Gornji Grad is the upper town area of Zagreb. The main attraction here is the Stone Gate, an old entrance point to the city, now holding a shrine with a 16th-century statue of the Virgin Mary in a grille-covered niche. Many visitors come here to say a prayer or to light a votive candle.

Arranmore is the biggest inhabited island in County Donegal. A Gaeltacht region, many mainlanders cherish memories of visiting this island to participate in Irish-language summer schools as teenagers. Outdoor and aquatic activities are popular here, such as birdwatching, rock climbing, diving, sailing, kayaking, but most of all angling, as the sea and freshwater lakes here are rich in fish. This is the perfect place to get acquainted with the Islander spirit.

It’s all here, whether you go for the big names or those cute little boutiques you find nowhere else. And whether you prefer an upmarket department store or a covered shopping centre for your whole new wardrobe, or enjoy running from shop to shop in search of that one perfect item. Here in the Maastricht city centre, there’s something for every shopaholic, young or old, boy or girl. Comb the Grote Staat and be dazzled by all the known and lesser-known chains you find here. Take a peek at the shopping centre Entre Deux, worth a visit for its architecture alone, and for the huge shops for famous labels you’ll find here. There are still a few surprises for you in store at the shopping centre Mosae Forum, just next to the Markt. And don’t overlook the basement floor, where you’ll find some hidden gems (of the edible kind!). But it’s not all fashion, beauty, and lifestyle; there’s also a special place for books, in the amazing bookshop in the medieval Dominican church, a highlight of the city centre not to be missed. Need a breather? When you’re ready to take a break from your shopping adventure, you’ll be pleased to find that the amazing array of shops is interspersed with pubs, cafés, and charming restaurants.

You’ll feel like you’ve crossed the border, but you’re not quite there yet. Of course, you’re aware that Maastricht’s central location in the Euregio means you can be in Belgium very quickly. But you don’t really feel it until you see how the city, and the countryside around it, is layered with a unique mix of foreign influences. With the Sint Pietersberg hill, the historic caves, the vineyards, Fort Sint Pieter, and Château Neercanne as backdrop, this part of the city has everything you need to capture that holiday feeling. Sint Pieter was its own municipality until 1920. This part of the city was always outside the city walls (and so had it the toughest in times of war). Then, it was mainly farmers who lived here; now, it’s mostly families, epicureans, and a few descendants of the inhabitants of that old Sint Pieter. Today, Sint Pieter is Maastricht’s most popular residential district, not just for its beautiful houses but because of its ideal location between city and green. And it still feels like its own town, with its own social life, and charm, even though it’s just a stone’s throw away from the city park. In fact, it has the best of both worlds: village and city. Nature and culture.