On 27 July, during their European tour, Pink Martini will arrive at the Teatro Lope de Vega in Madrid to present their newest project, Splendor in the Grass.

There is something distinctly macho about running for your life in front of a herd of raging bulls. Other words to describe it might be “mad” and “insane”, or, depending on what side of the fence you sit on, “brave” and “courageous”. The San Fermín festival provides cliché number one in the simplistic outside perception of gender roles in traditional Spanish culture: ladies dance flamenco; men run with bulls.

Country: Italy
Capital: Cagliari
Population (2008): 1,670,219
Cultural events: White Night (june), The Ardia, Narcao Blues (july),
Is Fassonis Regatta, Medieval Historic Show, Zeddiani Tomato Fair, Time in Jazz (aug), Ichnusa Festival, FestivAlguer (sept), European Jazz Expo (Nov), Samugheo Carnival (feb), Citrus Festival (april), Cavalcata Sarda (may).

Website: www.regione.sardegna.it

Spain as a whole is hard to put in a box: Madrid is not Catalonia is not Andalusia is not Galicia. Most travellers, even if they live in Spain for a year, only have time for so many trips. With that in mind, here’s a list of places that might not be in your top five, must-see destinations – but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be.