Chiesa di Sant'Agnese in Agone
Centro Storico
With its theatrical facade and rich, domed interior, the Chiesa di Sant’Agnese in Agone is typical of Francesco Borromini’s baroque style. The church,…
Must-see attractions in Mediterranean Europe
Bay of Naples
Using computer-generated recreations, this 'virtual archaeological museum' brings ruins such as Pompeii's forum and Capri's Villa Jovis back to virtual…
Positano
Just west of the Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, this palazzo is now a luxury hotel. It may be beyond your budget to stay here, but you can still visit the…
Naples
In a tiny studio opened with a giant 18th-century key, sculptor and painter Salvatore Vitagliano takes fragments of ancient terracotta figurines and…
Castilla y León
Towering above the village is the one-time Muslim fortress that gave Calatañazor its name (which comes from the Arabic Qala'at an-Nassur, literally 'The…
Madrid
The Spanish version of the tooth fairy is a cute little mouse called 'El Ratón Perez', and this small museum close to Sol takes you into a recreation of…
Cádiz
Cádiz' most ancient church and original cathedral was a Gothic-Mudéjar creation commissioned by Alfonso X El Sabio in 1263, on the site of a former mosque…
Zakynthos
The 80-hectare Logothetis farm produces purely organic olive oils (some flavoured with orange, lemon and other fruits) as well as olive-oil products. You…
Observatorio Astronómico de Temisas
Gran Canaria
Located 850m about sea level on the edge of the Caldera de Tirajana, this observatory has guided stargazing visits from Monday to Thursday from 8.30pm to…
Umbria
Head to this viewing balcony at the top of town for a living postcard view across the bucolic countryside below – on a clear day you can make out Assisi …
Toledo
Iglesia de Santo Tomé contains El Greco’s most famous masterpiece El entierro del conde de Orgaz (The Burial of the Count of Orgaz), which is accessed by…
Montepulciano
Elegant Piazza Grande is the town's highest point and main meeting place. If you think it looks familiar, it might be because it featured in New Moon, the…
Edirne Archaeology & Ethnography Museum
Edirne
This museum has two sections: one archaeological and the other ethnographic. Archaeological highlights include Thracian funerary steles featuring horsemen…
Cyprus
Formerly the home of one of Lefkara’s wealthiest families, this restored building is set around a large courtyard complete with outdoor oven and…
Messina
Located where Via Garibaldi spills into Piazza dell'Unità d'Italia, the 16th-century Fontana del Nettuno (Neptune's Fountain) is one of Messina's great…
Syracuse
Loitering beneath Palazzo Municipale are the scant remains of a 6th-century-BC Greek temple dedicated to the goddess Artemis, as well as the modest traces…
Syracuse
A renowned curiosity at the heart of the Latomia del Paradiso (Garden of Paradise) is the ear-shaped artificial grotto known as the Ear of Dionysius…
Cantabria
The remains of Julióbriga, Cantabria’s most significant Roman town, lie 4km east of Reinosa. Hourly guided visits (45 minutes, in Spanish) lead you…
Cappadocia
On the main square, near Ortahisar's castle, the Culture Folk Museum is a good place to get to grips with the basics of local culture. In the dioramas,…
Black Sea Coast
This turn-of-the-20th-century house is celebrated for hosting Atatürk for a week in the late 1920s. It lovingly preserves the great man's picnic hamper,…
Ayios Kostantinos-Eleni Kilise
Cappadocia
Right on Mustafapaşa's main square is the imposing Ayios Kostantinos-Eleni Kilise, erected in 1729 and restored in 1850. A fine stone grapevine runs…
La Rambla & Barri Gòtic
One of Barcelona's most-photographed pieces of architecture, this Gothic-style marble bridge links the Palau de la Generalitat with the Casa dels Canonges…
Northern Malta
The Church of Our Lady of Victory sits prominently on a rocky spur overlooking Mellieħa Bay. It's attached to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mellieħa, which…
Umbria
According to (undocumented) local tradition, the 14th-century Palazzo del Bargello was the residence of Gubbio's medieval police magistrate. Nowadays, it…
Bilbao
Bilbao's modern football stadium, home of local team Athletic Bilbao, overlooks the river to the west of the city centre. Opened in 2013, it has a…
Andalucía
Broad Plaza 1º de Mayo was originally Úbeda's market square and bullring. It was also the grisly site of Inquisition burnings, which local bigwigs used to…
Todi
With its never-finished facade and vaulted, light-filled Gothic interior, the 15th-century Chiesa di San Fortunato boasts fragments of frescoes by…
Erice
Originally built in Gothic style in the 14th century, this church was demolished and completely rebuilt in the late 1600s. Its bright white interior is…
Dodecanese
Housed in an incongruous castellated villa on the seafront, this museum covers several aspects of local history. The upstairs rooms are given over largely…
İzmir & the North Aegean
Commissioned by Ayşe Hafsa Sultan, the wife of Sultan Selim I and mother of Süleyman the Magnificent, this mosque was built in 1522 and is part of a…
Syracuse
It was out of this deep, precipitous limestone quarry that stone for the ancient city was extracted. Riddled with catacombs and filled with citrus and…
Erice
Begin your Erice foray with a sweeping bird's-eye view of the medieval village from the top of this 28m-tall crenellated tower. It served as a lookout…
Monterosso
This was the seat for one of two confraternities (secular associations dedicated to doing charitable works) in Monterosso which was active from the 15th…
Costa Brava
The Castell de Montgrí was built between 1294 and 1301 for King Jaume II, during his efforts to bring to heel the disobedient counts of Empúries, to the…
Castilla y León
The cathedral’s striking plateresque southern facade is created from caramel-coloured sandstone with elaborate sculptural detail. Work began in 1471 and…
Turin
Opened in 1856, this 550,000-sq-metre French-style park kisses the banks of the Po and is filled with joggers, promenaders and lovers night and day…
Le Marche
A stunning outdoor theatre, the neoclassical Arena Sferisterio is a grand colonnaded affair that was built between 1820 and 1829 to resemble an ancient…
Madrid
The plateresque Casa de Cisneros, built in 1537 by the nephew of Cardinal Cisneros, a key adviser to Queen Isabel, was much restored and altered at the…
Parque de la Naturaleza Cabárceno
Santander
This open-air zoo 18km south of Santander is a curious but successful experiment: a free-range home on the site of former open-cut mines for everything…
Vicenza
To better understand architect Andrea Palladio and his legacy, explore the frescoed halls of this modern museum. Artefacts include historical copies of…
