Siesta then fiesta: Enjoy Europe like the locals

As temperatures soar across Europe, travellers are skipping the hottest hours and discovering that the continent's best summer experiences happen after sunset. When Dane Maxwell's carefully planned Seville itinerary was nearly derailed by a three-day heatwave, he made a choice that ended up defining the trip: "We flipped to the local rhythm." That meant sleeping until 11:00 and lazy breakfasts through to 13:00. He worked indoors during peak heat ­– a suffocating 44C (111F) – and took dinner from 20:00 before venturing into the Spanish city from midnight to 02:00. The midnight window proved to be the most memorable. "The streets were full but unhurried. The Cathedral exterior was lit and almost empty of tourists. The local tapas bars were at their liveliest." With Europe's heatwave season falling early this year, Maxwell and his friends are part of a different wave: noctourism. The traditional, revered European summer holiday has become not just uncomfortable but potentially unsafe. Italy has already issued its first red alert warning people to stay out of the Sun, while both France and Portugal have seen new highest temperature records set for May. This summer promises to be hotter