Agenda: The best things to do, hear, see or watch in Europe this week

This one goes out to all the lovers - of great culture!

Yes, Valentine's Day is up ahead, but whether you're looking for some date night plans or cynically scoffing at all things saccharine, we've compiled a round of recommendations that are both bitter and sweet. From France's ‘Fête du Citron’, to chandeliers made from tampons and the return of romantic comedy heroine Bridget Jones, lots of wacky stuff is in the air.

This week also sees the beginning of the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, which will include exciting new releases from filmmakers such as Richard Linklater, Lucile Hadžihalilović and Mary Bronstein. You can find out more about the line-up and its most exciting contenders below.

Grab a coffee, mark your calendars and remember that sometimes love is sitting in a cinema alone with some little snacks or listening to a song that makes your soul soar.

'The Library' by Manolo Valdés 

Where: Opera Gallery (London, UK) 

When: 13 February - 20 March 2025

Spanish artist Manolo Valdés is renowned for reimagining art history and iconography through a myriad of multimedia expressionist works. As its title suggests, this exhibition acts as a library of Valdés' creations, both figuratively and metaphorically, centred around his large wooden bookshelves from the Librería series. A contemplation on history and modernity, memory and the intellectual objects that help us to traverse time, it's a wonderful opportunity to see both sculptures and paintings from a pioneer of Spanish pop art, alongside some of their reference points, such as Diego Velázquez’s Las meninas (1656) and Henri Matisse’s Femme au chapeau (1905).

Joana Vasconcelos: 'Flamboyant' 

Where: Liria Palace (Madrid, Spain)

When: From 13 February 2025

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