You might be familiar with Derry because of the popular TV sitcom Derry Girls. Yep, it’s the hometown of Erin and Co, but it’s also the Halloween capital of Ireland. Bet ya didn’t know that. And neither did we until we stumbled upon Derry Halloween.
Every October, this city transforms into a playground for the ghoulishly inclined, offering a (strong) cocktail of thrills, chills, and more spooks than your childhood self had nightmares after watching The Grudge for the first time. No? Just us?
There’s plenty to scare yourself with here: a front-row seat to the infamous Derry Halloween Carnival with its creepy clowns, haunting witches, and other not-meant-to-be-seen creatures is enough to have you passing on the pumpkin-spiced punch.
And that’s not all. Your eerie escapade continues with a selection of fiery performances, weird walking trails, and intricate lantern displays that’ll have you channelling Josh Lambert navigating The Further*.
Catch the Witchy Wonderland, dance with the Wailing Nuns, listen to Uncle Doom and his Organ of Gloom (no, we didn’t make that up) and improve your skills under the Zombie Circus’ big top.
But you won’t just have your friends to keep you company. The spirits of this city’s historical figures have been waiting all year for a good yap. They’ve escaped from their workhouses and slipped between the bars of their prison cells, ready to join in the horrifying Halloween festivities with a prime spot right by your side.
They’re terrifying enough, but the real spine-tingler is the atmosphere. As the sun sets, the walls of Derry whisper tales of centuries gone by, and the air thickens with anticipatory spooks and scares. Dare to join?
The enchanting Rastrello hotel in Italy’s Umbria/Tuscany region has just snagged its first ever B Corp certification – in layman’s terms, it’s doing the planet a solid. This prestigious certification means Rastrello’s facing issues of sustainability, social impact and transparency head on and, to be fair, receiving eco-warrior status is no easy feat.
There’s plenty of hoop jumping involved including comprehensive assessments that are more intrusive than every first date you’ve ever been on – “So, tell me about your environmental practices?” – and rigorous review processes before you can wear that B Corp badge with pride.
And this charming hotel wears it really well, it did take them 9 months to receive its coveted status after all. They’ve swapped out single-use plastics for reusable goodies, have changed all bedding to feature organic linen and supplied each bathroom with eco-friendly toiletries (your hair can tell the difference).
They also boast a farm-to-table dining experience that would make even the pickiest eater salivate, with fresh local produce on the menu. We’re talking vegetables, herbs and fruits all from the onsite organic garden. The property even has multiple olive groves for efficient extra virgin olive oil production (B Corp certified too, of course).
Sustainability stuff aside, Rastrello promises exclusivity thanks to its modest nine rooms but what it lacks in size, it makes up for in beauty. A comfy but chic vibe oozes out of the property’s rugged stone walls and its stunning countryside views simply can’t be beat. Bravo Rastrello, bravo.
It’s that time of year again when the creepiest crawlies come out to play in the streets of London. Yep, spooky season is well and truly here – just look at the gigantic purple monster seeping through the window cracks of the city’s Leadenhall Market.
The Mandrake Hotel wants in on the action and has transformed itself into a mysterious palace of mischief right in time for Hallowen. This year, they’re throwing a Masquerade Ball, so you can expect the drinks to be strong, the costumes to be wild, and the potential for embarassing/drunken escapades to be through the hotel’s ornate roof.
Seriously, they’ve gone all out. Each low-lit room is filled with creatures James Wan wouldn’t even put in his horror films. Every part of the hotel’s decor from candelabras to wall sconces are draped in cobwebs and chances are you’ll have spotted at least 10 Phantom of the Opera’s before the night’s end.
You can also expect a cocktail menu that’s more potion than punch, featuring drinks like “The Boozy Banshee” and “Witch’s Brew.”
And you just know the entertainment is going to be a delightful mix of live music and questionable performances—think the Sanderson sisters’ rendition of “I Put a Spell on You”. You might even find yourself onstage, doing the Monster Mash in front of an audience that’s half-cackling, half-terrified you’ll jump into the crowd and start forcing them to follow your disastrous dance moves.
But don’t let that stop you. Dust off that vintage vampire cape, grab your most absurd mask, and prepare to get lost in the madness magic of halloween. Just remember: what happens at The Mandrake stays at The Mandrake… unless you wake up to a viral video of you flailing around like a zombie while leading the conga line. That fifth “Witch’s Brew” has come back to haunt you after all.
No, we’re not trying to be funny. This Bauhaus-inspired London hotspot actually has shapes for a name: a yellow triangle, a red square and a blue circle.
There’s not a single word on the bar’s exterior to help tell it apart from the dry cleaners on its left and the public library on its right and it’s that creative mystery that sees A Bar with Shapes for a Name (or Shapes for short) sitting at number 61 onThe World’s 50 Best Bars extended list.
Its love for primary colours aside, this bar’s focus on all things functionalist and minimalistic makes it a pretty cool spot to hang out – think long communal style seating, a stripped-back studio-esque design and only 20 bottles that make up the bar’s 12 cocktails on offer.
Out of those 12, there’s a few must-drinks. The ‘Pastel’ is an obvious choice thanks to its carbonation, vodka base and complex flavours of lime, rhubarb and raspberry but if gin’s more your thing, try the ‘Loop Light’. A nod to the bar’s artistic roots, this cocktail has only three ingredients (gin, citra hops and pipacha oolong tea) and is dangerously easy to drink.
You know what else is dangerous? The prices. The cocktails range between 8 – 12 pounds, and when you couple that with the bar’s closing time of 4 am, you might find that you and your bank account aren’t on speaking terms when the sun comes up.
Amaro in London’s west and Viajante87 in Notting Hill also make the annual list, sitting at 90 and 99 respectively, so who’s up for after-work drinks?
The biggest mystery surrounding the launch of the Norient Express along Norway’s coastline is why it’s taken so long for a luxury train experience to be launched on one of the world’s most scenic rail routes.
Think dramatic fjords, mountains that scrape the sky, and lush valleys. Then consider how incredible it would be to experience that jaw-dropping scenery from the comfort of a lux hotel on wheels—the Norient Express.
The six-day adventure begins when you wave goodbye to the colourful wooden houses of Bergen enroute to Trondheim, home to Scandinavia’s largest medieval building—and thumping nightlife. Of course, you’ll stop along the way, with highlights including the capital, Oslo, where you can drop in on the Norwegian royals, check out cutting-edge Scandi architecture, history and art.
But you might be torn about disembarking for a spot of sightseeing; local craftsmen have built the fully electric Norient Express’s luxury carriages to rival high-end hotel suites, and the exclusivity of the experience has been enhanced by limiting its capacity to 60 lucky passengers. The fully inclusive experience includes gourmet Norwegian cuisine in the dining compartment, an onboard fitness room and spa.
There is entertainment, including the observatory car, which provides front row seats to the Northern Lights and panoramic views of the Norwegian landscape.
So, grab 59 of your best mates, pack your suitcase, and get ready to party hard at the Norient Express bar and lounge, where the cocktails are to die for.
Need to know: The Norient Express will run on a weekly timetable, from Sunday to Thursday, with the first train due to pull out of the station in October 2025.
After a long 12-year wait, Cinque Terre’s beloved walkway, Via dell’Amore, has reopened.
Just think about it, when the iconic footpath was first roped off in 2012 after a landslide, middle-aged mums were going crazy over 50 Shades of Grey and South Korean singer PSY was Gangnam Style-ing all over the place.
Thankfully those days are behind us and mushy romantics can once again get their steps in along the ‘Path of Love’ after a 23-million-euro upgrade restored the trail.
But (there’s always a but), don’t expect the trail to be exactly the same as it was. Before its closure, visitors to the Ligurian coastline were able to scribble ‘John + Jenny 4 life’ on the rock walls and attach locks to bits of railing in a misguided effort to secure everlasting love. You can’t do that anymore.
What you can do though is buy tickets the second you’ve factored the walk into your itinerary (visitor numbers are now capped). You’ll also be prompted to reserve a specific time slot, so no sleeping in.
While this might be a little more admin than was previously needed, this 2,950-foot stretch of the best damn views you’ve ever seen, is worth it.
Have you ever had a dream and thought, ‘What the fuck was that’, but when telling your friends about it later, you can’t seem to remember any of the details?
The guys over at Rocco Forte Hotels in Rome have come up with a creative solution with their new, ‘Dream Portraits,’ experience. So, not only will you be able to remember your dreams, you’ll be able to see them – kinda scary, definitely cool.
This futuristic project uses cutting-edge technology to record your dreams, interpret what happens in them and then create a physical 3D sculpture you can display on your coffee table at home.
To participate, you have to wear a comfortable headset with EEG sensors on it that’ll monitor your brain activity while you sleep. High tech software then translates the data from your brain into audio signals, which are then turned into sound waves and so on.
It sounds technical but if you can get past the fact that it’s very similar to the synopsis of a twisted, James Wan-style horror film, this project has the ability to give you an unusual glimpse into exactly what your subconscious mind was thinking during your stay in Rome.
Was it, ‘I shouldn’t have had that second scoop of gelato’? Or, ‘I wonder how many people get arrested for taking coins out of the Trevi Fountain each year’? Maybe it was, ‘I’ve eaten so much pasta, I’m turning into a giant piece of spaghetti’.
Whatever it may be, it only costs an eye-watering AUD$24,788 to see it come to life.
The Stigull Stairway, consisting of a 40-metre-long ladder suspended above the Norwegian Fjords, sits a staggering 790 metres above the ground. Yep, 7-9-0. That’s the height of almost two and a half Eiffel Towers (sorry, it’s taken us longer than expected to get the Olympics out of our brains).
The ladder’s made up of 120 teeny tiny steps and sits at a slope of 45 degrees, which is enough to make even the steadiest of climbers a little shaky. Luckily, the attraction has a very low difficulty rating and experience level, so as long as you’re not deathly afraid of heights, you should be okay.
And when you make it to the end, hopefully with your lunch still firmly in your stomach, you’ve got the epic views from the top of Mount Hoven waiting for you. There’s also a restaurant, a gift shop (we’re sensing an ‘I survived’ t-shirt purchase in your near future) and the fjord’s famous Leon Skylift cable car to keep your adventure going.
But the stairway isn’t the only adrenaline-inducing attraction the Norwegian village of Leon has going for it. It’s also home to the Via Ferrata, one of the most spectacular climbing routes in the world, as well as a death-defying zipline and an only slightly less terrifying suspension bridge.
Roses are red, violets are blue, to have a drink at this pub, you’ll need to give up a shoe.
That’s right. Dulle Griet, located in Ghent’s famous Vrijdagmarkt square, demands beer-seekers take off one of their shoes in exchange for a 1.2-litre glass of their house beer, the Max.
To stop you from doin’ a runner with the glass, they hold your shoe hostage, place it in a basket and hoist it to the ceiling. They only give it back to you once you’ve drained every last drop of the flavourful frothy stuff.
Don’t get too carried away though. If you break the glass, it’ll set you back 90 euros (AU$146). That’s one expensive beer. And they only take cash.
We’re used to putting our best foot forward, but this isn’t the place to debut the new shoes you just spent your hard-earned pocket money on. Or to care about the germs and general stickiness that usually grace the floor of any decent drinking establishment.
It’s still worth a visit though. More than 500 different types of beer line the pub’s dusty shelves, from traditional blonde abbey ales and full-bodied quadrupels to dark Trappist beers you’ll definitely feel in the morning.
Not a huge beer drinker? Go for the vibes.
The pub’s delightful décor features wooden beams, beer barrels, church decorations, old alcohol ads, dolls, cart wheels and pig bladders (not weird at all). They even have outdoor seating for those brew-tiful sunny Belgium days. See what we did there?
Living up to every inch of its fantastical name, Copenhagen restaurant Alchemist promises an unforgettable culinary experience – probably unlike any other restaurant you’ve been to.
Born from the imaginative and boundary-pushing mind of head chef Rasmus Munk, and considering the restaurant’s three stories and mid-meal interactive performances, it’s little wonder it placed so highly on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list.
Eating here is actually a minor part of the experience.
Art. Theatre. Science. Technology. No, we’re not listing all your most hated high school subjects. Alchemist draws on these elements to redefine dining and transcend physical surroundings.
You’d be forgiven for thinking it’s more art exhibition than restaurant. With fascinating projections lighting up the dining room’s domed ceiling (think floating jellyfish and the northern lights) and a seemingly endless parade of tasty treats to try (50 to be exact), a night here will put your IKEA dining table and homemade spag bol to shame.
A reservation isn’t for the faint of heart though.
Not only do you have to ‘buy tickets’ three months in advance, but each sitting lasts between 4-6 hours, so it’s not quite the scene for that awkward first date you have coming up or the important business dinner you’ve been putting off. It’ll also set you back a minimum of AU$1,173. And that’s without the wine pairing option.
Our advice? Bring an open mind, a stacked wallet and a healthy appetite.
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