logo
Huge overtourism protest planned for Spanish holiday hotspot

Huge overtourism protest planned for Spanish holiday hotspot

Independenta day ago

Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) has announced a large-scale anti-overtourism protest in Mallorca on June 15, involving 60 organisations.
The protest follows a demonstration last summer where around 10,000 people protested against rising housing prices and the impact of tourism.
The group is protesting to make it 'clear that our territories are not for sale' and is calling for limits on tourism to protect resources and residents' needs.
Campaigners claim the tourist industry impoverishes people, impacts housing, and diverts focus from the public sector, while also highlighting environmental concerns like pollution and emissions.
Menys Turisme Més Vida stated that while 'Mallorca is not against tourism', it cannot be a 'theme park open 24 hours a day', and they advocate for better working conditions for hospitality workers.
'We are not a theme park': Overtourism protestors plan huge Mallorca demonstration

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Charlotte Ivers: ‘My road trip through Spain's world-class vineyards'
Charlotte Ivers: ‘My road trip through Spain's world-class vineyards'

Times

time3 hours ago

  • Times

Charlotte Ivers: ‘My road trip through Spain's world-class vineyards'

There's a small strip of land along the Duero River known as the Golden Mile. As is the way of such convenient place names this is, of course, a lie. The golden mile is in fact nearly ten miles long. It's an inauspicious piece of land: parched earth, and the soil doesn't look up to growing much. Drive along the dusty road, and little collections of buildings — sun-bleached, ramshackle, seemingly hastily assembled — spring up on the horizon and disappear as soon as you reach them. There's something of the Western frontier to this place. Or maybe it's more like California during the gold rush, or those early Texas oil towns. But it isn't oil these pioneers are chasing. It's grapes. For a long time this little chunk of Castile and Leon was a destination only for those who knew what they were looking for, and what they were looking for was wine. Madrid to the south and San Sebastian to the north take care of the tourists in search of a bit of glamour and a Michelin-starred meal. Wine connoisseurs — importers, restaurateurs, buyers — come to the Golden Mile to cart back crates of red bottles of liquid gold. In recent years, however, the small Spanish hotel group Castilla Termal, which specialises in converting historic buildings into high-end spa destinations, has opened a five-star hotel in a restored 12th-century monastery. Suddenly, there's a reason for luxury travellers to come to this part of the world. Perhaps there always was: the vineyards here are world-class. If you're into tempranillo, this place is the ultimate pilgrimage site. But this was not an area designed for leisure visitors. It was a hard sell as a mini-break before this extravagant hotel and spa sprang up. Stuck onto the side of tiny San Bernardo, the bottom half of the monastery remains a historical site, and the Catholic church attached is still used by the hundred or so people who live in the village. There is a sense of staying in a living museum: a type of historic grandeur with which no billion-pound new-build could hope to compete. Most rooms are located on the first floor, reached by a walkway looking down into the cloisters below. There are only 79: all spacious, some cavernous, all decorated in an understated, modern manner. We are here as part of a package Castilla Termal has set up. The idea is that you spend three nights here at Monasterio de Valbuena, then two at another of its hotels in the slightly larger village of Brihuega (of which more later). On arrival, the first thing this entails is dinner at Converso: a restaurant set up in the hotel just a few months ago with the advice of Miguel Ángel de la Cruz, a renowned local chef who specialises in vegetarian and sustainable cooking. This restaurant is a clear statement of intent, in terms of sustainability and quality. The ingredients all come from the hotel's vegetable garden and, more impressively, the eggs come from its own hens. It is, quite clearly, Michelin bait. No doubt they will get their star soon: this is the best restaurant around by miles. The next day there's an almost infinite supply of vineyards to be getting on with. We visit Emilio Moro, one of the oldest and most notable vineyards nearby, for a tour, tasting and lunch. (During which the proprietors absolutely did not skimp on sharing their product. We rolled home.) Then there's an extremely pleasant day out to be had at Finca Villacreces, touring the vineyard on electric bikes to see the different terrains, before returning to base for tasting and snacks. In both cases, it is clear that these guys really live their wine; these are guides who can cater for everyone from the most serious of wine professionals to those who just fancy a few glasses of red and a look at the countryside. Back at the hotel the spa is the main event. The thermal pools, indoor and outdoor, contain more means of administering a water jet than you ever thought possible, whether you're standing, sitting or lying down. The best part, however, is the Chapel of San Pedro spa experience. Castilla Termal has painstakingly recreated the beautiful little chapel that sits off the side of the main church. Instead of worshippers, this one hosts a steam room, a sauna and a variety of Roman bath-style plunge pools of varying temperatures. It's a private space: you book your time and don't have to share with other guests. Once you've got over the vague sense of sacrilege and realise that a thunderbolt hasn't actually descended from the sky, it's wonderful. With its vaulted ceilings and pale stone walls, this is the spa you always imagine when plotting a relaxation day — but which never quite seems to manifest in the real world. The view from our vast bedroom window is quite remarkable. Looking out into the romantic garden we can see straight into the treetops. This view isn't hard to come by in this hotel; the rooms here circle the building, most facing outwards into the garden. The room is high-ceilinged and bright, with wood panels and the pale white stone of the original building. It's elegant and modern, yet understated. • 16 of the best vineyard hotels in Tuscany After three nights we drag ourselves away from the pools and head onwards to our next stop: driving a couple of hours east to Brihuega, a small town of fewer than 3,000 people just north of Madrid. Here Castilla Termal has another hotel, rising out of a hill in the centre of town in an old cloth factory. Again, this is a place you would never find on a standard tourist route. Again we find ourselves in the most remarkable building: circular, with a covered courtyard restaurant in the middle, at the centre of which is a vast indoor tree. Gardens in the romantic style surround the hotel, with views across the hills. It's a more casual dining situation here — a fresh, light, à la carte menu — and that's perhaps what we need after several days of red wine at lunch. And this time the town is big enough to sustain several restaurants and bars. Here we get the longed-for opportunity of every European holiday: to sit in a pretty town square with a small beer and some salty snacks. Except for the hotel, this is a locals' town. It only strikes me now that we didn't hear a single passer-by speaking English outside our hotel, quite a rare thing when combined with a luxury spa break. We enjoy our impeccably authentic tapas, negotiating the language barrier as we go, and then return again to the peace of the thermal spas (nearly identical to those in our last destination) and to the hotel's signature massage which, in homage to the building's origins, uses cloths to stretch out our limbs by pulling the fabric to extend or bend them gently. • 25 of the best vineyard hotels to visit in France As a day trip, the hotel team recommends we head an hour or so away, to Cogolludo, to meet quite a remarkable man named Yñigo Miguez del Olmo. Del Olmo has done the thing that every city worker threatens to do but never actually does: he has sacked off the corporate life to head to the hills, where he makes his own wine and has restored a quite remarkable 16th-century convent. Here he has created a makeshift museum, full of his collection of carved stone going back to Roman times. At 11.30am he uncorks several bottles of his wine made, to our excitement, from vines that emerged unscathed by the phylloxera that destroyed the vineyards of Europe in the 19th century. It is a thrillingly rare experience, made more delightful by del Olmo's general sense of joie de vivre. Soon, we are joined by his wife and baby daughter, and there is little wine left. We pour ourselves into the taxi home, utterly charmed by this rare show of hospitality and authenticity. These are the things that make this driving holiday such a remarkable find. So often, travel is a trade-off between luxury and authenticity. The problem with places off the beaten track is that they aren't well-equipped for high-end tourism. The problem with places well-equipped for high-end tourism is, well, they are full of high-end tourism. What a joy to find a means of experiencing the best of both. And it doesn't hurt that it's accompanied by vast rivers of red wine. Charlotte Ivers was a guest of the Luxury Holiday Company, which has five nights' B&B from £1,935pp on a Gastronomy & Wellness in Central Spain itinerary, including flights, car hire, spa treatments, a wine experience and some extra meals ( This article contains affiliate links that can earn us revenue By Richard Mellor Despite one of the main Camino de Santiago pilgrimage routes passing through its compact centre, Logroño remains wonderfully untouristy, aided by the absence of an airport (trains from Bilbao take two and a half hours). The capital of the winemaking Rioja region, it has an elegant old town where all 60-odd tapas joints have their own speciality — be it Juan y Pinchame's langoustine and pineapple skewers, Bar Ángel's fried mushrooms or Torres Gastrobar's legendary calamari-filled buns with lightly spiced bravas sauce. Logroño also does a fine line in bodegas — Franco-Españolas, just across the Ebro River from the old town, was once visited by Hemingway (tours £23; — and, best of all, is exceptionally affordable, even on a Saturday night on the main street, Calle del Laurel. Equally good value and just off that street is the chic Sercotel Calle Mayor hotel, inside a 400-year-old Room-only doubles from £75 ( Fly to Bilbao There's no doubting Girona's headline act. El Celler de Can Roca is the creation of the three Roca brothers — head chef Joan, pastry chef Jordi and sommelier Josep — and has three Michelin stars for its bravura takes on Catalan cuisine (15-course tasting menu, £270). It has topped charts of the world's best restaurants and spawned many sister establishments that are far easier to get into, including a natural wine bar, a comfort-food restaurant and a fancy ice cream parlour ( But this handsome, Catalan-speaking medieval city, 40 minutes by train from Barcelona, also has a raft of other great restaurants to try, including tiny BionBo, where each day's unique, wildly inventive menu might be themed to comedy, sport or music (six courses, £38; As for somewhere to stay, let's turn back to the Rocas: Jordi's Casa Cacao chocolate shop also includes 15 cosy bedrooms (and a rooftop terrace).Details B&B doubles from £219 ( Fly to Girona On the Mediterranean between Andalusia and Valencia, Murcia is a dream for vegetarians. Much produce hails from its surrounding, Moorish-era market gardens, while the local, lauded Torre Pacheco melons and Cieza peaches have protected geographical indication status. Delicious bomba rice and paprika made using ñora peppers are other staples, with zarangollo — scrambled eggs loaded with courgette and onion — paparajotes, a dessert involving batter-fried lemon leaves dusted in icing sugar, among the classic dishes. Far more ambitious takes on those await at Frases, down an alleyway near the grand, gothic-baroque cathedral. Awarded a Michelin star in November, this informal haunt champions a distinctly regional larder (five courses, £63; Nearby, past squares that throng on summer nights, is the simple, stylish Hotel B&B doubles from £74 ( Fly to Murcia Woody Allen's favourite Spanish city is a heartland for the produce of Spain's lush northwest. Most famously there's Asturian cider which, poured from a dramatic height to inject effervescence, can be tried in various old-school sidrerias along lively Calle Gascona, ideally in cahoots with platters of pixin (fried monkfish chunks) and tangy Cabrales cheese, Spain's stilton. You'll also find that, alongside good chorizo, in El Fontan market. Build up an appetite by roaming the student-filled old town, then consider sitting down to a staple plate of cachopo — two large, breaded beef or veal escalopes filled with ham and cheese. An atmospheric former 18th-century hospice, the Eurostars Hotel de la Reconquista serves nice breakfasts, but that doesn't mean you can't have a second one at the renowned Camilo de Blas pastry shop B&B doubles from £135 ( Fly to Oviedo Neighbouring Portugal, Extremadura is a low-profile region where good birdwatching, grand palaces and great galleries converge. Gastronomically minded visitors come chiefly for two of Spain's most sought-after foodstuffs: premier jamon iberico de bellota (Iberico ham from pigs fed on acorns) and gooey torta del Casar sheep's milk cheese. These anchor two of four food-focused driving routes — the others themed on olive oil and wine — that road-trippers might follow past quiet holm and cork oak pastures ( Otherwise, simply head for the beautiful city of Caceres, where storks nest in 12th-century walls and the sustainable, three-Michelin-starred Atrio draws foodies from as far as France for its avant-garde use of Extremaduran fare (19-course tasting menu, £236). The same old-town complex also contains 14 spacious, art-filled and spare contemporary bedrooms around a small B&B doubles from £463 ( Fly to Badajoz or Madrid

Where to eat, stay and play in Austin, Texas
Where to eat, stay and play in Austin, Texas

Daily Mail​

time12 hours ago

  • Daily Mail​

Where to eat, stay and play in Austin, Texas

EAT Baked goods There's no sweeter way to start the day than on the sunny patio at Little Swedish. Coffee is freshly roasted; pastries are oven-warm (gooey cinnamon rolls £5); and sandwiches (above, £11) are made to order – choose your favourite bread, meat, cheese, veg and condiment ( Tex-Mex Locals queue for Güero's Taco Bar, where the hand-shaken margaritas are spicy. If you're (really) hungry, order the No. 1 Dinner (£16): a beef or chicken taco, an enchilada, a tamale, guacamole and chilli con queso; oh, also rice and charro beans ( Walk-in A bar with a good wine list, sharing plates and outdoor seating, no reservation required? That's Rosie's Wine Bar. Tuesday is paella (£25); any other night, the fried calamari (£10), endive salad with comté cheese (£10), and saffron rice croquettes with 'nduja (£9) will do the trick ( STAY Private haven Southern hospitality meets rock'n'roll opulence at Hotel Saint Cecilia. Set around the gardens of an 1880s Victorian home, the 20-room retreat attracts writers, artists and musicians – Foo Fighters recorded Saint Cecilia on-site – drawn by its seclusion, luxe Hästens beds and outdoor pool (above; doubles from £323, Downtown digs What rooms at Citizen M Austin Downtown lack in size (they're as wide as the king-size beds are long) they make up for in coloured mood lights, blackout curtains and a smart TV, all controllable from your bed on the iPad (doubles from £112, Ranch life After something more spacious? In rural town Dripping Springs, 30 minutes from Austin, rental property Dripping Springs Social has views of Texas Hill Country, an outdoor pool, hot tub and barn-turned-games room (from £88 per person per night, based on 20 sharing; Scenic route See the city's landmarks and murals by electric bike. In two and a half hours, Barton Springs Bike Rental's tour shows you Zilker Park, Austin Central Library, the original Whole Foods Market (it's now international) and the Texas State Capitol (£53pp, helmets, sunscreen and bottled water included; Western gear South Congress Avenue should come with a spending warning. There's Allens Boots (above), Tecovas and Heritage Boot Co for – yep – cowboy boots, Maufrais for custom hats, Kendra Scott for demi-fine jewellery and Madewell for jeans. Late nights No trip to the live music capital of the world is complete without a night at a dimly lit jumpin' joint. The Continental Club ( a fixture since 1955, hosts gigs nightly, some after midnight. Or there's basement bar The Elephant Room for jazz performances (

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store