Planning guides: what is in season, which region to choose, and how to get there.
The short version: in Prague, eat svíčková (beef in a creamy root-vegetable sauce with bread dumplings), guláš (goulash) with dumplings, smažený sýr (fried cheese) and a plate of chlebíčky (open sandwiches), and drink the beer: unpasteurised tank Pilsner Urquell is…
The short version: in Dublin, drink a properly poured pint of Guinness in an old pub, then eat seafood chowder with brown bread, fish and chips, Irish oysters and, when it is cold, coddle or Irish stew. For the pint,…
The short version: in Madeira, eat espetada, beef rubbed with garlic and bay and grilled on a laurel skewer, lapas, limpets grilled in their shells with butter and garlic, and espada com banana, black scabbard fish fried with banana, with…
The short version: in the Algarve, eat cataplana, the seafood stew steamed in a hinged copper pan, charcoal-grilled sardines in Portimão, clams and oysters from the Ria Formosa lagoon, and arroz de marisco, a soupy seafood rice. For sardines, go…
The short version: in Córdoba, eat in the tabernas: old tiled bars with wine barrels, a patio and a short list of classics. Order salmorejo (the city’s thick, cold tomato cream), flamenquín (a rolled, fried pork and ham cutlet), rabo…
The short version: Granada is the city where a drink still comes with a free tapa, so the best way to eat here is to order a small beer or a glass of wine and let the bar feed you,…
The short version: Málaga is a fish city, so eat what comes off the boats: espetos de sardinas grilled over wood on the beach at Pedregalejo and El Palo, a fritura malagueña of fried anchovies and squid, and, in the…
The short version: Colmar’s six Christmas markets run from Monday 23 November to Tuesday 29 December 2026, spread through the old town from Place des Dominicains to Petite Venise, and the gourmet market and Ferris wheel stay open to 3…
The short version: Dresden’s 592nd Striezelmarkt, one of the oldest Christmas markets in Germany, runs on the Altmarkt from Wednesday 25 November to Thursday 24 December 2026, and the Stollenfest with its giant stollen parade is on Saturday 5 December…
The short version: Cologne’s big Christmas markets open on Monday 16 November 2026, led by the Cathedral market on Roncalliplatz (to 23 December), with Heinzels Wintermärchen in the Old Town from 23 November and the harbour market by the Chocolate…