Advice

The luxe lifestyle is no stranger to New York. White-glove apartment buildings, Madison Avenue’s fancy boutiques, and 67 Michelin-starred restaurants promise great pleasure to residents and visitors with deep pockets. The city’s luxury hotels feature notable perks as well, from recommendations courtesy of Les Clefs d’Or concierge and indulgent spas calming the senses, to some

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.

What is it about spas that make them so appealing? Perhaps it’s the idea of a velvety facial in the hands of an expert after a long week, or doing the crossword with your mum as you watch swimmers idly lapping the pool. It might be getting lost in a book to the sound of

Comfortable beds, hearty food, heartstopping views – this is the most that guests ever really ask for when checking into a Cornish hotel (or many favour self-catering accommodation options, of which there are plenty). But there are also some seriously top-grade stays to be found, too. A small, but prominent selection of luxury hotels in

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.

You’ll have heard of the traditional gap year, the much-mocked “gap yah”, and all the associated talk of “finding yourself” in the countries you visit along the way. Perhaps you even took a gap year yourself, back in the day, intent on exploring the world before heading off to university, or diving into the workplace.

Granted, Guéthary – on the Basque Atlantic coast – is not a secret for everyone, not for French people, anyway. The brighter among them have been going there for ages. Just this year, the place was named by a perfectly reputable body as the finest of all villages to live in in France. It apparently

A helicopter thunders overhead as we wait for our lattes, and I find myself wondering which A-lister is about to be deposited nearby to join us. We’re in a secret sort of place you see: a privately owned island, just for those in the know. There tends to be a bit of a buzz about

Boutique hotels in London are the opposite of just ‘somewhere to get your head down’. They offer an added layer of charm many of the larger chain properties miss out on. Often independent or part of a smaller hotel group, they have intimate spaces with masses of attention to detail. Or at least the best

The UK is one of the easiest places to explore when money is a little tight. We’ve got glorious free-for-all galleries in the likes of London and Edinburgh, while cities such as York and Bath are like living museums of the past, with cobbled streets and historic buildings free to see on a stroll around

Britain is home to some exemplary beaches. And with spring in full swing and the sun finally shining, it’s time to start planning a day at the beach.  To help you pick the best stretch of sand to visit this spring and summer, we asked our experts to recommend their favourite beaches around the country.

Moderation doesn’t suit Dubai, where supersized hotels in record-breaking towers, luxury yachts in glittering marinas, huge malls stuffed with designer shops, and mega parks with grand-scale attractions and amusements, are commonplace. New, superlative experiences are popping up all the time, from Ain Dubai, the tallest Ferris wheel in the world, to butler-guided tours around “seven-star”

Sunshine and sea air are undoubtedly two of the best things about Cornwall, and visitors flock to this corner of England to indulge in slice of coastal wellness. The cascading seaside towns and villages, though pretty to look at, also make themselves felt in the leg muscles of those strolling their steeply sloping streets. Perhaps

Concluding our series on how other nationalities conduct their holidays, our expat expert assesses the Germans. Previous articles have looked at French, American, Japanese and Italian travellers.  Where they go Everywhere. According to a pre-Covid report by the country’s largest travel association, the Deutscher ReiseVerband, Germans are the “world’s travel champions” – they spend more

Travel for solo travellers is on the rise, especially among those in their 50s and 60s, say tour operators that focus on guided and specialist tours. Cox & Kings, which runs small group tours worldwide, says 40 per cent of its sales this year have been to older people travelling on their own. This shouldn’t

Quite when Tuscany was “discovered” is hard to say – perhaps during the Grand Tours of the 18th century, perhaps by British buyers in Chianti in the Sixties – but ever since people have been looking for a region to take it place – the “next Tuscany”. Neighbouring Umbria came first, the Abruzzo, east of Rome, will probably be next, but for

Britain is a nation of spectacular cities. Whether it’s the theatre and shopping districts of London or the historic streets of Edinburgh, our capitals are enthralling destinations in their own right. And beyond those big urban sprawls are a number of unique and exciting smaller cities that certainly don’t skimp on equally great food or