EUROQUEST SideTracks

  For visitors to Gran Canaria who prefer local alternatives to the mass-tourist resorts around Maspalomas in the South, the capital city of Las Palmas constitutes a perfect gateway for exploring treasures off the beaten track in the island´s center and north. From here we have previously set out to discover the Canarian Rum city of ARUCAS as well as the famous Sunday market of VEGA DE SAN MATEO. This time, we will continue to the far North of Gran canaria to explore its magnificent coastline featuring several prominent coastal communities including PUERTO DE LAS NIEVES and SARDINA. What used to be rather poor fishing villages in the past have lately seen a significant influx of investment and visitors both local and foreign alike. Puerto de las Nieves, part of the city of AGAETE, in particular has undergone a true renaissance in recent years and nowadays boasts a pristine local Canarian ambience along its seaside promenade "PASEO DE LOS POETAS". Here we find co

In yet another "Treasures off the Beaten Track" contribution on Gran canaria, we shall continue to draw attention away from the mass tourist resorts of the South and offer alternative trajectories to visitors of Gran canaria. As on previous occasions, we shall focus on the island´s capital LAS PALMAS as a gateway and outline several itineraries in the North and Center of Gran Canaria that allow a more insider perspective of local culture and traditions. This holds particularly true to venues frequented by locals and visitors alike, where the constructive dialogue between both leads to greater cultural awareness and a better understanding of the Cultural Other - the Sunday Market Day in Vega de San Mateo is a perfect example of just that. See the full gallery on Posterous To this end, it may be a great idea to get up relatively early on a Sunday and combine a visit to the Market in Vega de San Mateo with a hiking excursion around the island's mountainous cent

In yet another edition of BEYOND THE BEACH, we would like to discover outdoor and hiking opportunities in and around Alicante. Several non-profit groups are dedicated to organizing and executing hiking excursions in the area on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, including Fartets Senderismo Montaña ( https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000862676792&sk=info ). The regional government of the Comunitat Valenciana and local tourist authorities have even launched another website dedicated to the increasingly popular hiking acivitiy in the Levante region with more information available on www.senderosdealicante.com . Within barely 30 minutes inland from the coast, plentiful hiking routes become available to visitors, many of which yet undiscovered or barely frequented by area locals. It almost seems like leaving the overdeveloped coastal areas around Santa Pola or Benidorm is the safest and most scenic way to avoid mass tourism, seek solitude and soak up the local culture and sceni

As the single most important tourist destination in Poland, Krakow attracts millions of visitors annually and as such may hardly count as a well-kept secret. Yet tourism to Malopolskie (Lesser Poland), which is the area in Southern Poland around Krakow, tends to follow set patterns with visitors covering the castle area of Wawel, the Old Town (Stare Miasto) around Rynek Glowny (the Cloth Hall) and the Jewish Quarter of Kazimiersz in Krakow itself as well as the famous saltmines in nearby Wieliczka and of course the memorial site of the infamous Auschwitz concentration camp. Very few visitors venture beyond those boundaries, yet it is precisely the many hidden treasures beyond those highlights that allow Krakow lovers to savor true local culture & appreciate the city from an emic, local perspective. Local Krakow also centers around Stare Miasto and Rynek Glowny, but moreover includes adjacent newer neighborhoods with locals bypassing the tourist attractions such as the

There are few small towns in Europe that can surprise visitors as much by their impressive architecture as Astorga, this small community of 15000 inhabitants located in Castilla-Leon along the famous St.James' Way to Santiago de Compostela. Boasting altogether 3 outstanding building complexes, visitors are perplexed and wonder how a small town in Northwestern Spain could be so richly endowed with a Roman city wall, a huge Cathedral and magnificent Bishop's Palace. Of course, the town of Astorga was far more important in Roman and Medieval times than in its present role as provincial capital of Northwestern Castilla-Leon. Ever since its founding as a Roman colony as a stop along the traditional Roman Road network across the Iberian Peninsula, Astorga has always lived in the shadows of Leon and Santiago. Yet its Roman city wall, recently rebuilt to its former splendor, attests to its glory days during its Roman occupation, which also brought a steady military tradition to

Croatian Tourism Authorities have been advertising with the slogan "The Mediterranean as it once was" - and featured on billboards and in commercials we usually find some sights from Dubrovnik, Korcula and...Hvar. As the fourth most popular destination for visitors in Croatia, the island of Hvar is undeniably beautiful and yet not overly exploited touristically, stretching with its green bushes from one side of blue sea to another with the blue sky in between. Jagged inlets mark the coastline, while in the center we find a central ridge featuring long grey lines of limestone heaps, built by farmers over many centuries in their efforts to gain arable land for cultivation. This landscape was declared a UNESCCO world heritage site in 2008 as among the best preserved ancient Greek landscape in the Mediterranean. Lavender used to be among the most popular crops until fire reduced its cultivation recently. Yet anything made from lavender, pouches of potpouri or bottles of lave

Arriving here from Madrid or from the Picos de Europa National Park, LEÓN, the capital of the Autonomous Spanish Community of Castille-Leon, seems a little lost in the middle of nowhere, but upon arrival in the city itself, it feels like the center of the universe, its own universe of Spain in a nutshell. Leon does not receive huge amounts of tourists, and those that do come to town are here usually for the St. James' Way, the famous pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela - from Leon it is a convenient week to walk through Castille-Leon and Galicia to Santiago - perfect for visitors and pilgrims alike. Many Spaniards also know the name LEON along with nearby Burgos as the places in Spain with the highest temperatures during the summer and among the lowest in winter. Yet within a few hours in this gem of a Spanish city, it becomes clear that LEON warrants worthy mention and a visit in its own right offering various attractions, first and foremost its magnificent GOTHIC CATH

Among the destinations along the Adriatic coast, Montenegro remains a rather exotic choice for visitors. Following the war on the Balkans and years of transition as part of the loose federation of "Serbia and Montenegro", the area has only recently started experimenting with independence, officially becoming the Republic of Montenegro in 2006 and using the EURO as its official currency. Consequently, tourism here is yet far less developed than in neighboring countries such as Croatia or Italy. Yet for that very reason, sailing into the Bay of Kotor and exploring the coastline of Montenegro remains a unique exotic and enriching experience for visitors with memories bound to last a lifetime. See the full gallery on Posterous The town of Kotor is located in the most secluded part of the Boka Kotorska (Bay of Kotor), among the most indented parts of the Adriatic Sea and often called the "southernmost Fjord of Europe". Some geologists have suggested, howeve