So today is national Strawberry Ice Cream Day. A universal snack for during the summer, often accompanied by a romantic film or used as a soothing technique when confronted by an awkward break-up. Not many people dislike this fantastic sugary treat – those who are intolerant to lactose not included – and though it’s not a spectacular culinary dish, there can be no denying the popularity of ice cream on holidays. Ice cream and holidays are synonymic in that you can’t have one without the other. So why not have a look at the best places to have one of the world’s most famous holiday snacks?

In the Persian Empire, residents would pour grape juice over snow and eat it as a treat in the hot weather. Later on it was adopted by several other civilisations, where they would use various fruit syrups over ice to make different flavours. Originally it was thought that the Arabs first used milk to make ice cream, using sugar as opposed to fruit juices to sweeten it, and then flavouring it with fruit and nuts. many people dislike this fantastic sugary treat – those who are intolerant to lactose not included – and though it’s not a spectacular culinary dish, there can be no denying the popularity of ice cream on holidays. Ice cream and holidays are synonymic in that you can’t have one without the other. So why not have a look at the best places to have one of the world’s most famous holiday snacks?

Italy first brought ice cream to Europe in the 16^th century and since then its popularity has grown immensely. There are countless flavours, both predictable, and strange, such as eel and octopus ice cream made in Japan (where else?), and every country has an associated favourite flavour. So where is the best place to eat it?

Perché No! In Florence, Italy

Translated as ‘Why not!’ This ice cream shop was founded in 1939 and is one of the most iconic ice cream shops in Italy. The ice cream is all made fresh from produce daily, using carefully chosen ingredients. The fruit ice creams and sorbets are made entirely from fresh juice and are free of colouring agents. There are some more inventive flavours; such as the ‘Chesnut Honey and Sesame Seeds’, or you could try the classical ‘Whipped Cream’ flavour, ever present as a favourite.

Glacé In Sydney, Australia

Established in 1984, Glacé has quickly become famous throughout Australia for its innovative ice creams, sorbets and ice cream based desserts., Because it uses fresh ingredients, including full cream milk and fresh cream, Glacé is incredibly popular as a manufacturer of ice cream. The company itself has won over 100 awards by industry groups for their creative ice cream based desserts. Plus they do wedding cakes!

Special Mention: Ice Cream City

Known for their eccentricity, what is Japan without dipping their toes into the market of ice cream? The ice cream city is a magical place inside the indoor theme park in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, with hundreds of flavours of ice cream, from the traditional vanilla, chocolate and story, to the more exotic crab or snake flavoured ice cream.

Located in the Sunshine City Complex, only a short drive by hired car from the Ikebukuro subway station, the theme park has a small entry fee plus an additional fee to purchase each miniature tub of ice cream, but it is certainly well worth it!