Overtourism is flooding the capital cities, especially during the peak season months when it seems the whole world is concentrated in London, Paris, New York. Aim elsewhere, taking advantage of direct flights from Italy. From Venice to Asturias, from Naples fly to Lille, from Cagliari to Basel. For a weekend away from the clichés.
Basel will amaze you with its medieval architecture and vibrant cultural scene ©trabantos/Shutterstock
Venice sinks under the weight of red carpets and umbrella-wearing tourists, Paris and London vie for the sceptre of the world's most Instagrammable. New York welcomes more than 65 million visitors each year and Dubai aims to attract 20 million by next year's Expo. If the prospect of finding yourself stuck in a queue at the MoMA, the Louvre or the Burj Al Arab does not excite you, the most practical solution is to head for less-touristy cities that have museums, cultural programming and an interesting food scene, well connected to Italy by direct flights even from 'minor' airports. We point out three that are perfect for a weekend and lend themselves as a landing place for a week (or more) touring the surrounding area. A not inconsiderable bonus: they are the ideal springboard for visiting the big neighbouring cities, e.g. London in a day trip while sleeping in France or flying to Switzerland to comfortably reach Amsterdam by sailing on the Rhine.
Basel
Landing at the EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg (connected by direct flights from Venice, Rome, Cagliari, Naples, Catania, Lamezia Terme, Brindisi) you will find yourself at the crossroads of three countries: France, Switzerland and Germany. You will be spoilt for choice.
Basel will amaze you with its medieval architecture and a vibrant cultural scene, from the inevitable Tinguely museum with its kinetic sculptures, which in addition to the permanent exhibition dedicated to the Swiss artist hosts temporary exhibitions by international artists. Take a stroll along the Rhine and reach the opposite bank on the Rheinfähre, a boat attached to a steel cable that uses the current to cross the river. If the weather is mild, you can venture out for a swim along the Rhine clutching the typical wickelfisch, the floating bag that you can also buy in limited editions in museums and shops throughout Basel.
Just outside the city, you have to trespass into Germany by just ten kilometres to reach Weil am Rhein, where you will find the Vitra Design Museum: a temple of architecture, designed by Frank Gehry. In the Schaudepot, the exhibition hall, you can admire one of the world's largest collections of design seating, some of the most distinctive and ionic seating designed from the late 19th century to the present day.
With more time on your hands, hop on a cruise boat to the North Sea, via Strasbourg, Cologne to Amsterdam. Over a thousand kilometres through vineyards, castles and enchanting valleys, admiring the Moselle Valley and the Loreley cliff where the river veers scenically north.
Choose Lille for Flemish flair on French soil ©calinore/Getty Images
Lille
Wrapped in its Flemish atmosphere, Lille is a frontier city that has retained an identity strongly linked to Flanders, even though it is actually located in France on the border with Belgium. You can reach it with a direct flight from Italy departing from Naples, Palermo, Olbia or Cagliari. Lose yourself in the cobbled streets of the old town in Vieux Lille and at the weekend, stop to shop at the Marché de Wazemmes, one of the largest flea markets in France. A short sightseeing tour is enough to capture the soul of the city: another interesting spectacle awaits you just outside its walls. Have you ever been to a poolside art exhibition? You can do so in Roubaix: around the old Art Deco baths stands La Piscine Museum. In Villeneuve-d'Ascq, the LaM - Museum of Modern Art Lille Métropole exhibits more than seven thousand works by contemporary artists, from Picasso to Modigliani, Klee to Deacon. In Croix is the Villa Cavrois, designed in the 1930s by architect Robert Mallet-Stevens: an example of modernism that will leave you ecstatic. If you have enough time to visit the surroundings, base yourself in Lille to reach nearby Brussels in a day, which is only half an hour by train, or Paris in about an hour and London in an hour and a half by Eurostar.
Among the streets of Oviedo ©John Harper/Getty Images
Asturias
Overlooking the Bay of Biscay, the Principality of Asturias in the north-west of Spain brings together a unique diversity of landscape, culture and gastronomy in just over ten thousand square kilometres. From the peaks of the Picos de Europa to the coasts lapped by the Atlantic Ocean, Asturias is spread over more than 2,648 metres in altitude and offers you beaches, hiking trails, mountain pastures, lakes, natural parks and perfectly preserved ancient villages. You will find everything to quench your thirst for variety, even more.
Asturias will pamper your palate with queso de Cabrales, the blue cheese from the mountain pastures of Peñamera Alta, washed down with Asturian cider. You will also find pulpy anchovies splashing in the Cantabrian Sea. If you love waves, don't miss those of Salinas, a perfect semi-circle beaten by Atlantic winds. The postcard-perfect Playa del Silencio, near the village of Castañeras: a bay of fine sand framed by rocky cliffs. For an urban experience with a seafaring flavour, head to the historic centre of Avilés, a former fishing village, now a Unesco World Heritage Site. To reach these wonders you can fly to the capital Oviedo on a direct flight from Venice or head to Santander from Venice, Milan and Rome, continuing by land to discover neighbouring Cantabria. Prioritise the train: the Renfe Spain Pass allows you to travel by train throughout Spain, even at high speed. With at least a week to spare, set off on a rail cruise on the narrow-gauge Transcantábrico Gran Lusso tourist train, which crosses Green Spain. Or on the Northern Tourist Train, which takes you from Asturias through Cantabria, Castilla y León and the Basque Country.
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