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The Mediterranean hot list
May 2025

The Mediterranean • Insider guides • The Mediterranean hot list May 2025

What we’re loving in May 2025 (and you will too)

Stay informed and stay inspired! The Mediterranean hot list is your monthly dossier of what’s shaping the cultural and creative landscape across the Mediterranean. From smart new openings and design-forward projects to events worth pencilling into your diary, we spotlight the ideas and initiatives that matter. Whether you’re a local with a keen eye on your surroundings or a traveller seeking authentic inspiration, this is your curated guide to the things that are getting our attention (and deserve your’s, too).

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Top photography courtesy of Henrique Seruca and Praia do Canal Nature Retreat

Esperit Roca: nature’s brutalist banquet in Catalonia

Set atop a 19th-century military fortress on Girona’s hills, Esperit Roca is the newest venture from the Roca brothers – their flagship El Celler de Can Roca boasts three Michelin stars. Interior architect Andreu Carulla worked with local piedra de Girona limestone to create monolithic counters, bespoke lamps and concrete benches, balancing raw materials with oak and linen touches. Head chef Joan Roca focuses on wild and farmed ingredients, serving dishes like an orange salad pairing citrus with mussels and sea urchin and a pumpkin trilogy dressed in juice, milk and oil from the fruit itself. Beyond the restaurant itself, you’ll find the 16-room Hotel Esperit Roca, featuring minimalist suites with floor-to-ceiling windows that look out over Catalonia’s mountains and woodlands and an L-shaped pool carved into the fortress walls.

Esperit Roca
Carrer Major
Sant Julià de Ramis
Girona
Spain

Photography courtesy of Salva López and Esperit Roca

La Fondation in Paris: where brutalism meets boutique luxury

La Fondation’s building, designed by architecture firm PCA-Stream, stands as an exposed concrete structure with brutalist accents and large panoramic windows. Roman & Williams Interiors has draped those austere lines in soft linen window treatments and punctuated stark walls with playful, locally sourced artworks. Upstairs, the hotel has 58 rooms – including three suites – that feel fresh and full of personality. You might spot a terrazzo basin in one, a velvet armchair in another. Nothing’s too polished or too predictable – every detail feels handpicked. Brasserie La Base on the first floor is the go-to spot for elevated bistro classics and espressos. Come evening, the eighth-floor bistronomic restaurant shifts gears with modern, vegetable-forward dishes paired with city views. And don’t miss the rooftop bar, a must for sunset cocktails over the rooftops of Paris.

La Fondation
40 Rue Legendre
Paris
France

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Photography courtesy of Romain Ricard and La Fondation

Sunnei: the non-design nexus of fashion, food and art in Milan

Sunnei’s new Milan flagship store, café and gallery inside Palazzina Sunnei spans two connected three-floor buildings where Sunnei’s design studio rubs shoulders with public areas, literally blurring the line between workshop and shopfront. The interior design was created by creative directors Loris Messina and Simone Rizzo in collaboration with local design practice 2050+. 2050+’s non-design approach layers raw concrete floors, exposed beams and modular fixtures with textile and colour accents. Floor-to-ceiling windows flood the interior with light and frame views of the creative studio beyond, reinforcing Sunnei’s ethos of openness. Just steps from the racks of knitwear and outerwear, the café, run by Tommaso Vergano and Anastasia Posca, serves speciality coffee alongside minimalist bites. Behind the shop, a 50 sqm gallery launched on April 17, showcasing emerging Milanese artists and highlighting Sunnei’s collaborative spirit.

Sunnei
Via Privata Pietro Cironi 15
Milano
Italy

Photography courtesy of Sunnei

Torel Quinta da Vacaria: a 400-year-old vineyard design retreat in Norte

Torel Quinta da Vacaria stands amid one of the Douro Valley’s oldest estates – first documented in 1616 as a Jesuit property – and spans 400 hectares overlooking the Douro River near Alijó. Its original chapel and wine cellars remain focal points. When the Marec Group took over in 2015, Studio Astolfi and Luís Miguel Oliveira chose schist, corten steel, wood and stone to echo the valley’s hues. Inside, interior designer Joana Astolfi embraced cork, straw and timber textures alongside earthy tones, punctuated by bright-red accents in lounges and lobbies. A subterranean wing houses Calla Silent Wellness & Spa, where grape-seed scrubs, schist-stone massages and Elemis treatments unfold within a glass-lined hammam and sauna complex. Schistó, the fine-dining restaurant, draws on local grains and river fish for tasting menus that echo the terroir, while 16 Legoas poolside serves casual meals.

Torel Quinta da Vacaria
Q.ta da Vacaria
Vilarinho dos Freires
Portugal

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Photography courtesy of Luis Ferraz and Torel Quinta da Vacaria

Journey: a 24/7 creative playground in Paris

Journey’s easygoing energy immediately draws you in – breakfast through brunch, dinner and late-night hangs all feel equally at home here. Interior designer Jessica Mille has blended raw, waxed concrete with deep green marble surfaces and sculptural tripodal chairs inspired by Ashanti fertility statues, each piece quietly celebrating craftsmanship from Ghana. Downstairs, a snug boudoir channels the best of ’60s conversation pits. Powder-pink velvet banquettes curve around forest-green drapes, creating a private nook that’s perfect for sipping on cocktails. Here, the lighting is low and the acoustics are intimate. The all-day menu shifts from ricotta pancakes for breakfast to a trio of tacos at lunchtime, then to mushroom-filled portobellos by dinner. And don’t skip the Liège waffles or that famed vanilla crème flan – trust us, its golden wobble alone is worth the trip.

Journey
44 Rue des Petits Carreaux
Paris
France

Photography courtesy of Salomé Rateau

Portella Palma: a 17th-century artist’s haven reborn in Mallorca

As soon as you step into Portella Palma, you feel the weight of its 17th-century walls and the hush of its secret courtyard. Once the studio of artist Joaquín Torrents Lladó, this casal was reborn in February 2024 by siblings Ines and Enrique Miró-Sans with Festen and Gras Reynés Architecture. They stripped back interiors to limewashed walls, terracotta floors and glass fixtures by Gordiola, weaving a monastic calm that still feels warmly lived-in. The suites feature bespoke touches like custom iron hooks, oak-trimmed windows that frame the courtyard views and soft Moroccan rugs. Here, your day begins with a visit to the stone-built hammam before enjoying a Kobido facial. Come sunset, make your way to the rooftop terrace, where, with a glass of local wine in hand, you can take in the Cathedral and Arab Baths aglow against the Mallorcan sky.

Portella Palma
C/ de la Portella 9
Palma
Illes Balears
Spain

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Photography courtesy of Portella Palma

Bungalow 7: mid-century riviera glamour in Athens

Set in Glyfada on the Athenian Riviera, Bungalow 7 channels the mid-century charisma of the original Asteria beach club, showcasing both its nostalgic spirit and a fresh wave of contemporary luxury. Athens-based ST_Architects, led by co-owner and creative director Apollo Papatheocharis, reimagined the former Asteria site as interconnected indoor and outdoor spaces that flow like a sprawling beach house. Inside, wood-panelled walls, marble floors and floor-to-ceiling windows flood every corner with light and frame sea glimpses beyond. Tropical-patterned wallpaper and pockets of greenery add playful accents, while custom mid-century furnishings add sophistication. The monumental marble bar, cloaked in warm wood and dark tiles, anchors the foyer with a hint of mystery. You can enjoy Japanese-Mediterranean dishes served on-site by Chef Ntinos Fotinakis and relax by the outdoor pool flanked by retro daybeds or enjoy the two private beaches.

Bungalow 7
Leof. Poseidonos 110
Glifada
Greece

Photography courtesy of Mirto Iatropoulou and Bungalow 7

Praia do Canal Nature Retreat: aubtle eco-luxury on Algarve’s wild coast

Arriving at Praia do Canal Nature Retreat, the hush of 220 hectares of unspoiled cliffs and Atlantic breeze washes over you. This five-star resort offers 56 minimalist rooms and suites that emerge from the landscape like sculpted earthworks. Designed by Atelier Bugio’s João Favila Menezes, its reinforced concrete structures mirror the sheer cliffs, while terracotta-patterned floors and a 50-metre infinity pool hover above the landscape. Inside, interior designer Constança de Castro Fernandes found inspiration in nature to bring the interiors to life, leading to interiors inspired by earthy colours and a particular North African aesthetic. On-site, you’ll find the Esteva spa, equipped with heated interior and exterior swimming pools, a Turkish bath, a Finnish sauna and a bio sauna. For dining, you can choose between three restaurants run by Chef Marcelo Santos – Azeitona, Zimbro and the Medronho Bar & Lounge.

Praia do Canal Nature Retreat
Herdade Vale dos Polvos
Aljezur
Portugal

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Photography courtesy of Henrique Seruca and Praia do Canal Nature Retreat

Abasotas Food Studio: the sweetest ATM in Bilbao

Founded in 2016 by husband-and-wife Nikola Susaeta and Isabel Senta, Abasotas Food Studio began as a humble food truck in Barrika. In March 2025, the duo unveiled their playful Abasotas Food Studio – quirkily stylised as aaA® – in downtown Bilbao, a seven square metre micro-retail ATM kiosk dispensing fresh pastries around the clock. Basque design studio Pensando en blanco took cues from Japanese vending machines and traditional cash-point aesthetics for the kiosk’s minimalist interior. The Italian-made vending machine is engineered to maintain the perfect temperature and humidity for each pastry. Behind the scenes, the ATM continuously syncs sales and inventory data with the Barrika bakery, guaranteeing a steady supply of freshly baked goods.

Abasotas Food Studio
Errepidea Nagusia 15A
Elexalde
Bizkaia
Spain

Photography courtesy of Abasotas Food Studi0

Paris Texas: the made-in-Italy shoe brand has a new home in Milan

Shoe brand Paris Texas has opened a sleek new showroom in Milan’s Castello district, bringing its boundary-pushing boot designs home to Italy. Occupying a unit in an early 19th-century building by Giovanni Antolini, the space was entirely reimagined by Studioboom. Entry is through a minimalist portal that gives way to a cavernous room defined by floor-to-ceiling stainless-steel columns, cleverly concealing wiring inside monolithic collars that also divide the collections. Ahead, a futuristic stainless-steel tunnel transitions into expanses of Juparanà granite. A newly installed mezzanine floats above, creating an intimate upper gallery for limited editions and archival pieces. The ground level is anchored by a monolithic stone table within a glass-encased meeting room, balanced by a circular sofa upholstered in the brand’s signature Texas Rose nubuck, a dusty pink carpet underfoot, adds a soft counterpoint to the industrial palette.