The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
CONTEMPORARY EUROPE
It would be wrong to say that techno originated in the German capital – Detroit deserves the credit there. But it became the soundtrack of reunification after the Berlin Wall fell – its unpretentious accessibility, pounding beats and euphoria rush bringing East and West together for raves in abandoned buildings, and all-night parties in dingy but packed clubs.
Key location:
BERLIN
Tresor, one of the clubs of the era, is still in operation (tresorberlin.com).
Essential track: D-Shake: Techno Trance (Paradise Is Now) (1990).
How to do it: A four-night mini-break at the four-star Melia Berlin, departing from Bristol on June 23, costs from £375 per person with Last Minute (0871 277 1070; lastminute.com).
STOCKHOLM
Abba is not the only act to have emerged in Sweden’s capital, but you might not know it, such is the fondness in which the 1974 Eurovision-winning foursome are held. More than 200 million record sales and two divorces later, Stockholm is happy to eulogise them, too.
Key location: Abba The Museum (abbathemuseum.com) takes a sweetly nostalgic look at the group – not just in a broad range of costumes and memorabilia, but in a hologram karaoke set-up that lets you become a “fifth member”, and sing “with” the band on stage.
Essential track: Abba: Waterloo (1974). How to do it: A three-night stay at the five-star Nobis Hotel costs from £786 per person, including flights and transfers, via Kirker Holidays (020 7593 1899; kirkerholidays.com).
The Portuguese capital’s cultural tapestry is threaded with soft strands of fado – the often mournful musical style that took form in the city in the early 19th century. Numerous fine practitioners of the genre have appeared in that time, including Amalia Rodrigues, Carlos do Carmo and Antonio Zambujo, but their songs share the same melancholy.
Key locations:
LISBON
Fado’s roots are buried in the Alfama district – where the Clube de Fado (clubedefado.pt) offers dinner as well as music. The Museu do Fado (museudofado.pt) salutes an art form that has been on Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage list since 2011. Essential track: Amalia Rodrigues: Maria Lisboa (1962).
How to do it: A four-night stay at the five-star Pousada de Lisboa, flying from Gatwick on June 16, starts at £717 per
SAN ANTONIO
A town in size, a giant in reputation, this hedonistic enclave on the west coast of Ibiza has been described as “the clubbing capital of the universe”. It’s a fair description, thanks in particular to the two “superclubs’’ – Es Paradis (esparadis.com) and Eden (edenibiza.com).
Key location:
Cafe Del Mar (cafedelmaribiza.es), the waterfront bar that has been a popular haven for sunset cocktails and lunchtime (or thereabouts) recoveries since 1980. Essential track: Saffron Stone: Love Trap (2019).
How to do it: A seven-night break at the town’s Ibiza Rocks Hotel, flying from Manchester on Aug 7, starts at £1,061 a head, with Jet2 Holidays (0800 408 6260; jet2holidays.com).