20260826 Vacation Plans

Big Vacation - Thessaloniki - Naples - Athens - Palaio Faliro Photo Festival 2026 (September 4 – 13, 2026) - Co-hosted by Moments Collective along the Athenian coast, this open-air and indoor festival showcases 200 selected international street, portrait, and fine-art photographers printed on large-format media. - Aosta Valley, Italy - Sebastião Salgado: Glaciers (until Sep 27) - Venue: Forte di Bard (a massive 19th-century fortress in the Alpine mountains near Turin/Milan) - The exhibition features 54 large-format, high-contrast black-and-white photographs showcasing the world's most endangered permanent snow and ice environments. Curated by Lélia Wanick Salgado, it applies Salgado's deeply humanist, monumental documentary style to the rapidly changing frozen corners of the planet. Mini Vacation

• Arles / Montpellier
  • Les Rencontres d'Arles 2026 --> Until Oct 4
• Islas Medas
• Aiguestortes
• Madrid
  • Annie Leibovitz: Mexico 1986. The World United by a Ball --> June 19 - Sep 20
    • Link 2
  • Jekyll & Hyde
• Deauville, France
  • Sebastião Salgado: MEP Collection
    • Located in a beautifully renovated Franciscan convent on the Normandy coast, this retrospective highlights Salgado’s masterworks. It features 75 pristine prints from his acclaimed Genesis series alongside historical monochrome reportage on African droughts and Latin American peasant cultures.

Sidequests

• Sant Jeroni de la Murtra
  • Unguided visit - Tuesday to Saturday 10am-1pm
  • Guided visits (pre-reserved) - Tuesday to Thursday
  • Closed August
• Delta del Llobregat
• Tarragona: The Pont del Diable Aqueduct
  • The Transit: Renfe regional train from Sants to Tarragona (1 hour), followed by EMT city bus #21 or #85 to the aqueduct park.
  • The Sidequest: Walk across the top of Les Ferreres (Pont del Diable), a 2,000-year-old Roman aqueduct suspended 27 meters above a pine forest ravine. Afterward, head into town to explore the Roman amphitheatre sitting directly above the Mediterranean.
  • Photo Op: Standing in the pine forest canyon looking straight up through the double-tiered Roman archways.
• Colònia Güell: Gaudí’s Underground Architecture Lab
  • The Transit: FGC lines S3, S4, or R5 from Plaça Espanya to Colònia Güell (25 minutes).
  • The Sidequest: Walk through a quiet 19th-century industrial worker colony and enter Gaudí’s UNESCO-listed unfinished crypt—his testing ground for the catenary arches and leaning columns later used at Sagrada Família.
  • Photo Op: Textured brickwork, tilted basalt columns, and custom stained-glass light patterns inside the crypt.
• Besalú: The Fortified Gateway Bridge
  • The Transit: Teisa regional bus from Gran Via / Pau Claris directly to Besalú (1 hour 45 minutes).
  • The Sidequest: Cross the iconic, 12th-century angled stone bridge equipped with a fortified gate tower, then explore the town's underground medieval mikveh (Jewish ritual bath).
  • Photo Op: Shooting low from the gravel banks of the Fluvià River to capture the seven stone arches and gateway tower against the surrounding hills.
• Hostalric: Volcanic Fortress & Medieval Towers
  • The Transit: Rodalies R11 train from Sants or Sant Andreu to Hostalric (1 hour).
  • The Sidequest: Hike up to an 18th-century star-shaped military fortress built on top of a volcanic hill, then walk along 600 meters of preserved 14th-century defensive walls and climb the Torre dels Moros.
    • Check out the bomb-proof gallery. Its bomb-proof gallery is considered as one of the most spectacular parts of the castle and one of the most unique in the whole of Catalonia.
  • Photo Op: Standing on the high ramparts looking out across the Montseny mountain range.
• Sant Sadurní d'Anoia: Underground Cava Caves & Modernisme
  • The Transit: Rodalies R4 train from Sants or Plaça de Catalunya to Sant Sadurní d'Anoia (45 minutes).
  • The Highlight: Food/Drink & Architecture
  • The Sidequest: Tour the subterranean cellars of Caves Codorníu, designed by Catalan Modernista architect Josep Puig i Cadafalch. Ride electric trains through miles of underground wine cellars before sitting down for a cava and local charcuterie pairing.
  • Photo Op: Brick catenary arches and glowing lantern light framing thousands of aging bottles in the subterranean passages.
• Cardona: Impregnable Fortress & Subterranean Salt Mines
  • The Transit: ALSA bus from Estació del Nord directly to Cardona (1 hour 45 minutes).
  • The Highlight: Massive Ruins & Unique Nature
  • The Sidequest: Tour the towering 9th-century Cardona Castle—a fortress that famously never fell in siege—then descend underground into the Salt Mountain Cultural Park to explore massive, naturally formed salt caves.
  • Photo Op: Light bouncing off white and reddish salt stalactites deep inside the subterranean mine caverns.