There are some fantastic villa properties located on the popular holiday island of Lanzarote.  With many boasting commanding views of the Atlantic as well as private pools and other luxury extras such as Jacuzzis and hot tubs.

Lanzarote is located in the Canary Islands, close to the west coast of Africa.  And has become a real favourite with overseas property investors as the climate here enables the owners of Lanzarote villas and apartments to reap year round rental returns.  With the best properties commanding rates of around €2,000 per week in peak season.

One of the best selections of rental properties can be found in Puerto del Carmen, situated of the south east coast of the island.  This is Lanzarote´s largest resort and is just a short drive from the airport.  Boasting some excellent beaches and an abundance of restaurants.  Most villas in Puerto del Carmen are located in and around the Old Town, close to the harbour.  In areas such as Risco Prieto and Los Fariones.  Whilst the only slightly newer New Town is the place to search for budget breaks on apartment complexes.

Puerto del Carmen’s main resort rival is Playa Blanca, which is a thirty minute drive away in the south of the island.  Playa Blanca has the advantage of better weather during winter – whilst Lanzarote´s main attraction of the Timanfaya National Park is also close by.  And villas in Playa Blanca are also slightly cheaper too – reflecting the impact of the 90´s building boom which created an over supply of property in the area.

Away from the main resorts lies a beautiful and largely unspoilt island that has been carefully protected from over development by strict local planning laws.  These prohibit developers from turning the island into a replica of the Spanish Costas, with no high rise buildings allowed.  As a result the north of the island especially is almost entirely bereft of tourist development – making this the ideal spot for anyone wanting to connect with the authentic heart of Lanzarote.

Arrieta is a great example of an unspoilt coastal village – and this is how much of Lanzarote must have looked before tourism first took off.  With a great, all natural beach to enjoy at Playa La Garita as well as a selection of excellent fish restaurants located along the shoreline.  Accommodation here can be found at Finca de Arrieta – Lanzarote´s first eco village which occupies a former farm just five minutes walk from the beach.

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After developing his acclaimed style of firsthand reporting with his bestselling graphic novels Pyongyang: A Journey in North Korea and Shenzhen: A Travelogue from China, Guy Delisle is back with The Burma Chronicles. In this country notorious for its use of concealment and isolation as social control—where scissors-wielding censors monitor the papers, the de facto leader of the opposition has been under decade-long house arrest, insurgent-controlled regions are effectively cut off from the world, and rumor is the most reliable source of current information—he turns his gaze to the everyday for a sense of the big picture.

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But in fact, Balls is a polished little shop no bigger than a rich man’s walk-in closet, and a place with surprising discretion. “We have a really wild and crazy name, but we sell mainly conservative underwear,” explained the owner and designer Claudia Kleinert.

Balls, open for just under two years, is the male offshoot of its next-door neighbor, Blush, a women’s lingerie store also founded by Ms. Kleinert, who in the past worked for Puma, designing club wear in Germany and, in New York, for the designer Adrienne Vittadini. “On the weekends we have a lot of couples coming by, so it became really obvious that I should offer something for the men coming with their girlfriends,” she explained.

On the far wall of Balls hang a variety of European-style briefs in a rainbow of colors: bright pink and green ones from Jockey (16.90 euros, or about $22.50 at $1.33 to the euro); bright whites from the luxury lines Zimmerli (32.90 euros) and Hanro of Switzerland (35.90 euros); and short silk boxers in colors like navy and emerald designed by Ms. Kleinert for the in-house Balls label (29.90 euros). A recent addition to the shop is the Berlin-based brand Papenberg, a distinctly fashion-forward choice for Balls. “It’s a new label from Berlin,” said Ms. Kleinert. “It’s very big now with the gay crowd.”

The house-label silk robes (149.90 euros) and Church’s bedroom slippers (139.90 euros) are decidedly elegant, but, according to Ms. Kleinert, not as popular as the dopp kit from the German company F. Hammann (119.90 euros), with a closure that can be used as both a shoe horn and bottle opener. “It sells out all the time,” she said.

Balls, Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 22; (49-30) 2809-3580; www.balls-berlin.de.

Situated on a quiet residential street in Berlin’s bohemian neighborhood of Kreuzberg, the restaurant was actually in someone’s living room, decorated with fresh flowers and colorful artwork.

The eight guests — including a couple from Finland, two young women from Ireland and two radio journalists from Berlin — had never met before. Nor had they met the host, Maria, who calls herself the Shy Chef. (Like other underground restaurateurs who operate without a license, she did not give her full name for fear of being shut down.)

Maria has been inviting strangers into her home for dinner since March, as a kind of guerrilla-style restaurant. Patrons that night enjoyed a six-course meal that included a vodka-marinated salmon, a fine selection of wines and the warm company of fellow guests.

It felt like a dinner party given by an eclectic and extroverted new friend, except that those present scored invitations online (at theshychef.wordpress.com) and chipped in 50 euros each ($72.50 at $1.45 to the euro).

Hidden restaurants seem to be flourishing in Berlin, a city that prizes its secret corners and artsy subcultures. Among the pioneers was the Rodeo Club (Ballhaus Ost, Pappelallee 15; www.rodeo-club.net), a speakeasy-style restaurant that began in 2004.

Started by two Germans, Florian, an actor, and Marc, an animation artist, both now 34, it is based on the idea of creating a lively supper club that even a starving artist could afford.

Held Thursdays in a dilapidated old ballroom in the former East Berlin, a recent dinner drew about 45 diners, mostly Berliners in their mid-20s to 30s, who feasted on a three-course meal that included roast rabbit with dumplings and red cabbage. A D.J. played electronic pop and, between courses, patrons took part in a Ping-Pong tournament.

While the Rodeo Club remains informal and affordable (dinner is 12 euros and membership is open to anyone), the speakeasy format is starting to spread to more commercial settings.

A couple of years ago, two partners in the Rodeo Club split off and opened a competing Rodeo Restaurant in the Altes Postfuhramt (or old Royal Post Office), an ornate terra-cotta landmark built in 1875 in Mitte (Auguststrasse 5a ; 49-16-3162-0168; www.rodeo-berlin.de).

To get there, patrons must go through an unmarked courtyard that still bears scars from World War II, before going upstairs to the Dome Hall — a gilded room with a coffered ceiling, arched windows and rows of white-tablecloth tables. Dinner, which starts at 29.50 euros, recently included suckling pig with turnips and a strawberry and rhubarb parfait.

Afterward, the tables were cleared and a D.J. played hip-hop and dance music to a festive crowd.

Finding Cookies Cream (Behrenstrasse 55; 49-30-2749-2940; www.cookiescream.com) is also tricky. This upscale restaurant is tucked at the end of a garbage-filled alleyway behind the Westin Grand Hotel, upstairs from a club called Cookies.

With help from Michael Kempf, chef at the Michelin-starred Facil, the menu offers creative vegetarian dishes like pumpkin-lime soup with chutney. The three-course meal is also a great value at 28 euros.

But perhaps the most exclusive of these underground restaurants is the Kochklub, held around an open kitchen in the V.I.P. room at Bar Tausend (Schiffbauerdamm 11; www.tausendberlin.com; for reservations, info@tausend-berlin.de), a fashionable nightclub behind a nondescript steel door.

Held on Wednesdays, the Kochklub is the brainchild of the avant-garde caterers and food artists Foodpol. A recent four-course dinner (38 euros) included veal brain with white asparagus emulsion; hot asparagus ice cream with summer truffle; pork with white asparagus and Hollandaise; and a white asparagus panna cotta with strawberries.

The Kochklub is on summer hiatus but will return in the fall. “We wanted to keep everyone hungry for more,” said Telse Bus, one of the organizers.