Tips

I often do little trips alone. Above all in old Europe. Guide to the hand. Well-defined itineraries. Hotel in the center. Other small precautions and little else to feel safe.

This time instead I passed, spinning around the Medina of Fes , a pleasant weekend. So I thought of this particular pink guide to be able to face a Moroccan city, with its rules, sometimes a bit ‘far from ours, for trips alone or with a group of friends .

The first advice is to leave the map at home . In Fes, one must simply get lost. A recommendation that sounds strange, especially for today’s travelers, but we must not forget the camera and a list with “not to be missed”. This is because Fes is a world, to be discovered.

You could in fact turn for hours and find all the points indicated on maps for tourists, but nothing will equal the pleasure of a walk in search of the most particular and curious corners .

For this, and here is the number two council, beware of the false guides, and in case rely on the official ones . Only they will give you the opportunity to discover one behind the other courtyards, marbles, fountains and gardens, shops and souks, only with them you can savor the soul of Fes, visit the heart.

Alternatively, take a walk aimlessly through the alleys of the old city , with your eyes open to peek at the life that crowds them for example of its legends.

Come with us to discover some wonders of the Medina and beyond.

# VISITING THE MEDINA

La Medina, Unesco heritage , with its madrasas, mosques, maze of streets and lanes, sellers of carpets, blacksmiths, embroiderers, apothecaries and butchers, mules serving as transport vans, waiting cats of a snack, the absence, or apparent absence, of restaurants and cafes, the agitated coming and going of Friday, makes Fes the most beautiful and emblematic imperial city of all . And the number three council is just that: taste the alleys of the Medina even on Friday , the day of Muslim prayer, everything will appear in a new light.

Do not miss La Madrasa Bou Inania ; It is a very elegant building, with beautiful brass doors and carved cedar wood, a marble courtyard, a profusion of stuccoes, zellij and merene motifs everywhere. It is among the few to be open to non-Muslims.

Remember that the Medina is surrounded by walls and the main access point is the Bad Boujloud , with its blue decorations on the outside and green on the inside.

After wandering with imagination in the direction of Chefchaouen , dreaming of walking through its blue lanes and photographing every suggestive corner of it, they finally arrived in the Rif mountains where this little town is located, set on the slope, and I was amazed answer to all my questions; “Will it really be as you see in the photos?” “Are the doors of the houses really painted like this?” “Is it all blue or just some areas?”And now I can say it too; Chefchaouen is exactly as it is always shown and imagined, all painted blue . The houses, the fountains, the doors, the streets are of many different shades, but all blue. Immensely blue. 
Precisely for this reason it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and although in recent years tourism, even mass tourism, has taken hold, its position off the most common routes has allowed it to remain almost untouched and maintain its breathtaking beauty . In fact the only “flaw” if we can say so is that this little pearl, is far from the big cities and should be reached with the idea of ​​reaching it .

# How to get to Chefchaouen

The best way to get to Chefchaouen is by car. We have booked a transfer service, with drivers, personalized and customizable, door to door, with Tangier Taxi , which from Tangier, has accompanied us to Fes, allowing us, with comfort, tranquility, air conditioning and an integrated internet connection, to stop for 3 hours also at Chefchaouen. 
Book with Tangier Taxi, it was also quick, after having made arrangements in email, the exchange takes place in English, you pay with paypal a small deposit and at the end of the service you can make the balance in euros.
For an all-female trip, like ours, this was the best, safest choice, and had a perfect compromise in price quality, making it possible to dream of seeing Chefchaouen, but also to pass between mountain roads, large valleys planted with wheat, lakes with bright colors, local markets and small villages of shepherds with minarets that propped the landscape here and there.

Andalusia , that magical and almost mystical area of ​​Spain, which is where Africa and Europe meet, can be explored and traveled with a splendid on the road, even for a day.

The poet Mahmoud Darwish wrote that Al-Andalus is the place where “foreigners meet to build human culture” is therefore a border line par excellence, geographical and cultural customs, a mix of peoples, histories and religions. So on a journey between two continents in the morning, on the same day, I woke up in Malaga and fell asleep to the muezzin song, in Tangier , after a fascinating crossing from Gibraltar.

# VIA TERRA

From Malaga to Gibraltar, or rather to Algeciras, via Tarifa, we used a rented car with NoleggioAuto.it ; a service that compares the prices of the major and minor rent cars of the moment and proposes the most advantageous formula for the customer . For us, the three points in favor of this reality were the possibility of modifying or canceling the service free of charge, not having extra credit card fees and 24-hour assistance.

# TARIFA

Tarifa , an out-of-town program uncovered during a leisurely breakfast, is a city to be seen at least once in a lifetime. It is the only European inhabited country to face both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic . It is known as the wind city because of the Levante which often blows in these areas. It is only 14 km away from Morocco. It is the southernmost point of all of Europe.

It is not only famous for its beaches and surf, but there are also monuments to see, gastronomic delights to taste, the delicious Andalusian wine to sip and it is almost obligatory to follow its white alleyways remaining enchanted by painted balconies full of flowers . Then among the main attractions we find the castle, built on an old camp of the Roman Empire and the long medieval walls that surround it almost entirely.

But that is not all. It is the atmosphere of Tarifa that truly seduces the traveler; a sort of slow, jovial lifestyle and always with a smile ready to explode on the lips.

And if you happen here at lunchtime, our advice is to stop at La Sacristia, a real Andalusian-style posada where to have a snack and taste the local white wine.

Among the places in our current wish list there is one that has fascinated us right away and that we discovered to be very close to our hometown, Bologna, and that, for this reason we could not miss it. We are talking about the Labyrinth of the Mason, the largest labyrinth in the world, which is found in our region, the Emilia-Romagna region, precisely in Fontanellato, in the province of Parma.

How was born the largest labyrinth in the world “della Masone”

10 years (from 2005 to 2015). This is the time that has been used by Franco Maria Ricci to realize his project for which he had been looking for a long time: to create the biggest labyrinth in the world. The Labyrinth of the Masone was born in fact from the strong passion of Ricci for the labyrinths already starting from the 80s.

A passion that, after years of design and planning, has given life to the largest labyrinth in the world, thanks also to the collaboration with the architect Pier Carlo Bontempi .

Info and costs to access the maze

The Labyrinth of the Mason presents a very particular star plant, which develops for almost 7 hectares of land, with a total length of the path of about 3 km.

Although this may be surprising, the length is not the only amazing feature of the labyrinth. The real peculiarity of this attraction lies in the vegetation of which the labyrinth is composed

You must know that the Labyrinth of the Mason is made up entirely of over 200 thousand bamboo plants , as many as 20 different species. This is because Franco Maria Ricci had a real obsession with these plants and being an unusual plant for a labyrinth he wanted his creature to be full of it

Keeping this maze in good condition all year round is not a trivial matter, which is why the cost of entry is not too cheap. € 18 for adults and € 12 for children between 6 and 12. Under 6 instead can enter for free.

Moreover, the Labyrinth of the Masone is open every day from 10.30 to 19.00, except on Tuesday which is the closing day.

The beach is a long, uninterrupted strip of fine white sand bathed in transparent water ( Blue Flag 2018 ). Equipped beaches alternate with wild stretches, with fossil dunes covered with arbutus and juniper bushes. Behind it, an expanse of Aleppo pines and Mediterranean scrub that spreads scents of myrtle, thyme, rosemary. Welcome to Castellaneta Marina, the other Puglia . That of those who flee the crowds and excesses of Salento, and seeks more secluded, less traveled, in which it is still possible to combine fun and relaxation , having available quality facilities and services. In the shade of the pine forest that stretches along the coast overlooking the west coast of the Gulf of Taranto, there are many good hotels where you can enjoy a comfortable stay at prices, moreover, more than accessible even in high season.

MOVIDA E NATURA
If you really do not want to give up luxury, you can book at Kalidria , a 5-star hotel and resort with thalassotherapy center (where Vasco Rossi has elected his retreat). Immersed in the vegetation, the structure reopened at the beginning of the summer, after the modernization works carried out by Emilio Ambasz, guru of natural architecture, which made it an oasis of quiet and tranquility , perfectly integrated into the landscape. 
Aligned on the promenade, the beaches have terraces overlooking the water with bars and restaurants, which in the evening become lively places to sip an aperitifadmiring the sunset or getting late after dinner accompanied by DJ sets and live music concerts. 
During the day, swimming in the sea alternates with walks in nature, on foot or by bike, within the Bioenergetic Reserve of Stornara , a protected area of ​​over 1,500 hectares that surrounds the village, up to the mouth of the river Lato, a refuge for many species of birds , from the heron to the white stork, on which the remains of an ancient Norman watchtower stand watch.

A kaleidoscope of turquoise, light blue, cobalt blue overlooked by white sanded coves, coves of smooth pebbles, capricious inlets, myrtle bushes and strawberry trees, pink granites. They are the , to be enjoyed without crowds, to take a last dip or, if it is too cold, a romantic walk.

It is then broken into the blue, with full sails in the archipelago of La Maddalena , sailing in the company of humpback whales and cetaceans to discover baiette with Caribbean colors or the famous pink beach of Budelli , one of the most beautiful beaches of Sardinia. Staying on the north coast, from Stintino to Santa Teresa di Gallura, the choice is not lacking and you relax by boat in the most hidden coves, you dive between the polished rocks of Cala Capriccioli or you move in search of the most mundane beaches of the Costa Smeralda, furnished as living rooms.

By bike, on the other hand, explore the Sinis peninsula , as far as Capo San Marco , where there are wild beaches, set between Mediterranean maquis and archaeological remains. Sports enthusiasts head south, towards Buggerru , the surfers’ beach, or Su Giudeu , where the stand up paddle can be tested.

But the Sardinian coast is a whole parade of spectacular bays bathed by a crystal sea. We have selected 20, a little taste, to inspire an autumn getaway.

Travel Tips? Much more. An updated map of the planet. Where are the places where something new is being born? The most spectacular natural, archaeological, artistic cities but so far ignored by the great flows of tourism? The cities reborn or refounded, the closed borders that collapse and open up to the world? Here they are. The Canada, Wonder of the premier superstar Justin Trudeau, countries that want to win on a difficult past such as Colombia or Myanmar . The last frontiers of adventure such as Mongolia , Nepal , Polynesia or the Peruvian Andes .

And Italy ? We find it in the section dedicated to the cities not to be missed – between confirmations like Bordeaux and new entry as Ohrid (How? Do not know where it is?) – with a Tuscan town that is about to become our main cultural laboratory. Find out which … But Italy reappears, surprisingly, also in the section of low cost destinations, with Venice, the most obvious and cartolinata of our icon-cities, but in a new “sharing” look.

Best in Travel 2017 by Lonely Planet – today the Italian presentation of the book – classifies the10 countries, the 10 regions, the 10 cities and the 10 most convenient trips of the coming year and reminds us, on time, at each end of October world is more varied, large, unexplored and capable of surprises than we think. A concept to be kept in mind in what the UN has declared as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism . The ethical journey, respectful of Man and Nature, as an exercise to improve ourselves, and slowly, even the planet that hosts us. To find out more, just scroll through our gallery.