The beguinages of Flanders and the Netherlands are always oases of calm and stillness, where you might still expect to see an old beguine mumbling her prayers in a doorway. Two of Ghent’s three beguinages have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Although the Old St Elizabeth Beguinage, in Begijnhofdries in Ghent, is no longer enclosed by a wall, making it simply part of the city, it still has a unique atmosphere. Today the Old St Elizabeth Beguinage is known as ‘holy corner’, a place of religious tolerance, because it has no less than three different churches: one is Roman Catholic, one is Orthodox and the other is Protestant. From bleachfield to orchard This open beguinage grew into something of a ‘beguine city’ in the 13th century, with a church, the ‘Grootjuffer’s House’, an infirmary, a chapel, more than a hundred houses for beguines, a bleachfield (a field where linen was laid out to bleach) and an orchard. After the French Revolution, with increasing industrialisation, the inhabitants moved to their new beguinage in Sint-Amandsberg in 1873.

Built in the 1300s to protect the Alcazaba and house troops, Gibralfaro Castle still has walkable ramparts with some of the best views over Malaga, the port, and the coastline. Inside, there’s a small military museum. The name comes from Jabal-Faruk, meaning 'hill of the lighthouse' in Arabic. The castle was also the site of a long siege in 1487, when Catholic forces took the city from the Moors.

Situated near the famous Aquarium, the Galata Museo del Mare is a must-visit attraction for anyone wanting to understand more of Genoa’s sea-faring past. As the biggest museum of its kind in the Mediterranean, it features high-tech displays, genuine replica galley ships, and over 6,000 original artefacts, providing a wealth of things to explore.