Nothing says Mediterranean like white-sand beaches, soft wind, and gentle waves. And the Salento peninsula in Italy’s Puglia region is surrounded by all three on three sides. With so many options, it’s sometimes hard to pick which beach to visit. This guide will help you find just the right one.

The Salento peninsula has the Adriatic Sea to the east and the Ionian Sea, with the Gulf of Taranto, to the west. As a general rule among locals, if the wind is blowing from the east, the Ionian Sea is more gentle, and if the wind is from the west, expect a mild Adriatic Sea. But don’t expect Pacific Coast-style waves, the Mediterranean Sea is gentle 9 out of 10 days.

Torre dell’Orso

Located on the Adriatic, this beach is my favorite. It exudes a  magical feeling with cliffs wrapping up and down the coast on either side of it while the remains of an old tower stand on the cliffs to the left. Unfortunately, the small beach is very crowded in August. From Lecce, the #103 Bus runs every few hours in the summer and takes 30 minutes.

Torre Chianca

Located on the Adriatic, this is one of the longest beaches in Salento and it features a cold spring that flows from behind the beach into the sea. If the Mediterranean isn’t cold enough for you, the spring waters certainly will be. Kitesurfing is very popular up the beach, where rentals are available. From Lecce, the #34 Bus takes visitors to the beach in about 30 minutes. Parking is widely available.

Gallipoli

Located on the Ionian Sea, the beach in Gallipoli can be cramped in the summer. But it does offer a perfect combination of sand and sun with a quintessential Italian town as a backdrop. The city of Gallipoli is one-half island and one-half mainland, and the two are connected by a short bridge that pedestrians can comfortably access. The beach is located on the small island and is within easy walking distance to incredible sites, such as an Aragonese Castle and the Baroque Catedrale di Sant’Agata.

Porto Cesáreo

Located on the Ionian, the beaches of Porto Cesáreo are numerous because the city is itself built on a small peninsula. A protected bay ensures that the surf at these beaches will always be friendly. The most easily accessible beach is located on the southern side of the city. If you want a truly private experience, a series of small islands fill the bay and fisherman charge a small fare to take visitors to them.

Santa Maria di Léuca

The city of Santa Maria di Leuca is located on the very tip of the Salento peninsula. Once you’re there, there’s nowhere else to go but straight into the sea. The town offers many beach amenities, from umbrellas, beach chairs, and cocktails, to comfortable bars and seaside dining. Find more secluded beaches on the western side of the city, where large floats have been built for sunbathing right on top of the waves.

The Cliffs of Gagliano del Capo

If you prefer cliff jumping to lying in the sun, you should check out Gagliano del Capo, located far south on the Adriatic. A tiny inlet, popular among locals, sneaks inside the otherwise sheer cliff coast. Highway SP358 actually crosses over the inlet on a bridge that affords striking views of the sea and those jumping into it. A stairway behind the bridge takes you down to the sea the gentle way.

During July and August, the beaches in Salento can be overrun with Italian tourists, so it’s important to arrive early to get a good spot.

Like most of those spectacular northern destinations, you can’t accuse Helsinki of being a budget destination – but there are numerous cheap or free activities if you keep your eyes out. One of my favourite stops in Helsinki was the old Market Hall, easy to find on the harbour, and a great place to visit whether you’re there in the depths of winter or the sunlight of summer.

The Market Hall (Kauppatori if your map is in Finnish) is in a large brick building overlooking the harbour, and once you get inside you’ll quickly be overwhelmed by the range of foods and local products the various stands have on offer. I admit only to buying some locally-made sweets, but there were plenty of more exotic foods to try, with a few reindeer products (I couldn’t get past the Rudolph image to actually eat reindeer, but I’m told it’s good).

You can get more info about the Market Hall at the website but it’s only available in Finnish or Swedish – at a minimum you’ll be able to recognise that it opens every morning at 8.00am, and entry is free.

Prague’s Jewish quarter is not a large area, but don’t be fooled, the six sites operated by the Jewish Museum of Prague offer enough information and artifacts to fill your day.  The museum consists of The Maisel Synagogue, the Spanish Synagogue, the Pinkas Synagogue, the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Klausen Synagogue, and the Ceremonial Hall.  Unfortunately, pictures are not allowed in the museum, except for the Old Jewish Cemetery which charges a small fee.

Each site offers something different: a different exhibition, a different historical time period, a different part of the Jewish culture.  All have an incredible wealth of information, almost an overwhelming amount of information.  So much so, that to read and process everything is a wonderful, albeit frustrating, experience.

While all six sites are beautiful, one site stands above the rest.  The Pinkas Synagogue.  I was, quite simply, not prepared to enter the synagogue.  Staring back at me when I turned the corner was a 16^th century synagogue with whitewashed walls.  But these whitewashed walls were not the effect of some sort of renovation project.  They were instead covered in black and red hand writing.  From wall to wall.  Floor to ceiling.  The black and red writing screamed silently at me as I walked through the synagogue.

The walls of Pinkas Synagogue are lined with the names, dates of birth and death, and last known area of residence of each of the nearly 80,000 Holocaust victims in Bohemia and Moravia.  The small handwriting and tight style gives scope to that number, 80,000.

Upstairs is an exhibition displaying artwork created by the children of the Terezin Concentration Camp, where many of those 80,000 names met their end.  The artwork of the children, coupled with the thousands of names on the wall, is a chilling reminder of the Holocaust and the devastating effect on cities like Prague.

I visited Riga, the capital of Latvia for a few days with my family as part of a summer holiday in Latvia and Estonia, and thought I’d share with you some of the things I enjoyed with my family, as well as other things that friends have recommended.

Old Town Riga

At the heart of Riga, you can wander round the cobbled medieval streets or relax in the many bars and cafes.  Start your walk  in Town Hall square and see the impressive House of the Blackheads, which was once used by merchants but is now a museum and concert hall. Then visit the free Museum of Occupation, which our whole family enjoyed, despite the unlikely subject.  You can take a virtual tour of some of the exhibits, such as the felt boots and fabric face masks worn by political prisoners to keep out the cold here. Still in the old town, take the elevator to the top of the tower of St Peter’s church for a great view of the whole of Riga.

Neighbourhood walking

A student friend recommended that for something a bit more off-beat, you could visit the Andrejsala neighbourhood of Riga which was an industrial area by the docks but now houses venues for art and music – apparently there are some great music clubs and street-art here. You can walk there in 15 minutes from the centre.

If your interests are more in Art Nouveau than industrial architecture, then take a walk up Albertas Iela or Albert Street to see beautiful art nouveau style apartment buildings in one of the most expensive residential areas of the city.

Cafes, bars and nightlife

Although we were travelling en famille, so didn’t spend that much time partying, I did ask my local friend for some recommendation and these were his favourites;

- Cuba Cafe at Jauniela St,15 for coffee and snacks in the day and cocktails and music in the evening all with a Latin American theme. Free WiFi and a chance to try out your salsa some nights.
- John Lemon Bar at Peldu, 21 is the place where arty types go for light meals, wraps, pizzas and breakfast all day.
- Just opposite at Peldu 26/28 is a popular alternative nightclub called Pulkvedim Neviens Neraksta (translated as Nobody writes to the colonel)
- For a bar with a great view of the city try the Skyline bar at Reval Hotel Latvija, although the drinks will be a bit more pricey here.

A trip to the seaside at Jurmala

Being with the family, we could’t miss a trip to the seaside. Since the 1930s the seaside resort of Jurmala  has drawn holiday makers and in the Soviet era became a popular holiday destination for Communist Party officials. It was famous for its spa treatments and healthy outdoor activities. Nowadays there are plenty of activities around the beach, restaurants and cafes and concerts in the summer. There are regular trains or buses to Jurmala from the centre of Riga and the journey takes 30-40 minutes.

And if you are travelling with children you might like to combine the trip to Jurmala with a visit to the Livu Aquapark which is just outside Riga in the direction of Jurmala. My children spent many happy hours there on the waterslides.

If you’ve been to Riga, do share your favourite things to see in the comments.

When the large food venders rolled in, I knew this was going to be a big one. Lecce features events of all shapes and sizes on a weekly basis each summer, but the biggest celebration of all is the Sant’Oronzo Festival. The streets are lined with elaborate, blazing light displays as well as food and merchandise stands of all types. The annual event takes place on the 26th of August, and marks the end of a long month of rest and relaxation for Italians. Concerts also take place in every arena in the city, many of which are outdoors. One such concert takes place at the ancient amphitheater in the center of the main piazza, and the music can be heard drifting up the streets in all directions. The event features the very best light display that I’ve ever seen.

The festival begins with a solemn parade in honor of the patron saint of Lecce, Saint Orontius of Lecce (Sant’Oronzo in Italian). Sant’Oronzo is famously attributed with saving the city from a plague in 1656, and is now honored with a statue of him which stands atop a tall pillar in Piazza Sant’Oronzo. Beginning at 7pm, the parade features a brass band, religious singing, monks and nuns dressed in traditional attire, and large gold and silver statues of saints that are carried on biers by priests and military men. This rather short, but impressive parade winds its way through the whole length of the town and back.

Several of the largest streets in Lecce are taken over by street merchants who sell trinkets, toys, cookware, and other odds and ends. The food venders are nearly as eclectic, selling everything from hot-dog and French-fry pizzas to fresh olives and pate. I chose to stay away from these areas because they were so busy. Once you get lost in one, it’s very hard to escape!

The music struck up all around the city after nightfall. My favorite performance, modern dance with accompanying music, took place in the Teatro Romano—an ancient Roman theater in the city center. The Amphiteatro Romano in Piazza Sant’Oronzo featured a complete symphony that could be heard everywhere in the massive square. I’m not sure why anyone would pay for a seat!

The most impressive element of this celebration is the massive display of lights that fill the city. The streets of light all lead to Piazza Sant’Oronzo where a towering dome of light stands nearly 25 or 30 feet high. When there are no bands playing beneath the dome, you can walk beneath it and stare into the thousands of twinkling lights for a memorable visual experience. It took the city an entire week to erect the lights, and even three weeks after the event, the lights were still up, though no longer lit at night. It seemed that the people of Lecce were simply not ready to let go of this fabulous festival.