The Independent - Europe RSS Feed

Make recharging your body a breeze in the Canary Islands

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:59 GMT

You'd think the year-round sunshine and the fresh sea breezes of the Canary Islands would be enough for anyone feeling the need of some holiday pampering. But then why leave anything to chance? For a full body recharge, you may well require the attentive services and luxurious surroundings of a spa resort – and here Gran Canaria is ideally placed.

The culinary delights of La Gomera

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:54 GMT

Talk of different regional cuisines sounds out of place on an island 15 miles wide but, as I coaxed my hesitant little rental car around the precipitous hairpin bends that separate the dusty sun-baked coast from misty interior forests, it quickly became apparent that La Gomera varies wildly over a small area. Island gastronomy mirrors the geography and the rugged remoteness also tends to keep everything firmly off the beaten track and old-fashioned. But in the context of today's trend for simple, fresh, local, organic and free-range food, things have travelled full-circle, with island cookery now highly fashionable.

A tradition of wellness on the islands

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:47 GMT

The long menu of options at the luxurious Mare Nostrum Spa in Tenerife includes hydrotherapy, aromatherapy and chocolate therapy. How very modern, you might think. After all, we're living in a time when no major hotel worth its Dead Sea salt seems complete without some kind of treatment centre. Don't be fooled into thinking that this penchant for pampering is a newfangled fad, though. In the Canaries, wellness tourism is as old as tourism itself.

A wealth of cultural history to be uncovered in the islands

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:40 GMT

Visit Candelaria on the east coast of Tenerife and you may run into a posse of tough-looking men, stripped to the waist and armed to the teeth. Happily, they're harmless. Cast in bronze, they're big statues of the Menceys – warrior chiefs who ruled the island's earliest known inhabitants, the Guanches.

Take in the Canary Islands' spectacular scenery

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:31 GMT

Aren't the Canaries better known for their beaches?

Certainly, but the islands also have some strikingly beautiful inland scenery – and more and more visitors are cottoning on. For the energetic, it's all about enjoying the great outdoors; others just love the idea of sampling a simple, peaceful alternative to the bright lights of the resorts.

Find real serenity in Gran Canaria

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:20 GMT

As mountaineering triumphs go, it was a decidedly minor one. I didn't need crampons for the ascent to the base of Roque Nublo; just a hire car, a good pair of trainers, and a bottle of water. The 64-metre basalt sentinel rises to 1,813m above sea level and is considered something of a symbol of Gran Canaria, not least because on much of the island you only have to look up to see it – it's clearly visible from as far away as the beach at Maspalomas, an hour or so to the south.

Mission of the month: How not spoil your trip in Prague? It's written on the beer mat...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Prague: stunning architecture, steeped in history, a jewel described by historian Norman Davies as "Europe's most beautiful city". No wonder the Czech Republic's capital hosts about 500,000 British tourists a year.

Traveller's Guide To: Lapland

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Christmas is coming and I want to see Santa

Mission of the month: How not spoil your trip in Prague? It's written on the beer mat...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Writer's bloc: Simon Calder returns to East Germany

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

For a citizen of one of the most ludicrous nations ever invented East Germany there was one sure way to get across the fearsome frontier dividing the German Democratic Republic from West Germany: die.

Writer's bloc: Simon Calder returns to East Germany

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Traveller's Guide To: Lapland

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Fuerteventura Oasis Park: 'Despite their dubious oral hygiene, the sea lions are the park's megastars'

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Animals as fashion accessories? Totally uncool. Paris Hilton and Britney Spears may still insist on working that look, but right-minded grown ups, of course, know better.

Head off the beaten track: Active families will find plenty to do in the western Canaries

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

So your kids are fluent in email, texting and Twitter. But could they master the art of cross-country whistling? Silbo, a Clanger-like system of tonal whistles, is one of the oddities which make the western Canaries intriguing. It was invented by the early islanders as a means of communicating over vast tracts of roadless, mountainous terrain. Skilled whistlers claim a vocabulary of more than 4,000 words a revelation sure to impress the parents of intractable teenagers.

24-Hour Room Service: Margutta 54, Rome

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The plan seemed simple. A couple of days in Paris, then the overnight train to Rome followed by a day showing my son the sights of the Italian capital. But the train trip turned into an endurance test, taking 25 hours, nearly twice as long as planned. Our evening meal of lasagne and chicken was eaten in a stalled and sweltering dining car, looking out over views of concrete and graffiti, before reversing back to Gare de Bercy. After a night baking in our compartment, we were kicked out the following morning in Milan to squeeze into a packed local train. Elderly passengers, losers in the race for seats, wept on the platform surrounded by their piles of luggage.

Travel challenge: A family skiing holiday in February half term

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Every week we invite competing companies to give us their best deal for a specified holiday. Today: a family skiing holiday in February half term. Prices are for two adults and two children...

Beach Baroque: Families flock to Tenerife to go wild in its weird and wonderful theme parks

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Mother Nature has provided ample evidence of her ingenuity on Tenerife, the Canary Islands' largest chunk of planetary real estate. Clearly, her first decision was to think big: Teide, the island's huge central volcano, stretches a mighty 3,718m from the Atlantic. Then, she went a bit Baroque: the black lava rock pools in Garachico on the north coast, for example, and the peculiarly long-needled Canarian pine tree. Finally, she provided some exhilaration: the dramatic ridges and valleys of the Anaga range in the north, the dazzling azure seas that hug the island's shores. Oh, and the year-round sunshine. There, she seems to be saying, I've done my bit. What have you lot got in the locker?

Home from home: Family-friendly La Palma

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It's hard to choose the prettiest of the seven major Canary Islands, but La Palma has a strong claim in terms of nature walks, romantic hideaways and dramatic scenery. It also does well in the family-friendly hotel stakes, thanks in part to the mammoth Hotel La Palma Teneguia Princess and Spa.

Entertainment on your doorstep: You don't need to travel far in the Canary Islands to enjoy a splendid day out

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

If there's one thing the Canary Islands aren't short of, it's family attractions. Many of these are clustered around the major towns and resorts, so they're easy to access.

Family adventures: Discover excitement around every corner in the Canary Islands

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Time to make a splash? There are few places with as much to offer water lovers as the Canaries

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

You'll have a whale of a time looking for oceanic entertainment in the water around the Canaries

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

When the captain of a whale and dolphin-watching boat based in Tenerife promises a sighting on every outing, it's tempting to raise an eyebrow. How can they be so sure?

Seven islands, seven landscapes: The Canary Island's busy network of ferries offers the chance to see plenty of great sea life and shore-scapes

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

There are two essentials to island hopping, namely islands with enough contrast to warrant a hop, and an easy means of making such a hop. These days, it's easy to take in the multiple personalities of the Canary Islands in only a few short hops by hydrofoil and high-speed ferry.

Island treasures: The Canary Island's best maritime museums

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Canaries have featured in some of the world's great voyages, so it is fitting that they boast some excellent repositories of the stories of the sea.

Postcard from the edges: Stick to the coasts of the Canaries and you'll find spectacular scenery, deserted beaches and a touch of the Caribbean

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Charles Darwin was impressed: shortly after the great naturalist began his five-year voyage on which his theories evolved, he sailed past Tenerife in January 1832. "The first of many days never to be forgotten," he declared, even though he was banned from landing because of fears that HMS Beagle might bring cholera.