait St, the former red light district. You will feel its vibrancy as soon as you pass through the imposing City Gate and see the ultra-modern Parliament Building and Opera House, all designed by Renzo Piano.
A quiet patio in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain.©Yadid Levy/Lonely Planet
Jerez de la frontera, Spain
Sorry Fernando Alonso, but for once in Jerez we are not talking about Formula 1, but about wine. Connoisseurs know (and have already set off): this Andalusian city is the birthplace of the liqueur nectar that the English made famous under the name of Sherry, a bit like the Americans did with the jeans invented by the camalli in the port of Genoa.
If you spend the weekend here, you won't lose your head just for the jerez. The city wonderfully corresponds to the imagery of the most poetic and dreamy Andalusia. Take the old town, with its Almohad fortress, its alleyways beaten by pleasantly surviving old hidalgos, and take above all the Bodegas Tradicíon, with its 20-year-old bottles of jerez (him again, yes) and paintings by masters such as Velázquez and Goya (just to keep the drunkenness high) on loan from the Joaquin Rivero collection, one of the most important in Andalusia.
Sunset over the canals of Rotterdam, Netherlands. ©Victor Maschek/Shutterstock
Rotterdam, Netherlands
For once, forget Amsterdam, its bridges and ecstasies, and head straight for Rotterdam. The bombs of World War II wiped out the old city and created the ideal context for architects' gravitational challenges. The skyscraper of the Nationale Nederlanden insurance company, designed by Abe Bonnema, stands out above them all, and not only because of its height: it has two glass wings that are reflected in each other and point to the sky, giving the impression of merging and disappearing into the atmosphere.
This is only the beginning, because the artistic panorama of this port-city is the most creative in Holland, and we are not just referring to the skyline of skyscrapers, towers and futuristic bridges (by the way, the one dedicated to old Erasmus is stupendous, a true eulogy of madness). There are at least a couple of museums in the city that don't make you regret art under the open sky. Take Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, if you can pronounce it, and venture into its galleries of old Flemish masters and surrealist experimenters. The visionary momentum of Bruegel's Tower of Babel is nothing like that of Magritte's or De Chirico's works, and the great thing is, if you come here, you can compare live. After that, if experimentation has seduced you, the advice is to end on a high note with a visit to the Witte de With, perhaps the most irreverent and ingenious art centre in Holland.
In Rotterdam, it's not just art that makes your head spin. The harbour continues to churn out and stow containers as in its heyday, but after dark it transforms into the heart of the nightlife. Breweries, coffee shops and bruin cafés (traditional Dutch pubs) don't make you regret the smoke-filled volleys of old Amsterdam. Their seductive weapons are razor-sharp as competition from cosmopolitan, refined and ready-to-serve restaurants grows stronger every day.
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Lviv, in the Ukraine, is much more than 'another Prague', but it is a city rich in history, all waiting to be discovered.
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. lviv, Ukraine
Give yourself a Saturday night out in Lviv. Stroll around the old town and listen to the music coming out of the clubs. Caress the façades of old churches and houses with your eyes. Beyond the line of the old Iron Curtain, nothing is less Soviet than this city, and it is no coincidence that its inhabitants are proud to have passed unscathed, even in their urban layout, from the great scythe of Stalin and comrades. UNESCO noticed this long ago and listed the place as a World Heritage Site back in 1998. What are you waiting for? If you already know Prague like the back of your hand, you will find new stimuli and pleasant assonances here.
The nightlife is not bad, rest assured. The streets teem with cafés ready to welcome you as an old friend. One of our favourites? Undoubtedly the Pid Synoyu Playshkoyu (Under the Blue Bottle), on vul Ruska 4. Taste it to believe it.
Dinard, France
There are corners of France perfect for a getaway for two. There are towns on the Breton coast that welcome you in a kaleidoscope of colours, sounds and loves. Dinard is one of them. No wonder viveurs like Picasso and Churchill loved it madly. You can be the next to wander enraptured along the gentle Promenade du Clair de Lune.
Twenties atmosphere, retro blue and white canvas beach cabins, but avant-garde art of enjoying life, thanks also to the fine dining scene. We went to Chez Ma Pomme for a cod mantecato with bacon and parmesan. Unforgettable.