City Guides

The complete editorial guide to Zakynthos 2026: Dionysios Solomos and the Hymn to Liberty (1823, anthem 1865), the Solomos and Eminent Zakynthians Museum on Saint Mark’s Square (€4), the Bishop-and-Mayor 1944 rescue memorial at 44 Tertseti Street, the Church of Saint Dionysios with the 1829 silver reliquary, the 12 August 1953 earthquake reset, the Bochali Castle and Strani Hill, Marathonissi Turtle Island and the National Marine Park (Greece’s first sea-turtle park, 1999), Anafonitria Monastery, Cameo Island, Keri Caves, the Strofades islands, Volimes weaving cooperatives. Navagio Beach remains closed to land access in 2026 (boat tours only). Olea reopens 1 May 2026. Zakynthos holds zero Michelin stars in 2026; the Greek expansion adds Santorini and Thessaloniki, not Zakynthos. Verified April 2026.

The complete editorial guide to Naxos 2026: the Portara doorframe of Lygdamis’s unfinished Temple of Apollo (525 BC), the 10.7-metre Apollonas Kouros abandoned in its quarry around 600 BC, the two Melanes Kouroi at Flerio, the 6th-century Temple of Demeter at Sangri (€5), the 1207 Marco Sanudo Kastro and the Della Rocca-Barozzi tower, the 1896 Vallindras kitron distillery in Halki, the marble-paved village of Apiranthos with its Cretan-influenced dialect and the 30 May 1941 Acropolis-flag passage of Manolis Glezos and Apostolos Santas, the Bazeos Tower (1789, restored 2001) home of the Naxos Festival, the Tragea valley olive grove, Mount Zas at 1,004 m (the highest peak in the Cyclades), Plaka and Agia Anna and Agios Prokopios beaches, Graviera Naxou PDO and Patata Naxou PDO. Naxos holds zero Michelin stars in 2026; the Greek expansion adds Santorini and Thessaloniki, not Naxos. Verified April 2026.

The complete editorial guide to Mykonos 2026: the morning ferry to sacred Delos and the Athenian purification of 426 BCE, the south-coast lounger strip and the working Cycladic village underneath, the 1542 Tourliani Monastery, the 22 October 1822 defence of the island under Lieutenant General Manto Mavrogenous, the Mykonos Vase and the earliest known depiction of the Trojan Horse, Pierro’s bar and the LGBTQ inheritance, the 2024 Tourism Police MyCoast app and the new beach-bar regulations, Kiki’s Tavern at Agios Sostis, Fokos, Houlakia, Kounelas and the surviving Old Port fishermen’s tavernas, and the honest €60-per-day budget. The Four Seasons Mykonos opens late summer 2026. Verified April 2026.

The complete editorial guide to Corfu 2026: the UNESCO Old Town and its three Venetian-British fortresses, the four annual processions of Saint Spyridon, the Holy Saturday botides ritual, the June 1944 deportation of the Corfiot Jews and the Scuola Greca synagogue that survived, the Achilleion of Empress Elisabeth and Kaiser Wilhelm II, Mount Pantokrator and Old Perithia, Paleokastritsa and Angelokastro, Vido island and the Serbian mausoleum of 1916, kumquat liqueur and tsitsibira, pastitsada and sofrito, the new Conrad Corfu opening 2026 with chef Alexandros Tsiotinis. Where to actually eat and stay; what’s new for 2026; honest budget breakdown. Verified April 2026.

The complete editorial guide to La Gomera 2026: Garajonay laurel forest and the 1487-metre summit, the November 1488 rebellion at the Cueva de Iballa, Silbo Gomero — the whistled language taught in primary schools since 1999, the Mirador de Abrante glass walkway above Agulo, the El Cedro waterfall hike, Roque Agando, Vallehermoso and the palm-syrup country, Casa Efigenia, Valle Gran Rey’s counterculture coast, and the Torre del Conde of 1477. Where to actually eat and stay; what’s new for 2026; honest budget breakdown. Verified April 2026.

The complete editorial guide to La Palma 2026: Tajogaite volcano, Caldera de Taburiente, Roque de los Muchachos and the Gran Telescopio Canarias, laurisilva forest at Cubo de la Galga and Los Tilos, Santa Cruz colonial old town, Fuencaliente wine country, salt pans and Salinas, the post-2021 recovery of Puerto Naos, what’s new for 2026 and where to actually eat and stay. Every price and detail verified April 2026.

The complete Azores guide for 2026 — nine volcanic islands 1,400 km out in the Atlantic at the junction of three tectonic plates. Sete Cidades twin lakes (free, crater-rim walk at dawn), Caldeira Velha (€10, pre-booked time slots), Furnas cozido (Tony’s, €15–25), Mount Pico (2,351 m — Portugal’s highest peak, guided summit climb), Pico vineyard UNESCO 2004 landscape, Angra do Heroísmo UNESCO 1983, Algar do Carvão lava tube (€10), Capelinhos volcano and the Azorean Refugee Act 1958 (JFK), Peter Café Sport (since 1918), Fajã da Caldeira de Santo Cristo on São Jorge (only Azorean clam farm), Flores Biosphere Reserve 2009. São Miguel tourist tax €2/night max 3 nights, EES active since 10 April 2026, ETIAS Q4 2026, zero Michelin stars in Azores 2026 but WHITE São Miguel earned the only Michelin Key. Best Day Under €20 on São Miguel.

The complete Fuerteventura guide for 2026 — the driest and oldest of the Canary Islands, a 20-million-year-old volcanic plain eroded flat by trade winds and manufactured water. Corralejo Dunes Natural Park (free, 2,600 ha), Isla de Lobos (€18+€36 ferry / free permit), Betancuria (founded 1404, Casa Santa María), Cofete beach and Villa Winter, the Sotavento kitesurf lagoon, Pico de la Zarza (807 m), Ajuy caves (100-million-year-old oceanic crust), Casa de los Coroneles La Oliva (€3), Ecomuseo La Alcogida at Tefía (€5) and the adjacent Colonia Penitenciaria declared the first LGBTI+ Lugar de Memoria Democrática in Spain on 9 February 2026, Casa-Museo Unamuno (free), Tindaya’s sacred Majorero mountain (BIC-protected 2023). EES active at FUE since 10 April 2026, ETIAS Q4 2026, no tourist tax, zero Michelin stars on Fuerteventura in 2026, IGIC 7%, and a Best Day Under €25.

The complete Lanzarote guide for 2026 — an island whose landscape was reset by a six-year volcanic eruption that ended in 1736 and whose aesthetic was reset by one artist, César Manrique, between 1966 and 1992. Timanfaya National Park (€30, geothermal demonstrations, mandatory bus tour), Jameos del Agua and Cueva de los Verdes lava tubes (€17 each), Fundación César Manrique at Tahíche (€10), La Geria volcanic vineyards and Malvasía Volcánica wine, the Papagayo beaches, La Graciosa day trip (ferry €16), Arrecife and Charco de San Ginés, Teguise Sunday market, Famara surf beach, a 20-30°C year-round climate and 115 mm of annual rain, EES active at ACE since 10 April 2026, ETIAS delayed to late 2026, no tourist tax, five Michelin Recommended restaurants (zero stars) in 2026, and a Best Day Under €35.

The complete Rhodes guide for 2026 — a four-regime palimpsest on the edge of Anatolia: Knights (1309-1522), Ottomans (1522-1912), Italians (1912-1947), Greeks (1947-today). Street of the Knights, Palace of the Grand Master (€20), Kahal Shalom Synagogue and the 23 July 1944 deportation memorial, Lindos Acropolis (€6 — go before 09:00), Ancient Kamiros, Kallithea Springs Art Deco spa, Butterfly Valley in season, Tsambika pilgrimage, ferries to Symi, the 2023 wildfire aftermath and climate context, Aulūs Lindos Hilton and Amoh Luxury Collection opening 2026, EES active, Michelin Guide does not yet cover the Dodecanese, and a Best Day Under €30.

The complete Santorini guide for 2026 — beyond the caldera sunset. Akrotiri Bronze Age town (€20, combined ticket €15 with Ancient Thera and the Museum of Prehistoric Thera), Ancient Thera on Mesa Vouno, Assyrtiko and Vinsanto at Santo Wines and Venetsanos, the Oia Agios Nikolaos / Kastro crowd trap and where to watch sunset instead, Thirasia day trip, 8,000/day cruise cap, Michelin’s first Santorini selection expected H2 2026, Sandblu LXR opens April 2026, EES active, and a Best Day Under €55. An honest account of the most photographed island in Europe.

The complete Ibiza guide for 2026 — beyond the clubs. Puig des Molins Phoenician necropolis (3,000+ hypogea, free entry), Dalt Vila UNESCO walled city (free), Ses Salines Natural Park posidonia seagrass, Amnesia’s 50th anniversary season, UNVRS at the former Privilege site, three Michelin stars (La Gaia, Omakase by Walt, Unic), the Ibicenco housing crisis, and a Best Day Under €50. What the island is besides the clubs — and an honest account of what the clubs actually cost.

The complete Gran Canaria guide for 2026 — beyond the southern resort strip. Vegueta 1478 old quarter (€6), Cueva Pintada de Gáldar (€6), Risco Caído UNESCO, Fortaleza de Ansite and the 1483 end of the conquest, Roque Nublo (reservation required), Maspalomas dunes rules, the Michelin 2026 five (La Aquarela, Los Guayres, Poemas, Tabaiba, Muxgo), Canarian wine country, and a Best Day Under €28 in Las Palmas. What the 15.8 million annual passengers miss.

Your complete Crete guide for 2026 — Europe’s first civilisation (Minoan, 3000 BCE), eight consecutive occupations, and an island that joined modern Greece only in 1913. Knossos (€15), Samaria Gorge (€5), Venetian Heraklion and Chania, the Anogia reprisal massacres, Cretan diet, raki culture, and a Best Day Under €30 in Heraklion. The guide for people who want Crete, not the package strip.

Your complete Malta guide for 2026 — three civilisations on one island: the Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum (5,500 years old, 80 visitors/day), Valletta’s Caravaggio (the only painting he ever signed), the Daphne Caruana Galizia memorial cleared daily. Michelin stars verified: ION Harbour 2★, De Mondion, Under Grain, Noni, Rosamì all 1★. ETIAS not yet live. Best day under €35.