Destinations · Europe
Tapas counters, trattorias, tavernas.
Guides across Spain, Portugal, Italy, France and Greece — written at the table, not from a press release. Each poster opens its country guide.
36Guides
6Countries
12Cities
Deals & booking
Worth booking in Europe.
No coupon codes and no invented discounts. Five things we would book ourselves, and the reason why.
StaysCities, by neighbourhoodBarcelona, Lisbon, Rome and Athens, filtered to the areas our guides actually send you to.Compare rates →Longer staysApartments past four nightsA kitchen and a washing machine change the maths once you are staying a week.See the numbers →ClassesPaella, pasta, mezeMarket first, then the kitchen. The three classes we would book again.See the dates →TransportTrains, not flightsWhich legs are faster city-centre to city-centre, and when the ferry beats both.How we book it →InsuranceMedical and delaysWhat the cheap policies quietly exclude, and when the upgrade earns its price.Read first →
Join a trip
Come with us in 2027.
Small groups, built around the eating. Routes are being drawn and the list opens first.
The guides
Fourteen cities, properly.
Printable city guides we are writing to sell — the one you would actually carry. Join the list and you will hear when each lands.
Start here
The ones worth the click.
Six guides that cross borders, including the ones that belong to no single country.
Europe, answered
Before you book.
The cross-border questions. Anything country-specific lives on the country guide.
How many cities in two weeks?Three, and two of them should be in the same country. The fourth city is always the one you remember least.
Is the train really better than flying?Centre to centre, under four hours, yes — Rome to Florence, Madrid to Seville, Paris to Lyon. Past that the plane wins back the day.
When is shoulder season now?Late April to mid June, and September into early October. July and August are hot, full and priced for it.
Do I need to book restaurants?In Spain and Greece, rarely. In Italy and France, for anything you actually read about, yes — a week ahead.
Is August a mistake?In the cities, mostly. Half of Paris and Rome closes, the other half is queueing. The islands are the exception.
How long can I stay?Ninety days in any 180 across the Schengen area, which now includes almost everywhere in this list.