Adrian Mourby visits Maribor, one of two European Capitals of Culture for 2012.

Cordoba is recapturing the buzz and reputation it had a thousand years ago, while Cadiz likes to describe itself as the oldest in Europe.

Stocks in Europe and the US rallied overnight, with a big jump in US housing starts, good German business confidence and a healthy appetite for Spanish debt.

Worries over the fate of the euro and the EU's member states continue to drag on the single currency and equities in Europe and on Wall Street.