50 Sunday TimeS Travel AUGUST 2017 AUGUST 2017 Sunday TimeS Travel 51

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RURAL RETREATCan Toni d’en Covas Torch, sat-nav and patience are essentials if you hope to find this 18th-century farmhouse on its own wildflower-strewn plot. But stock up on day one in el supermercado and you needn’t leave ’til it’s time to fly home: you’ve lime groves, heirloom-filled rooms, a pool — and not a single neighbour. This is a chance to explore unseen northern Ibiza; beautiful Benirras beach is a 10-minute drive away. Sleeps 10 (from £3,472 a week or £347pp; airbnb.co.uk).

FOR EVERY GENERATIONVilla Roques The demand is for big houses in Ibiza (try the other Balearics if you want a dinky cottage) — and stylish Roques ticks most wishlists; it can even host small weddings. Riad-style design works brilliantly for toddlers-to-grannies since most bedrooms lead off a bright courtyard, with a couple of rooms altogether separate downstairs (privacy for teens

or sharing families). Its sleek, limestone pool area, with sunken lounge, outdoor sound system, stonking sunsets, and vast shallow end is the best you’re likely to find. Sleeps 14 (from £7,118 a week or £508pp; villaretreats.com).

CHEAP BUT CHICVilla Beegee Usually a starry owner means stellar rates, but Beegee — once owned by Barry, Robin and Maurice — is a snip. That’s not down to looks — you get hammam bathrooms, chic Arabic rugs, mixed with contemporary art — but this is an older property among pine-forested hills, so don’t expect the tech wizardry or epic views of other villas. Beegee’s open-plan layout also means some bedrooms share doorways and bathrooms. Hey, it was the ‘70s… Sleeps 10 (from £1,108 a week or £111pp; chicibiza.com).

BIG PARTY PADVilla Puig Villa Puig is not so much a villa as a village. Six gorgeously

accessorised bedrooms are either in the designer main house, or in casitas around the grounds — the latter even have their own outdoor lounges and entrances, making them perfect for groups of couples and singles (no hens or stags allowed though). Beware the many different levels, which are hairy for crawling babies and toddlers. Sleeps 12 (from £10,612 a week or £884pp; villaretreats.com).

WITH LITTLE ONES Villa Cruz Of all these villas, Cruz takes up the smallest plot of land — a relief to fretful parents watching over frisky toddlers. There is also a glass pool fence (safe while looking slick), and it’s available all year — a rarity in Ibiza where most houses have closed up by autumn half-term. You’re walking distance from the essentials, too, which makes emergency nappy and Cava runs a breeze. Sleeps 8 (from £2,991 a week or £374pp;white-ibiza.com).

Maria (marialentsman.com) knows the city’s best-kept secrets. Here’s where she likes to spend her summer days

Petrogradskaya neighbourhoodI grew up between the city centre and Petrogradskaya, an island district home to the must-see Peter and Paul Fortress. Explore and you’ll find wide, stately Art Nouveau streets, the plant-filled espresso bar Verlé Garden (facebook.com/verlegarden) off leafy Nizami Square, and Sytny Market,

My home townSt Petersburg By Maria Lentsman, interpreter

where old ladies and savvy students shop for artisan cheeses.

The Staraya derevnya restoration and Storage Centre37A Zausadebnaya St; hermitage museum.org; tours from £7The magnificent Hermitage Museum is always rammed. But 20 minutes by Metro from the centre is an uncrowded version even few locals know of. The Staraya Derevnya — free every first Thursday of the month — houses all

the furniture, paintings and sculpture the Hermitage can’t. Don’t miss the hall of blingy, Cinderella-style carriages.

Bushe22 Makarova Embankment; bushe.ruPrepare to point at the glossy pastries and gâteaux in this local chain of bakeries — there are no English labels. The best branch is on Kanal Griboedova. Beat the lunchtime rush by grabbing a smoked-salmon, cream-cheese and cranberry roll (£2.60), and eat it in the gardens of nearby Kazan Cathedral. KomarovoAn easy 50 minutes by train from St Peterburg’s Finland station is this iconic summer spot. Unknown by foreigners, it has a poetic history (Joseph Brodsky visited Anna Akhmatova in her dacha here). Birch woods and seaside restaurants such as deck-fronted Nasha Dacha (en.ginza.ru; mains about £10) overlook the Gulf of Finland.

St. isaac’s Cathedral St Isaac’s Square; eng.cathedral.ruThe city’s best rooftop view is one of the least-known: St Isaac’s Cathedral colonnade is open in summer until 4.30am (£2). In early August, the end of ‘white night’ season, catch the sunrise (about 4am). Not an early riser? Get a sunset view as you sip White Russians

at the W Hotel rooftop bar (wstpeters burg.com; cocktails about £10).

new Holland islandnewhollandsp.ru/enThis triangular island, among the canals and bridges between the Fontanka and Neva rivers, was used to build ships and test Soviet submarines. A giant cash injection has made it St Pete’s answer to NYC’s High Line, with art galleries, food stalls (the Rosemary Black Burger from Ferma, £6, is a treat) and a sculpture park. Get to it before the crowds twig.

maly drama Theatre18 Rubinshteina St; maly.ru/en; tickets from £1.50This little theatre is well known in Russia for its Dostoevsky and (in parts, funny) Chekhov renditions. I’ve never seen a foreign visitor, yet there are English surtitles to most plays (a rarity). Come! Bring flowers to give the actors after the show, as the Russians do.

From Russia with love: clockwise from top, street food on New Holland Island; enjoy the views from St Isaac’s Cathedral; the Maly theatre has English surtitles; Komarovo is a great beach spot not far from the city centre; enjoy an espresso at Verlé Garden

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How deep is your pool: the Villa Beegee harks back to the ’70s; right, from top: Can Toni d’en Covas; Villa Cruz