Carnival has begun! – at least in the Netherlands and Germany, where November 11th marks the start of the Carnival season. At 11 minutes past 11, to be precise. There are various explanations of origins of this apparently strange timing, including the co-incidence with the timing of the end of the First World War. But the most logical explanation seems to be that 11 is the ‘fool’s number’, stuck between the more usual 10 and 12. Carnival season 2026 is open! Whatever the expl

A new twist on the local-tourist debate in Amsterdam is marked by this ironic sticker appearing in the city centre. Tensions around the growing number of ex-pats in the city have been rising as housing shortages have sharpened and populist anti-migrant sentiment has grown. Amsterdam is particularly popular as an ex-pat destination because of the widespread use of English, the open and tolerant nature of the city and the varied cultural scene. Officially, the city is still ope

One of the common strategies to deal with the challenges of touristification in destinations such as Barcelona has been to push for ‘quality tourism’. The idea is that fewer tourists can generate just as much economic benefit, as long as they spend more. Alongside attracting tourists who stay longer and spend more, Barcelona’s strategy now aims to spread tourism throughout Catalunya, easing pressure on the city itself. Quality tourism? Recent figures indicate that tourist arr

There was a time when just going to the Alpujarras, with their picturesque white villages nestling in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Andalusia, was enough for a fulfilling holiday. Those days are long gone, as travellers increasingly seek meaning and fulfilment from their holidays. A writer from the Guardian discovered as much when invited to sample a ‘wild clay ceramics retreat’ at Las Mecías , a “regenerative farm & experiential guesthouse in the Alpujarras”. If this