In Greece, Easter is not just a holiday; it is a celebration of life, faith, and hope – a tradition that unites families and communities in ways that few other occasions can. It is a time of reflection, renewal, and festivity, where centuries-old customs are lovingly upheld. The journey to this sacred day reaches its final peak on Lazarus Saturday, which marks the start of the most important week in the Greek Christian calendar – Holy Week. This day, a week before Easter, holds both religious and cultural significance, setting the stage for the symbolic meaning and importance of each day of this Holy Week, culminating in Easter itself. Lazarus Saturday is also the day that the baking begins in homes across Greece.

Madrid’s dining scene is shifting fast, but the city’s old-school bars are not disappearing without a fight. From classic tabernas to a new generation of restaurants, this is how Madrid eats now.

Chef and influencer Paula Casado shares her favorite spots for a perfect day of eating and drinking in Madrid, from a beloved La Latina bakery to a Uruguayan steakhouse, a creative dinner spot, and the city's best bars for vermut and late-night drinks.

A tapas crawl through Calle Santa Isabel, one of the best streets for local eats in Madrid – from Antón Martín Market to classic taverns serving bocadillo de calamares and croquetas.

On March 27 of this year, Monique and Josef, the Moroccan-born couple that own Patisserie Avyel, plan to roast a turmeric-coated lamb shoulder above a bed of onions. My friend Judith, whose family hails from Algeria’s Tlemcen region, will blend almonds and raisins into mlosia, a thick jam. And, in my apartment, I will simmer matzo balls in chicken broth as my Lithuanian ancestors once did. All of us Marseillais will be cooking these foods for Passover, the Jewish holiday that commemorates the exodus of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. While Jewish celebrations and cooking are as intertwined as the braided challah bread we eat on Shabbat – “all of our fêtes pass through the kitchen,” quips Frédérique, a Marseillaise with Tunisian roots.

From old-school taverns and bustling markets to neighborhood bars and late-night institutions, this guide explores where locals eat in Madrid and the dishes that define the city’s food culture.

Madrid’s markets are where the city’s food culture comes alive. From historic neighborhood mercados to chef-driven stalls and international food counters, this guide highlights some of the capital’s most vibrant places to eat, shop, and soak up everyday Madrid life.

At Calvero, chef Juanjo López turns cocido madrileño into a seven-stage meal. But beneath the restaurant format is a dish with deep domestic roots: a slow-cooked stew of chickpeas, broth, vegetables and meats that has long defined winter cooking in Madrid.

Long before natural wine became a fixture on Madrid wine lists, Fabio Bartolomei and Bendito Vinos y Vinilos were helping define the scene. This story traces how a small bar in Lavapiés and a maverick winemaker in Sierra de Gredos helped reshape what the city drinks.

Four chefs with roots in Peru, Argentina, the Philippines and Korea are helping define a new Madrid restaurant scene, far from the usual center-city map.

Being a street butcher in Naples is not for the faint of heart. “Rain, sun, wind, heat, cold… being on the street seven days a week means knowing how to face every type of weather,” says Gaetano Iavarone. He is part of the invincible team behind Macelleria Iavarone, a butcher shop in Naples’ Sant’Antonio Market run by Domenico (Mimmo) and his three sons, Gaetano, Lorenzo and Davide. The so-called “street butcher shop” has a huge display of meat outside with only a small cash register inside. Also inside is a larger photo of Gaetano the elder, Domenico’s father, who opened the butcher shop 60 years ago. Domenico took over the reins 30 years ago and now runs it with his close-knit team of sons.

In the song that became almost an anthem of Porto, the famous songwriter Rui Veloso describes the city where he was born in phrases like “of this beautiful and darkening light” and “seeing you abandoned like that in that brownish timbre.” Certainly, Veloso, one of the best-known artists in Portuguese music, wasn’t thinking about Porto during the springtime. Portugal’s second city is completely transformed when the season of flowers arrives: the weather and the mood gets sunny, lively, and colorful, an invitation for locals and tourists to go outdoors. Flowers bloom in parks, and tables in cafes and bars are crowded with people. It is the prelude of the effervescent life of the city taking shape. The portuenses (as the locals are called) know how to enjoy the city when the temperatures get warmer and the days get longer.

“Ο Μάρτης πότε γελά και πότε κλαίει” – Μarch sometimes laughs and sometimes cries. So the idiom goes here, as has this year. There are many phrases like this about March in the Greek language. Most of them (like in other cultures) focus on the weather’s instability during the month, and folk tradition believes that the weather gives us a glimpse of what will come in summer. This March was unstable, to say the least: one week it was snowing, then the next the spring sun was shining, and then again back to snowy winter! One of my favorite March traditions is donning a bracelet made with red and white thread. We call it “martis” or “martia” after the month’s name, and we make it on the last day of February and wear it on March 1.

A revived neighborhood bodega in Barcelona’s Guinardó district where traditional decor, Galician seafood, classic tapas and house vermouth draw a loyal local crowd.

Every spring, when the winter chill still stubbornly clings to our skin in Istanbul, we feel relentlessly pulled to the south. There, the sunshine is unambiguously warming, the wildflowers pop like strewn confetti across the fields, and the sea sparkles like a bright blue promise. And also, there is wine.