Advice

In just a decade, Majorca has proven to be a playground for many of the finest five-star hotels in Spain, the majority offering gastronomic restaurants, roof terraces and deluxe spas. Luxury comes at a price but the best hotels in Majorca provide a truly pampering experience with world-class facilities and attentive, consistently excellent service. From

The uniform sandstone of the Haussmann buildings, the abundance of gilded historic monuments, and the glimmering Seine and its elegant bridges have arguably made Paris the most recognisable and romanticised cityscape in the world. But though the city wears its history – of monarchy, revolution, revolt and artistic innovation – with characteristic style, it is

Los Angeles has long been looked down on by its East Coast counterparts, but now that the rest of world has caught up with California’s green juice and wellness obsession, the city is having something of a moment. No longer deemed a cultural wasteland, LA is bursting with new art galleries and museums, a flourishing

Croatia offers more than 1,100 miles of meandering mainland coast backed by rugged limestone mountains, along with hundreds of scattered islands and islets, of which 47 are inhabited. It is also dotted with historic and beautifully preserved harbour towns, relics of the four centuries between 1420 and 1797 when it was occupied by the Venetians. This

It’s time to give away my best trick as a hotel guest: I never – unless it can’t be helped ­ ­– stay in hotels on Friday and Saturday nights. That’s because I have long been an advocate of Sunday night stays, but then I’m lucky: as a hotel critic I’m aware of the advantages

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

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

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

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

More flight delays and cancellations on Wednesday Extinction Rebellion protests trigger fuel crisis at Birmingham airport How to avoid Easter travel chaos  Dozens more flights from UK airports have been cancelled today as holidaymakers continue to grapple with travel disruption over the Easter break.  So far at least 17 British Airways flights from Heathrow have been axed,

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