Advice

How quickly we forget. Not so long ago, at the start of the year, we were wondering if it was too risky to take a punt on Spain for a summer holiday. Now friends are returning from Florida and Nevis with suntans and talking about imminent trips to Mexico, the Seychelles, even Australia. So with

Firenze, the cradle of the Renaissance, is one of Europe’s great art cities. With frescoes by Giotto and Ghirlandaio, canvases by Botticelli and Bronzino, and sculptures by Michelangelo and Giambologna, there is so much exquisite art and architecture within its ancient walls that it’s easy to become overwhelmed. But, there is more to handsome Florence

Venice is always an inspirational destination but the lagoon city shows visitors its very best during the international art Biennale when the city is energised by the influx of visiting art cognoscenti and curious travellers. While the industrial Arsenale and lush Giardini are the central hub for the festival’s main exhibitions, spectacular venues all around

In the centre of Rome a couple called Francesco and Francesca are chatting animatedly. He’s sitting astride a parked Vespa, she’s standing in a long queue in one of the authorized AS Roma ticket agencies, waiting for her turn to buy tickets for an important football match. They’re separated by a plate glass window and can

It’s easy to be dismissive of the Belgians. Even their own King Leopold II, exasperated, said in 1907, towards the end of his life: “Je suis le souverain d’un petit pays et de petites gens” (“I am the sovereign of a small country and small people”).  A cursory look at the place will hardly set

Think Galapagos and what springs to mind? The bountiful birdlife, the playful sea lions, Charles Darwin – who died 140 years ago today, the dulcet tones of David Attenborough, who’s likely brought this wondrous archipelago into your living rooms? At least one of those things, probably.  But there’s another side to Galapagos you might not

Remember those two-week holidays when you wished you could’ve stayed longer? When you dreamt of spending days on end getting lost in the streets of a new city, returning to a favourite café until you’re counted as one of the locals, or having more time for day trips further afield? It seems retired travellers are

With testing rules eased and face mask mandates finally removed, holidays were supposed to be returning to normal. But as the Easter break arrives, flight cancellations, airport queues and technical issues are threatening travel’s triumphant return. Elsewhere, there continues to be disruption at the docks and snaking queues for Eurostar trains as staff shortages and

Turkey’s sublimely beautiful southwest, nuzzled by the azure waters of both the Aegean and Mediterranean seas and home to towering mountains dotted with picturesque ancient ruins, affords a splendid setting for some of the most alluring yet great-value all-inclusive holidays to Turkey. Many have direct beach access, an array of pools, myriad watersports and other

Lured by sun-kissed landscapes, world-class cultural sites and lovely islands lapped by limpid turquoise seas, more than 30 million overseas tourists arrived in Greece in 2019 – roughly three times the country’s population.  Greeks, who are well aware of their country’s charms, firmly believe that there’s no better place in the world for a holiday.

Any given summer will see Cornwall’s population treble in size, with well over a million visitors flocking to the Duchy’s sandy beaches and pretty harbour towns for their holidays. Who can blame them? But the annual tourist migration means that competition for bed and board is perennially high from July to September, and prices during

Flight cancellations continue to affect passengers at multiple UK airports due to staff shortages and increased passenger numbers over the Easter holidays. See below for our guide to your compensation rights when travel is disrupted due to poor weather or the fault of the operator. Can I get compensation if a flight is delayed? Due

As happy as I am with my life in Germany, I would be lying if I said I hadn’t experienced the famous German arrogance. Indeed, in the decade or so I have spent here, my daily existence has been peppered with such encounters. To some extent, being rendered practically invisible in bars and restaurants, and

It felt like winter would never end, but after months of chilly temperatures warmer weather has finally arrived. For those hoping to celebrate this weekend with a trip to the seaside – the first for six months, perhaps – here are a dozen of England’s least crowded stretches of sand.  Taken from Hidden Beaches by Daniel

I once met an Italian who didn’t drink coffee. He made light of the fact, but you could see that he was tired of having to explain his disability every time some new acquaintance uttered the standard Italian greeting: “Prendiamo un caffè?” (“Fancy a coffee?”). His breezy but faintly passive-aggressive manner concealed, I suspect, deep

With Easter upon us, families great and small will be flocking to Cornwall, the Costa del Sol and the Caribbean. To ensure holiday success, heed the warnings of our widely travelled experts, who recall occasions when they did and didn’t get it right Do… ensure your car is roadworthy before entering a safari park As

Why would anyone take a baby on holiday? Before fatherhood, that babies should be left at home was an opinion I held steadfastly. Surely the relevant parties would have a better week if the sprog was offloaded onto Grandma? Parents can relax properly, Nanna can spend some quality time with her grandchild, and the little

Long a nation of Sancerre, Chablis and Côtes du Rhône, France is hopping into the world of beer with gusto and now has the highest number of breweries of any country in Europe. The growth has been explosive. In the 1980s there were fewer than 20 breweries in the country;  now there are around 2,300.

The idea of holidaying in Germany is more likely to conjure up images of romantic hilltop castles and quaint villages with pretty timber-framed houses than sweeping, sandy beaches and rugged, handsome coastlines. But the country’s northern coastline, which extends some 1,400 miles along the Baltic and North Seas, offers precisely that – swathes of pristine

Spring has sprung and it’s tulips-from-Amsterdam time again. Millions of people visit the tulip fields annually – though with Covid, of course, it has been a while. Now the Netherlands has lifted restrictions (no test needed, just a vaccination certificate), we will all be flocking back. But this year, there is rather more to see.