At the heart of the stylish village is the pedestrianised Via Roma, lined with smart boutiques, enticing bars, restaurants, as well as delicatessen, antique and homeware shops. Steep and narrow cobbled alleyways lead off on either side. While it’s often busy with noisy, immaculately-dressed Italians, lots of them don’t bother to hit the slopes, so even in the busiest weeks, the slopes are usually not very crowded.

Its proximity to both Geneva and Turin airports makes it a popular destination for weekenders from Britain and other countries, while wealthy Milanese and other city-based Italians arrive in their hordes on Friday afternoons in high season.

Courmayeur’s main ski area spreads out from a mid-mountain base at Plan Chécrouit, reached by cable car from the centre of town. With a top lift at 2,755m and the bottom of the slopes at 1,205m, the vertical here is pretty impressive, however there are limited pistes – 42km. 

The Italian aspect of Mont Blanc – aka Monte Bianco – has an entirely different weather pattern to the French side. The quality of the snow may not always be as good, but during the winter Courmayeur gets much more sunshine than shivering Chamonix.

It’s not possible to descend to Courmayeur from Plan Chécrouit at the end of the day, only to the nearby hamlet of Dolonne; if staying in Courmayeur it’s best to download to town by cable car. The main lift runs until midnight, allowing time to soak up the sunset and enjoy après drinks first. It’s also an option to take the lift up from the town to spend the evening in a choice of mountain restaurants.

From just outside Courmayeur, in Entrèves, a spectacular two-stage cable car, the Skyway Monte Bianco, ascends all the way to Punta Helbronner, the closest point to the summit of Mont Blanc by public transport. It has 360-degree rotating glass cabins and at the top, 3,466m, a circular terrace affords some of the best panoramic views in the Alps as well as access to off-piste routes.

Food is taken seriously in Courmayeur, whether it’s huge wood-fired pizzas at Pizzeria du Tunnel or gourmet local specialities at the Petit Royal restaurant in the Hotel Royal e Golf. Eating is another prime alternative to hitting the slopes – Chiecco and Maison Vielle serve pasta and typical dishes such as ragù of wild boar with polenta and it’s all too easy to while away the entire afternoon at either. There’s also an annual Mountain Gourmet Ski Experience organised by Momentum Ski (the next one is March 22 to 24, 2024) with top chefs such as Heston Blumenthal, Tom Kerridge, Marcus Wareing and Clare Smyth in attendance.

The main lift from town runs until midnight, allowing time to soak up the sunset and enjoy après drinks or have dinner in a choice of mountain restaurants.

Whether you consider Courmayeur’s slopes to be good for a weekend or a whole week depends on your standard. The main ski area, reached by cable car from the town centre or from neighbouring Entrèves, and by gondola from nearby Dolonne, has a limited selection of groomed pistes – 33 totalling 42km – and 100km of off piste.

Courmayeur is fine for beginners, but there are better resorts in which to learn. There are nursery slopes with free lifts at Plan Chécrouit (plus a couple of moving carpet lifts for ski school beginners) as well as at Pré de Pascal at the top of the Entrèves cable car. The two main ski schools are Italian, with most instructors speaking reasonable English. The third one is run by British tour operator Interski, for guests on its holidays.

For strong intermediates, this is a wonderful place for a long weekend. The overall piste area is small – enough for two or three days, but hardly a whole week – and divides into two linked sectors, separated by a rock ridge. Overall, the reds are what they say they are, while the few easy blacks would be classified as challenging reds in many resorts. Runs on the Val Veny side generally offer the greater challenge. For a satisfyingly long descent, it’s a substantial 1,400m of vertical from Cresta Youla all the way down to Dolonne.

For adventurous intermediates and experts there’s a lot of fun to be had off piste if snow conditions are good – indeed, enough fun for a whole season. A couple of ungroomed itineraries from Plan Chécrouit, reached by a cable car to Cresta d’Arp at 2,755m, descend to Dolonne or across a deserted valley to the railhead at Pré St Didier. A third one snakes down the beautiful Val Veny on the far side of the ski area.

The most adventurous excitement is in the separate Mont Blanc sector on the other side of town, aimed at advanced skiers and snowboarders. Then there’s the three-stage Skyway Monte Bianco cable car, which ascends from Entrèves all the way up to Punta Helbronner, at 3,466m. Off-piste runs from here for experts to try with a mountain guide include, on the Italian side, the run down the Toula glacier, an Alpine classic. There’s also some outstanding heliskiing, with drops above the Val Veny for a descent back to Courmayeur and on the Mont Blanc glacier.

There’s a terrain park called Snow Park 26, served by the Aretu chair. It has lines for beginners, intermediates, and experts. A giant airbag is served by two kickers. The resort also has a burgeoning reputation as a centre for adaptive skiing – which allows people with disabilities to hit the slopes using  bespoke equipment with specially-trained instructors, including Andrea Borney from Savoye Sport, based on the slopes at the top of the Val Veny lift.

Courmayeur lies less than two hours from both Turin and Geneva, making it a good choice for a weekend or short break. Foodies will also love it here. Restaurants both in town and up on the mountain are of a particularly high standard, and Courmayeur is one of the spiritual homes of the long lunch. The ski area best suits confident intermediates, and there’s also challenging off piste. Those looking to make the most of every minute both on and off the slopes will be impressed with Courmayeur’s après scene. Many of the bars lining Via Roma serve extensive complimentary antipasti alongside sparkling spritzes and local beers. What’s more the main lift from town runs until midnight, allowing time to soak up the sunset and enjoy après drinks at mid mountain.

• British Embassy/Consulate: Via 20 Settembre, 80a, 00187 Roma; 0039 06 4220 0001; gov.uk
• Police: dial 113
• Fire: dial 118
• Emergency services from mobile phone: dial 112
• Tourist office: See courmayeurmontblanc.it, the website for the Courmayeur Mont Blanc Tourist Board, for piste maps, weather reports, lift status, webcams, traffic details and local event listings. Pick up maps, leaflets and other information from the office on the main roundabout in the centre of Courmayeur.

• Currency: Euro
• Telephone code: from abroad, dial 00 39, then leave off the zero at the start of number. 
• Time difference: +1 hour

• A simple ‘buon giorno’ in the morning or ‘buona sera’ in the afternoon or evening goes a long way. ‘Ciao’ is for friends, family or young people. If somebody thanks you by saying ‘grazie’, it’s polite to say ‘prego’ (you’re welcome) in return.
• Italians tip very little; 5% is ample, and it’s often enough just to round the bill up to the nearest 5 or 10 euros

Every hotel in this curated list has been visited by one of our expert reviewers, who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis. They stay for a minimum of one night, test at least one meal and trial other experiences that the hotel might have to offer. 

• The best romantic hotel in Manchester overall – Stock Exchange Hotel
• The best romantic hotel in Manchester with a spa – The Midland Hotel 
• The best romantic hotel in Manchester city centre – Stock Exchange Hotel

• The best hotels in Manchester

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• The best spa hotels in Manchester

• The best things to do in Manchester

•  The best budget hotels in Manchester

• The best nightlife in Manchester

• The best boutique hotels in Manchester

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Contributions by Rhonda Carrier

While this restricts jungle trekking, exploring deeper by skiff – and spotting arboreal wildlife – becomes easier. We saw ­monkeys in the now not-so-distant ­canopy almost daily: brown capuchins and tumbling troops of squirrel ­monkeys; nocturnal owl monkeys, wide-eyed as 4am clubbers; and brown woolly monkeys, hanging like washing on a line.

But above all, we saw dolphins – ­usually patrolling the reserve’s edge, where its black tannic waters merged with the Ucayali’s muddy builder’s brew to provide rich feeding grounds. That evening, we watched both grey and pink river dolphins putting on a show – sweeping by us upside-down and sending up tiny splashes – over ­sundowners at base camp.

But here’s where my Amazon ­excursion diverges from most. This wasn’t just any base camp; and when I retired after dinner, it wasn’t to a small thatched hut, to shudder under an ­outdoor shower and wrestle with patchy mosquito nets to get into bed. For this base camp was the stately Aqua Nera: a river cruiser fit for a Bond ­villain, where discreet decadence reigns.

Though the ship sleeps 40 (with a crew-to-guest ratio of 1:1), I was lucky enough to be one of only 10 on my sailing doing the full seven-night round trip from Iquitos. With Neycer and fellow local naturalists Juan Tejada Rengifo and Alex Aguilar at our disposal, our small-group expeditions into the reserve and its surrounds felt like private charters.

Born and raised here, the vastly knowledgeable trio’s love for this ­mercurial land is profound. But while there was no doubting Juan when he declared the rainforest “a place of infinite possibilities”, it’s also a ­phenomenal hiding place – at times so densely thatched it feels more Sleeping Beauty than Planet Earth.

With jaguars thin on nearby ground (even our guides had notched only a few sightings each), I found joy in small things: a brilliant turquoise dragonfly, the intense honeyed blast of mimosa acacia, and the amusing discovery that the brown-throated sloths we spied languishing in magnificent cecropia trees weren’t so much sluggish as sloshed (their primary food source, cecropia leaves, ferments in their stomachs). 

A previous client, Alex confided, demanded to know, “Where are the rhinoceros?”, but for me, Pacaya-Samiria’s slow reveal of its treasures made each discovery, however tiny, even sweeter.

Armed with a new zoom lens, my focus was the reserve’s incredible birdlife (449 species and counting). The sun-­dappled waterways reverberated with their strange cries: from the ­outraged screeches of blue-and-yellow macaws overhead and a vivid yellow ­oriole ­blackbird’s “rusty wheel” scrape, to the discombobulating bray of the horned screamer – a bizarre turkey-­esque giant that we found grazing along the water’s edge. 

“We joke it’s four ­animals in one,” said Juan, “because it walks like a duck, flies like a vulture, tastes like chicken and sounds like a donkey.”

But the most astonishing sighting came early one morning. With a green kingfisher darting ahead like a ­jewelled outrider, we glided into a lagoon ­seemingly covered in giant blossom and were met by a scene of pure magic: thousands of egrets roosting, feeding and swirling through the air – more birds than I’d believed possible. A land of infinite possibilities, indeed.

Although warned to be prepared to rough it, frankly, we were cosseted like newborns: come rain, ponchos materialised. At the hint of mud, ­wellies were both provided and ­gallantly removed for us. During our piranha-fishing attempts, hooks were patiently, repeatedly rebated. And on night expeditions – when flying insects smart like hail – we were handed protective glasses.

Of course, when it comes to travel, cosseting can often be a byword for “missing the good stuff”. Not so here – particularly when it came to the afternoon jungle walk that dumped us swiftly outside our collective comfort zones.

“Touch nothing,” warned Alex as, stooping beneath serpentine creepers, we picked our way down a narrowing path. Even in its “benign” suburbs, Pacaya-Samiria was as humid as a hot towel, and belching bugs. An ant battalion sent us slaloming ­off-track – mosquitoes hovering like carnivorous speech bubbles – past a red-tailed boa and a now-rigid ­tarantula. Above us, bullet ants (the world’s most painful stinging insect) foraged into the canopy, where a sloth watched us from above.

“In my village, to become an ‘older man’ doesn’t depend on years; you must prove yourself by putting your hand into the bullet ants’ nest,” Alex explained nonchalantly. “It’s risky – you could die – but there’s a trick: the ants sense panic, so you must stay relaxed. In the village, your mama and papa prepare you by making you drink lots of masato – a ‘jungle beer’ made from boiled yuca.” He grinned. “Then you’re so relaxed, you’re invisible!”

“We’d never make it here,” sighed fellow guest Karen. Exhausted after barely 40 minutes’ walk, I was inclined to agree – but as we turned and started the trek back to ship, I suddenly realised something. For all the forest’s dangers, I hadn’t felt this calm in months. Something about Pacaya-Samiria’s primordial power made my heart soar. By the time the sun dipped on the “Jungle of Mirrors” that day, sending its reflection spilling over the water like a celestial Rorschach test, I knew I’d happily have settled for that moment alone.

Essentials

Abigail Flanagan was a guest of Aqua Expeditions (00511 707 0542), which offers Aqua Nera cruises from £3,606 per person for a three-night expedition (based on double occupancy), and Wyndham Costa del Sol, Lima.  

The Ultimate Travel Company (020 3131 2691) offers Aqua Nera’s seven-night expedition from £9,750pp. Price includes direct international and domestic flights with LATAM, two nights in Lima pre-cruise, and all transfers.

Have you ever visited the Amazon? We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments below

This gargantuan 305ft Gallic-designed sculpture is one of the world’s most identifiable icons. The first thing you notice: she’s shorter than you think, but once you’re standing at her base she looks majestic. Don’t miss the second-floor museum dedicated to all things Lady Liberty (it includes the original torch). Free entrance, but visitors must get a time-stamped ticket.

Insider’s tip: The statue has been situated on Bedloe’s Island since 1886 (renamed Liberty Island in 1956). For a fantastic view of lower Manhattan, make a reservation to access the figure’s crown.

Website: nps.gov
Nearest metro: South Ferry/Bowling Green/Whitehall St.-South Ferry
Prices: ££
Book tickets

The One World Observatory’s viewing deck has proved a resounding hit, with its ‘Sky Pods’ that whisk visitors up to the 102nd floor in under a minute. Once you get to the viewpoint (the official height is 1,776ft), the city’s spectacular, dazzling panoramas unfold in front of your eyes. The 100th-floor Sky Portal seems to float in space.

Insider’s tip: Make sure you experience the City Pulse, an interactive HD video concierge service that connects you to any neighbourhood you want to find out about below.

Website: oneworldobservatory.com
Nearest metro: World Trade Center/Chambers St./Wall St./Fulton St.
Prices: ££
Book tickets

Founded by two blokes from Belfast, Dead Rabbit is often awarded the title ‘World’s Best Bar’. The theming is inspired by John Morrissey, the leader of the Irish-American gang the Dead Rabbits, and the classic taproom is home to America’s largest collection of whiskey. There is also live Irish music with pub grub.

Insider’s tip: It gets packed here every night, so afternoon sessions are a safer bet.

Website: deadrabbitnyc.com
Getting in: Reservations recommended
Nearest metro: South Ferry; Whitehall St.-South Ferry
Prices: ££

The – say it with us – Mmuseumm is dedicated to neglected, overlooked and underappreciated items. Most of the artefacts are temporary, part of a moving exhibition, but among the permanent objects on display, the pièce de résistance is the shoe that was fired at then-President George W. Bush while he was giving a press conference in Baghdad.

Insider’s tip: It’s hard to find. Stroll down a non-descript alleyway and if the metal doors are swung open, you’re in luck.

Website: mmuseumm.com
Nearest metro: Canal St.
Prices: £

Legendary local clubs like the Village Vanguard and Blue Note are known throughout the world and listed in every guide book, but this basement jazz club, Mezzrow, is frequented by real jazz lovers who come to hear up-and-coming (as well as established) musicians while sipping Manhattans and snacking on charcuterie and cheese. 

Insider’s tip: Walk-ins are welcome, but to ensure a seat make a reservation. 

Website: mezzrow.com
Getting in: Reservations recommended
Nearest metro: Christopher St. 
Prices: ££

Any food-obsessed denizen of, or visitor to, New York City needs to come here. It all began in 1914 when Joel Russ, who had been selling herring from a wooden cart for a decade and a half, opened the tiny shop. He quickly discovered, however, that business only picked up when his three beautiful daughters worked behind the counter.

Insider’s tip: First timers should order the classic bagel with fish roe. Take a trip around the corner to Russ & Daughters Cafe, a sit-down affair in homage to the shop, and a hot ticket for brunch.

Website: russanddaughters.com
Nearest metro: F to Second Ave

The Tenement Museum is an excellent primer on the neighbourhood’s past, and offers a general history of immigration in New York City, a reminder that 99 per cent of the United States is non indigenous. Rooms have been recreated to resemble a typical Lower East Side tenement building and the staff are beacons of knowledge on the subject – ask them anything.

Insider’s tip: Spending time in the excellent bookshop stocked with books about New York’s working class history is a stimulating addendum to the experience.

Website: tenement.org
Nearest metro: Essex St. 
Prices: £
Book tickets

The Whitney, once one of the most overlooked of the major New York art museums, is now housed in a dynamic Renzo Piano-designed building and getting the attention it deserves. The 18,000-piece collection of mostly 20th-century art from artists like Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keefe, Max Weber and Jackson Pollock makes the museum a beacon of modern American art history.

Insider’s tip: Time your visit at sunset and head to the top-floor terrace for wonderful orange-hued views of lower Manhattan. 

Website: whitney.org
Nearest metro: 14th St./8th Ave.
Prices: ££
Book tickets

At 365 meters up, Summit One Vanderbilt is the highest viewpoint in Midtown Manhattan and is located in the fourth-tallest building in the city. The immersive, interactive experience begins on the groundfloor at Grand Central Terminal when you get whisked up to the 91st through the 93rd floors. Employees encourage guests to lay down on the mirrored floors and look up at the mirrored ceilings of the main room. And then there’s the observation deck which actually looks down on the Empire State Building (and pretty much every other structure in the city).  

Insider’s tip: Upgrade your visit so that you can ascend in a sleek glass elevator and then enjoy a cocktail with your view. 

Website: summitov.com
Nearest metro: Grand Central Terminal
Prices: ££
Book tickets

There probably won’t be a giant ape at the top, but the views from the 86th-floor observation deck will take your breath away. Completed in 1931 and consisting of 60,000 tons of steel, the Empire State Building was the tallest skyscraper in the world until the World Trade Towers were erected in the Seventies.

Insider’s tip: Make sure you leave plenty of time for waiting in the queue to get to the top; the lines can get very long.

Website: esbnyc.com
Nearest metro: 33rd St./Penn Station/33rd St. 
Prices: ££
Book tickets

Hop on a three-hour Circle Line Best of NYC (Full Island Cruise) to see three rivers, seven bridges and the extraordinary forest-covered cliffs overlooking the Hudson around Fort Tryon Park, in the north-west corner of the island. You will see a Manhattan you did not know existed. Food and refreshments are available on board, and the live narration is usually very entertaining.

Insider’s tip: It’s cheaper to book tickets online and essential to reserve them in summer, when cruises are very popular.

Contact: circleline42.com
Nearest metro: Times Square-42nd St.
Prices: ££

There’s plenty to see and do at this Art Deco masterpiece of a building, including a sunken roller/ice skate rink, high-end shops, Top of the Rock (an observation platform 70 storeys from the ground on the top of the 1933 GE building), and tours of Rockefeller Center which depart every two hours. Wandering through the complex is free; going to the top will cost you. In the last few years, several restaurants run by some of the city’s top chefs have opened up here, so come hungry and try to get a table at Le Rock, Jupiter, Lodi, Five Acres, or Naro.

Insider’s tip: Before you go, download the Top of the Rock app which has a great view-finder, making it easy to identify what you’re looking at when you’re on top of the world.

Website: rockefellercenter.com
Getting there: 49th St./Rockefeller Center
Prices: ££
Book tickets

Picasso, Dali, Kahlo, Matisse and Warhol are just a few of the names you’ll find at the Museum of Modern Art, which is flooded with natural light and an absolute pleasure to wander through. Keep an eye open for outré pieces by New York artists, such as Dan Graham’s two-way mirror glass pavilion installation in the sculpture garden. In-house restaurant, The Modern, serves up edible art on a plate that tastes terrific. 

Insider’s tip: Head to the fifth floor right away. The most popular galleries – those with Pollock and Warhol, et al – are at the top. Then work your way down.

Website: moma.org
Nearest metro: 5th Ave./53rd St. 
Prices: ££
Book tickets

The Frick, an Upper West Side museum, tends to get overlooked – but it shouldn’t. Housed in a mansion with a Roman atrium, it offers a great collection of works by the likes of Goya, Velázquez, El Greco, Rembrandt and other renaissance masters. Most are still hung the way they were when the collector, Mr. Frick, was alive.

Insider’s tip: Go to one of the Frick’s regular intimate salon evenings with classical music concerts, dance and discussions with artists, scholars and writers.

Website: frick.org
Nearest metro: 68th St-Hunter College
Prices: ££

An architectural game changer? That’s one way of describing this Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building. Built in 1959, the Guggenheim Museum is an artistic object in itself. While the building is one of the chief attractions here, the great art just seems like a bonus. There are 700 works of art by over 300 artists, including Kandinsky and Picasso, among others. 

Insider’s tip: Even if you don’t intend to see the art, make sure you visit the building itself for some wonderful photo opportunities – especially inside, with views of eloquent inverted coil wending its way up the curvature of the building. 

Website: guggenheim.org
Nearest metro: 4, 5, 6 to 86th Street
Prices: ££
Book tickets

The Metropolitan Museum’s centre of medieval art boasts interiors filled with Madonna and Child sculptures, paintings from the Middle Ages, and tapestries of slaughtered unicorns. However, many locals and visitors take the 40-minute subway ride (and subsequent 10-minute stroll through Fort Tryon Park) to get to the Cloisters because of the peace and tranquility it affords.

Insider’s tip: If you visit the Met, you get free same-day admission to the Cloisters (or the other way around), so make a day of it and hit both museums in one day.

Website: metmuseum.org
Nearest metro: Dyckman St.
Prices: £
Book tickets

Few other theatres have been more responsible for shaping soul and pop music than this Harlem performance venue. Since opening in 1914 and then starting Amateur Night 20 years after that, many legends and greats have come through its stage doors, including James Brown, Lauren Hill, Billie Holiday, D’Angelo, and Ella Fitzgerald. Barack Obama even held a fundraiser here when he was candidate.

Insider’s tip: Make sure you check out the famed Amateur Night, where for $30 (£22) you can watch the audience either cheer or jeer a future (or unlikely) star off the stage.

Website: apollotheater.org
Nearest metro: 125th St. 
Prices: ££
Book tickets

When you hear the words ‘reliquary’, images of saints’ bones, vials of blood or strands of holy hair might come to mind. But this small, intriguing Williamsburg museum has no such things. Instead, you’ll find relics of the city itself: an old subway token, kitschy long-gone souvenirs, and various memorabilia from the 1939 World’s Fair which took place here.

Insider’s tip: One section of the museum is dedicated to private collections, which need not necessarily be New York themed, so you could bring along your own oddities and trinkets for consideration.

Website: cityreliquary.org
Nearest metro: Bedford Ave.
Price: £

Hip-hop was born in the South Bronx, so it’s perfectly fitting that the city’s only museum dedicated to the ultra-popular music genre is smack in the center of it all. The Universal Hip Hop Museum has interactive video and audio displays, posters from the early days before hip-hop became a global phenomenon, and photos of the first rap stars who hailed from this very area, taking visitors through fascinating rhythm-induced spin around the history of hip hop. In 2024, the museum will move to a new state-of-the-art multi-floor building a few hundred meters away. 

Website: uhhm.org
Nearest metro: 149th St./Grand Concourse
Price: £

Red Hook, Brooklyn feels like you’ve stumbled upon a fishing village in Alaska sometime around 1991. Locals wear flannel shirts and beanie hats, and everyone knows each other. Which is part of the appeal of this neighborhood, cut off from the rest of Brooklyn by the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway and the largest public housing project in the city. Stroll down Van Brunt Street, the neighborhood High Street. Eat at Hometown Bar-B-Que, the best barbecue joint in the city. Pop into Pioneer Works to marvel at the work of some up-and-coming artists. And then perch yourself at the bar at Sunny’s, a local institution that’s been serving up pints and potent drinks since the 1890s when it was frequented by sailors and fishermen. 

Insider’s tip: To save time, after taking the metro to the nearest station, Smith 9th Streets, hop on a CitiBike, New York’s bike-sharing program, and point it toward Red Hook.

Price: £
Nearest metro: Smith 9th Streets
Book tickets

The owners of the Royal Palms Shuffleboard Club, Ashley Albert and Jonathan Schnap, have brought a slice of geriatric Florida fun to Brooklyn by getting the young and the hip into shuffleboard. This palace of fun boasts several lanes and a few bars. Ballers can rent cabanas for the evening – think unlimited booze by the hour – to get the full-on Royal Palms experience.

Insider’s tip: There are a handful of house cocktails but first timers should opt for the gin-and-coconut-juice-laden Shuffleboard Bob.

Website: royalpalmsshuffle.com
Price: £
Nearest metro: Union St. 

Set in a late-19th-century Romanesque Revival school house, hence the name (Public School 1), Moma’s Queens branch is an underrated museum housing scores of thought-provoking contemporary art. Time your visit for Saturday afternoon so you can hit the weekly ‘Warm up’, a DJ-ed party that gets the art crowd hopping.

Insider’s tip: Come hungry. Mina’s, run by chef Mina Stone, serves up creative takes on Greek and Mediterranean staples that makes for the perfect art-gawking break.

Website: moma.org
Nearest metro: Hunters Point Ave./Court Square
Price: ££

Start the day just above the Downs (take a taxi to start with) among the vibrant plants and trees at the perfectly formed University of Bristol Botanic Garden in Stoke Bishop. You can then either walk back across the Downs (30 minutes) or get another cab to Clifton Observatory. Grab a coffee here at the 360 glass café and head to the terrace, sit next to Wallambard (a Wallace & Gromit-style tribute to Brunel) and admire a breathtaking view of

Clifton Suspension Bridge; then seek out the Camera Obscura before tackling the fortifying 200-foot descent into the Giant’s Cave.  Find more of the best things to do in the city in our guide.

Wander back down Observatory Hill into Georgian Clifton and duck into the Victorian Clifton Arcade on Boyce’s Avenue before heading to Focus on the Past, a delightful antique shop, chock-full of old furniture, glass, silver and other collectables. The area is great for clothes shopping too. 

Wend your way to Bristol Lido, built in 1849 as a public bath and now lovingly restored. The restaurant (Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food) and poolside bar overlook the heated outdoor pool (non-members can use the pool and spa, Mon-Fri, 1pm-4pm). Have lunch here (and a swim), or walk up to Cotham for a bowl of freshly made pasta at the deservedly popular Pasta Loco.

Nicely fortified, walk down Queens Road, bypassing (for today) the Bristol Museum & Art Gallery, to Brandon Hill Park, a conservation area and home to the 105-ft Cabot Tower. It was built in 

1897 to mark John Cabot’s voyage from Bristol to North America 400 years earlier; climb the steps for a fine panoramic view of the city. 

Then make your way to the water – the Floating Harbour – and specifically Hannover Quay and take the Number Seven ferry for the five-minute trip across to the SS Great Britain and Being Brunel Museum both offer impressively curated nods to the great engineer. 

Head round the corner to see Banksy’s Girl with a Pierced Eardrum in Hanover Place and then pop into Spike Island for some challenging contemporary art and, if

you’ve time, on to Underfall Yard with its visitor centre, working boatyards and Underfall Café – sit outside on the Knuckle for views of the harbour. 

Wend your way back alongside the Floating Harbour to the M-Shed for an imaginatively presented history of the city. 

Stay in the vicinity at Wapping Wharf and make for Cargo (eye-catching converted shipping containers, which now serve as independent shops – anything from local cheese to bamboo clothing and bubble tea). Have dinner at either Root or Box-E. The former creates vegetable dishes that would turn a committed carnivore’s head, while the latter captures Bristol’s food scene as its most inspirational: the charred hispi cabbage with brown shrimp and lemon butter is ace.  Find more of the best restaurants in our guide.

Afterwards dip into Bristol’s enviable music scene by making for one of two long-standing Bristol venues, just a short walk away. The atmospheric Thekla, on a converted cargo ship, or the distinctively whitewashed Louisiana put on new and up and coming bands every night. Find more of the best nightlife in our guide.

Again begin the day with a taxi ride, this time across the river to Paintworks, a creative hub in some former industrial buildings. Here you’ll find the Martin Parr Foundation)with regular photographic exhibitions based around the British Isles; they don’t disappoint. Just opposite is the recently opened Royal Photographic Society and again with regular exhibitions and talks. 

Next make for the harbour this time for a boat trip – best get a cab some of the way as the walk isn’t through the loveliest part of the city. Hop out near the classically designed Queen Square (the first American consulate in Britain was established here in 1792). Head through the square across Pero’s Bridge to the Watershed cinema/café and pick up a Bristol Packet boat trip from the pontoon here. It’s a great way of seeing the city from the water. 

After the 45-minute trip, walk along Anchor Street, past the statue of Neptune and up Clare and Corn streets to St Nicholas Market. Grab some lunch in one of the many food stalls, such as Caribbean Wrap, The Moorish Café (for delicious Moroccan dishes) or go vegan at Royce Rolls Cafe. Take time to peruse some of the stalls – LPs to jewellery and prints – before, if it’s a weekend, popping in to the Palestine Museum, which offers an insight into Palestinian culture, heritage and political life. 

Later in the afternoon head up via the Bear Pit (a roundabout that used to have a black and white sculpture of a bear) to the dynamic and diverse ‘People’s Republic of’ Stokes Croft. Look out for Stokes Croft China for retro street art and politically slanted fine bone china mugs and plates. Then maybe pop into The Cube, a progressive cinema and art centre which ‘aims to offer alternatives and make a difference’ in its programming. Find more of the top attractions in our guide.

Order a Jamaica Mule (with Appleton Rum) at the lively Caribbean Croft. You can eat there – terrific Caribbean cuisine – and then make your way down to The Canteen, a bar/restaurant with live music every night (anything from hip hop to a samba band). 

The hilly suburbs of Cotham/Redland are well worth a diversion. Here you’ll find Cotham Hardware, which has been going since 1915, pop into Papadeli, an-award-winning deli for a great cheese toastie and take in a movie at the Everyman Bristol. Later try a cocktail at HMSS or Crying Wolf and have dinner at Wilson’s. Find more of the city’s best restaurants in our guide.

You can go try blowing your own glass bauble at Bristol Blue Glass. This family-run craft enterprise recreates the Bristol blue glass the city was once famous for in the 17th and 18th centuries. Find more of the best things to do in our guide.

The Downs are the place to watch the annual balloon fiesta in August when they set off from the Ashton Court Estate. They’d be perfect to watch the fireworks on Bonfire Night, too.

Tickets at some museums in Bristol, such as Being Brunel/SS Great Britain and Aerospace Bristol are valid for a year, so you can make return visits.

The White Lion Bar terrace at the Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin is still one of the go-to places on a summer’s evening to take in the splendour of the Clifton Suspension Bridge and have a drink as the sun begins to set. Find more of the best drinking spots in our guide.

Bristol Harbour Hotel, set in two former banks in the heart of Bristol, is a tribute to imaginative and traditional design, while its quirkiness reflects the city’s character. The glorious façade is complemented by the Sansovino Hall, and the underground spa in the old bank vaults is a treat, with a cavernous resistance pool, a hydrotherapy pool and top-notch gym. Rooms have plenty of light and the Jetty Restaurant serves a superb seafood-based menu and great wine list. 

Read our full review.

Now taken over and completely revamped by the Hotel du Vin group, Avon Gorge by Hotel du Vin is once again worthy of its fabulous position overlooking Clifton Suspension Bridge. The Grade II-listed building dates from 1898 and was formerly a spa. The spacious rooms have dark blue or green walls, and amusing paintings dotted throughout. The funky restaurant, Goram & Vincent, features floor-to-ceiling glass windows that show off the bridge; meats, in particular the steak, is the thing here, prepared with grills, clay ovens and a smoker.

Read our full review.

The Old City is a neighbourhood in Bristol where street markets rub shoulders with historic churches, jazz pubs and restaurants housed in converted Georgian banks. Brooks Guesthouse is located right in the thick of it; St Nicholas Market is on the doorstep, as are the Cabot Circus shopping area, cobbled King Street, and the museums and galleries on the waterfront. The inviting rooms are on the smaller side, but pleasantly decorated with tongue-and-groove panelling, pretty wallpapers and Farrow & Ball colours. Up on the roof, there’s a small collection of British-made ‘Rockets’ (American-style aluminium caravans). Book one of these for an urban twist on ‘glamping’. 

Read our full review.

Find more of the best hotels in Bristol in our guide.

Head up to Stokes Croft China for some radical fine bone china mugs and plates – slogans champion everything from the environment to the NHS and socialist politics. 

A tiny outlet for The Bristol Cheesemonger in Wapping Wharf is the place to go for some delicious artisan cheeses from Somerset, Devon, Cornwall and Gloucestershire.

Want something equally Bristolian? Try the excellent shop at the M Shed for Banksy books, local prints, Bristol glass and children’s toys.

The pace in Bristol rarely lets up but as ever the best time to explore is during the week; it has a big student population too so you might want to bear that in mind. Accommodation is also likely to be more expensive during the week so you will get a better deal for a two-night stay then.

Weather-wise, the city has a range of activities to suit sunny or rainy days. However, there are numerous festivals throughout the seasons which may sway your decision. The main ones to watch out for are Upfest in May (now a biannual event, the next one will be 2024), Europe’s largest live street art and graffiti festival, the Bristol Harbour Festival, in July, a free celebration of music, food, dance and the arts in Harbourside, and the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, held over four days in August, when around 130 balloonists take off from the Ashton Court Estate. Then, at Christmas, you can look forward to street markets, ice skating and mulled cider.

• Visit Bristol has everything from bus timetables to gifts.

• Visit Bristol has everything from bus timetables to gifts. 
• Swap you money for the Bristol Pound, the aim of which is to keep the currency within the city and ‘create a more sustainable and inclusive local economy’.
• The Bristol Visitor Information Centre is open every day from 10am-5pm.

Author bio

Simon Horsford is a regular visitor to Bristol, drawn by its maverick way of thinking, its enviable restaurant scene and range of attractions from music to museums and markets. He’s even tackled the ZooRopia high ropes course at Bristol Zoo.

Every hotel in this curated list has been visited by one of our expert reviewers, who are usually hosted on a complimentary basis. They stay for a minimum of one night, test at least one meal and trial other experiences that the hotel might have to offer. 

• The 50 best family-friendly hotels in the UK

• The best family hotels in England 

• The best family hotels in London

• The best family hotels in Cornwall

• The top luxury hotels in Cornwall

• The best boutique hotels in the Cotswolds

• The best family hotels in Devon

• The best family hotels in Dorset

• The best family hotels in Edinburgh

Contributions by Hattie Garlick, Harriet Jones, Kathryn Liston, Emma Love, Natalie Paris, Helen Pickles

This takes us nicely to the very civilised hora del aperitivo (aperitif hour), around oneish. You want a traditional tiled bar or a terrace table for this. A small beer is a safe bet and is not even considered to be an alcoholic drink, just a light refreshment. You could also have a glass of wine, but to do things properly, order a locally-made vermouth with a splash of soda water. If you’re in Andalucia, go for a sherry. Some olives, a bit of cheese, few slivers of jamón ibérico and some boquerones (anchovies) will be enough to get you thinking about lunch. 

You can embark on a tapas crawl but the sit-down lunch is an important part of the day in Spain. It is normal for people to leave the office (again) for a three-course menú del día (fixed-price lunch) plus wine or whatever they want to drink for around a tenner. Allow time for coffee and maybe a copita (the diminutive could not be more inappropriate) of orujo (similar to grappa) or pacharán, a punchy concoction made from sloes and anisette.

Following a leisurely afternoon stroll – or more likely a siesta in summer – it is time for merienda, when you restore your energy levels with more caffeine, sugar and stodge. Toast, sandwiches, cakes, churros or pancakes are all typical choices. 

Around eightish, everyone drifts back into the bars for more beer, sherry, vermouth or wine, perhaps accompanied by a few squidgy croquetas or a dish of sizzling gambas al ajillo. You can carry on all evening with tapas if you like, as long as you visit at least three and ideally half a dozen places. Or, around ten o’clock, you can go to a proper restaurant for dinner, preferably somewhere with lots of chatter and clatter. If you’ve been baffled by why people eat so late, you can probably see by now that it makes perfect sense when you just fall into the Spanish rhythm. 

We’re talking three courses again, but it is usual to share a few things to start with and the main dish is often meat or fish without much else on the plate, so it should be easily manageable, so long as you’re not wearing anything too restrictive.

When you leave the restaurant sometime after midnight, someone will suggest having the penúltima (it is very bad form to talk of the last drink) so off you go to another bar or terrace for an enormous gin and tonic, a cubata (rum or whisky with coke) or a cocktail. It almost certainly won’t be just the one either and before you know it, dawn is breaking and you’re starving again. This is the perfect moment for another round of churros and chocolate, which also happens to be an excellent way to stave of a hangover.