Can’t stomach the thought of another night in Athens knocking back ouzo shots? Then make your way to Barro Negro, a Mexican-inspired joint where you can cleanse your palate with more than 120 tequila and mezcal varieties.
Located next to busy Klafthmonos Square, this boozy venture boasts its own fermentation lab (one of only two in the city), so be sure to sample the Bloody Maria, made using freshly fermented tomato juice and a potent shot of Mexico’s finest. There’s also a small menu featuring bar bites like tacos and ceviche. High ceilings, cobblestone floors and a couple of strategically placed cacti help set the mood.
Just don’t expect to find a sombrero lying around, this is south of the border styling at its most chic.
Don’t let the name fool you there’s no way you’ll be smiling once this headache-inducing contraption is done with you. The Smiler is the world’s first 14-loop roller coaster, and while it may not be the tallest (its highest point is 30 metres) it does manage to reach a maximum speed of 85 kilometres an hour.
Now that’s uncomfortably fast, especially when The Smiler lasts for a torturous three minutes. But the terror doesn’t just begin the moment the over-shoulder restraints lock into place. Oh no. While lining up in the queue, which begins outside and moves into a darkened room, riders are subjected to projections, special effects, strobe lighting and optical illusions specifically designed to play tricks on your eyes and mind.
It’s certainly disorientating enough to make you feel queasy about what’s to come. Located at Alton Towers, the largest theme park in the UK, The Smiler has got enough sneaky tricks and loop-the-loops up its sleeve to guarantee you’ll be left sufficiently shaken.
Few experiences will get you closer to the untouched wilderness of Swedish Lapland than this.
Arctic Bath is a floating hotel on the Lule River near the small village of Harads. Central to the hotel is a log-covered structure that looks a bit like a bird’s nest. At its centre is a giant ice bath that floats in summer and freezes during winter. It’s ringed by three saunas, a spa treatment room and hot baths, so you can steam up then plunge into the freezing bath in what’s said to provide a heap of health benefits.
There are 12 cabins. Six of them sit over the water, or choose one of the larger half-dozen in the trees where you can lie back and gaze at the northern lights. Try your hand at moose calling with the help of a local guide, or visit the Sámi people who have lived here for thousands of years.
Imagine this… You look up, far into the air and there, cascading down from an oversized whisk, is a nine-metre-tall chocolate fountain. If you’re anything like us, you just want to dive right in, but we really don’t recommend it lest it leads to time spent in a Swiss jail. This is the world’s largest choc waterfall and the opening salvo for guests visiting Lindt Home of Chocolate.
Opened by none other than Swiss legend and Lindt ambassador Roger Federer in September 2020, this is part production plant and part museum all packaged in an impressive architectural display. Watch as the company’s master chocolatiers do their thing in the research laboratory or tour the exhibition that travels from Ghana, where the cocoa beans are grown, right through every stage of chocolate production. There’s even a chance to pour your own chocolate creation.
And what sort of chocolate museum would it be if there wasn’t a tasting room? You can indulge in a sample or two, before taking a load off in the Lindt Cafe or giving your credit card a bashing at the world’s largest Lindt store. You might need some extra room in your suitcase to get all your purchases home again.
It may be the birthplace of Guinness, but that doesn’t mean the people of Dublin don’t mind a detox every now and then. Enter The Virgin Mary, Ireland’s very first booze-free bar. Now that may sound like blasphemy to some, but one look at the bespoke cocktail list could be enough to sway even the most seasoned drinker.
Carefully crafted to emulate the taste of alcohol, the selection of bevvies includes the Cedar’s Spritz, a gin and tonic-style tipple complete with cucumber ribbon, and the Virgin Mary, a spicy take on the classic Bloody Mary. There are also four non-alcoholic beers and nitro coffee that emulates the texture and appearance of Guinness flows from a stout tap. Located on quirky Capel Street, this bar serves up the craic without a hangover the next morning.
With a string of wildly successful bars in the UK under his belt, award-winning mixologist Ryan Chetiyawardana, aka Mr Lyan, has made his highly anticipated international debut in Amsterdam, opening all-day cocktail bar Super Lyan.
Housed in a historic seventeenth-century building connected to the glam Kimpton De Witt hotel, the space is comprised of a light-filled garden serving brekkie cocktails and spiked milkshakes (alongside an impressive brunch
menu) and a neon-lit bar area complete with cosy booths.
It’s here you’ll find some of the more innovative drink options – like the Rhubarb Daisy with buttermilk whey and hibiscus paint – and tasty snacks, including the now famous chocolate and chips. Make sure you say hi to Robin, too – he’s Super Lyan’s resident party cat.
If you thought an igloo using a frozen lake for a floor was cool, picture one boasting more than just an icy interior. This ice-brick structure by Rukan Salonki Chalets conceals a steamy sauna right on top of Lake Salonkijärvi, out in the heart of Finland. Illuminated by the reflection of sunlight and ice and heated by a stove, which is only brought inside when guests are there to avoid melting the walls, the ice sauna is one of the most unusual ways you’ll ever get a sweat on. Warmed to steamy 60°C, the heat is less aggressive than at most saunas but the humidity is high, causing your body to perspire as soon as you enter. It also promises relief to those with breathing issues and colds. Up to 10 people can enter the igloo at once, and when it’s time to simmer down, custom dictates you plunge through a hole in the ice for a shrivelling winter swim. rukansalonki.fi
Willy Wonka, eat your heart out. This is your golden ticket to an art-meets-spa experience. Glimmering in Sweden’s northernmost town us this gold-plated, egg-shaped public sauna. Designed by Swedish artists Mats Bigert and Lars Bergström, the Solar Egg was gifted to the town of Kiruna after it was announced the entire city district was to be relocated because of crumbling foundations following decades of mining for iron ore. A heart-shaped wood stove heats the aspen and pine interiors to between 75ºC and 85°C, while solar panels incorporated into the geometric design offer eco-friendly lighting. The eight-person egg isn’t immobile either – it visited Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Minnesota, before rolling back to heat Swedes in the Arctic Circle once more.
When it comes to Finland, ski slopes and saunas are two things that roll with the territory. But what about a sauna built into a gondola floating above a snow-slathered mountain? Throw in some heavy metal music and traditional karelian pies, and you have yourself the ultimate Finnish experience. Get your Finn on at Sport Resort Ylläs, where snow bunnies can unwind in the Ylläs 1 Gondola after a day carving up the slopes. The world’s first suspended sauna cruises a two-kilometre line, treating up to four riders at a time with 20 minutes of spectacular views of Lapland’s powder-white landscape. Skiers looking for extra respite should book a two-hour package and soak in the outdoor hot tub at Café Gondola 718, situated on the mountaintop, which can be enjoyed privately by up to a dozen guests. yllas.fi
While it may resemble a set from Lord of the Rings, we promise a visit to this little hidey-hole sauna is far more relaxing than a day spent in Hobbiton. Located in Northern Italy’s Passeier Valley, the luxe Applesauna is hidden on a green hill in the expansive apple orchard at farm-turned-three-star Apfelhotel Torgglerhof. Using the Finnish method, stones are heated on a stove and water poured on top to create the warm and steamy atmosphere. Timber benches frame concrete walls and floor-to-ceiling windows welcome natural light. Best of all, guests steaming inside are treated to panoramic views of the treetops and the surrounding Sarntal Alps. When the steam has settled, a nearby cottage has been transformed into a rest area where cups of tea and fresh fruit (no doubt an apple or two) are served as body temperatures cool. apfelhotel.com
At Frihamnen port in Gothenburg, a strangely shaped, corrugated-iron structure stands at the end of a bridge, its reflection wavering in the waters below. Inside this weathered, metallic building is a small slice of luxury that adds a softer side to Scandinavia’s largest port. Recycled materials feature in the design, with timber lining the walls and 12,000 bottles surrounding the changing rooms to create privacy while allowing natural light to permeate. Stewing in the steamy interiors offers views past cranes and shipping containers and out across the harbour, which is undergoing a redevelopment due to be completed in 2021. The experience is free, and when you’re toasted and lobster-red, there’s a chlorine-free pool nearby with enticingly cool waters. goteborg.com
Forget Eat, Pray, Love – if anyone has inspired a pilgrimage to India’s ashrams, it’s The Beatles. Chaurasi Kutia, the ashram of guru and creator of transcendental meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, was the holy site where the band famously spent weeks penning songs that would eventually fill The Beatles, or what is known by most as the White Album. While it’s rumoured the group left shortly after they arrived – Ringo Starr departed after just 10 days, while Paul McCartney only hung around for a month – this ashram is a famous part of the Beatles’ history. Until recently, the abandoned buildings – like the Beatles Cathedral Gallery, which was brought to life by the art of street artist Pan Trinity Das – had been reclaimed by the surrounding wilderness. In 2015, however, the grounds were reopened to the public. As for what comes next for the ashram, future plans are yet to be confirmed, but it looks bright.
Take a step back in time at Berlin’s Paris Bar. Beneath its glowing neon sign, artworks by German artist Martin Kippenberger adorn almost every surface of the bar’s interior, which was once the haunt of many A-list artists, actors and rock stars, including Madonna, Jack Nicholson, Robert De Niro and Yoko Ono. It’s also the place of the infamous 1979 Rolling Stone interview with an inebriated David Bowie and Iggy Pop, and where Iggy drunkenly rolled around in the snow outside. It serves classical French cuisine and while a visit here is accompanied by a somewhat hefty price tag, it’s still worth sitting with the locals among the bar’s rich old-world glamour, admiring the art that decorates the walls and, if you’re lucky, rubbing shoulders with a celebrity. artberlin.de/restaurant/paris-bar
In a bid to escape the bedlam of Los Angeles, a move to Berlin in the late 70s was a pivotal experience for David Bowie. While living on Haupstrasse in the quiet district of Schöneberg, he once described the city to Uncut magazine as a place of “virtual anonymity” and could often be found popping into cafe Neues Ufer for an espresso. The cafe’s name means ‘the new side’ (formerly it was Anderes Ufer, aka The Other Side). Coincidence? We think not. During his self-imposed exile, Bowie penned the enduring hit ‘Heroes’, which was inspired by a young couple kissing against the Berlin Wall, a moment he was said to have witnessed from a window in Kreuzberg’s Hansa recording studio (he would later reveal the couple was producer Tony Visconti and his girlfriend). Today, Neues Ufer is one of Berlin’s oldest gay cafes and retains its original ambience, with the addition of a few photos of the famous rock star. Join the Bowie Berlin Walk by Berlin Music Tours, where you’ll discover his other haunts in the Kreuzberg and Mitte districts, before finishing off with a bevvy at this enduring favourite. musictours-berlin.com
Some may not know this, but Queen front man Freddie Mercury was actually born Farrokh Bulsara to Parsi parents. While he spent years studying in Bombay, it was in Zanzibar’s Stone Town that this showman spent most of his childhood. In Shangani, where Mercury was born and later returned before leaving for London at the age of 18, the Bulsara family home still stands, now labelled Mercury House. It’s not open to the public, but Zanzibar Gallery, where Mercury also once lived, sells a bunch of souvenirs and a t-shirt or two in this Freddie-obsessed town. Visitors to the Tanzanian archipelago can also visit the Zoroastrian temple where the Bulsara family once worshipped. A number of tours offer the chance to trace his footsteps along Shangani’s streets, connecting you to the life of Freddie before he became a huge star. Plus, no visit is complete without a stop at the Mercury Restaurant.
John Lennon and Yoko Ono: this twentieth-century power couple has never ceased to amaze the world. In 1969, the pyjama-clad newlyweds spent eight days in a peaceful bed-in protest against the Vietnam War in Suite 1742 of Montreal’s Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel. It was here ‘Give Peace a Chance’ was also recorded. While the couple’s first bed-in – a room at the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam – can still be visited, Suite 1742 in Montreal’s Fairmont has been refurbished for a truly immersive experience. The two-bedder has the iconic song lyrics splashed across the walls, as well as an interactive cabinet installation packed with videos, images and podcasts, and a virtual reality experience that allows guests to view the room as Lennon and Ono did half a century ago. fairmont.com
Denmark is widely regarded as one of the happiest countries on Earth, so it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that its capital is home to first-ever museum dedicated to smiling, laughing and generally having fun.
Of course, it’s so much more than a few dad jokes and a display of whoopee cushions through the ages. This is part of the Happiness Research Institute, an independent think tank that focuses on wellbeing, happiness and the quality of life. You may be acquainted with its founder, Meik Wiking, whose books, including The Little Book of Hygge, have been published in more than 50 countries.
The reasons behind it all are rather simple. We all want to be happy, right? But do we really know what we need to get to this elevated state? There are eight rooms in the museum that each explore happiness from a different perspective. It’s all interactive and you can get involved in various experiments. Plus, people from all over the world have donated personal items that remind them of their lives’ happy moments and they’re all on display.
A former coaching inn that offered respite for weary travellers in the early 1600s, the Bushmills Inn has undergone a few transformations in the 400 years since.
Its current incarnation as a luxurious hotel means it continues to accommodate guests in true Ulster fashion, just a short drive from some of Northern Ireland’s most iconic sites – including the world’s oldest distillery.
Each room is named after a whiskey and has been designed to reflect its story and flavours. There’s also an in-house cinema in the old stillroom and even a secret library. After a day of sightseeing, plonk in a booth at the seventeenth-century restaurant, then retreat to the Gas Bar – which still glows with traditional Victorian gaslight – for a dram and Irish tunes.
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