Category Archives for "Western Europe"

“Talking about dreams is like talking about movies. Years can pass in a second, and you can hop from one place to another.”

Traditional Welsh food hides in plain sight. Against a backdrop of the classics, like bara brith, cockles and welsh cakes, Wales welcomes new flavours these days. Here are the five traditional Welsh dishes you can’t miss, plus an update on what’s new on the foodie scene.

“This is the classic ragù that my grandmother taught me: a delicious, versatile sauce that can be used in many ways. Added to lasagne, any type of pasta, served with meatballs…” Lella from Cuoche in Vacanza

With more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any other country and a sense of fashion that extends to the shape of its land mass, Italy struts onto the stage without apology. Here’s my ideal itinerary for 10 days in Italy, as well as another six itineraries for exploring this fascinating country.

Use this Amalfi Coast itinerary to make the most of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. It even includes walking the path of the gods.

Symonds Yat Rock has a strange old name, one that invites a patchwork of guesswork, gamesmanship and downright goof. Who was Symonds? What is a yat? And what does a rock have to do with it anyway?

Santé! That’s the quickest way to say cheers in French. But French drinking toasts are more complex than that. Get it wrong and you face seven years of bad sex luck, according to tradition.

Here’s an inside guide to toasting your French friends

With gentle salt spray, honeycomb rock and field after field of wild flowers, hiking the Ruta Vicentina revealed the secret the Portuguese have been hiding for years: the stunning Alentejo coast. Here’s an inside guide to the things to do on the Costa Vicentina, this untamed beauty at the edge of Europe.

With over 2000 years of history and a population from every country in the world, London overflows with unusual things to do.

Traditional Austrian food includes more than just schnitzel, sachertorte and stodge. Fresh from her kitchens and pantries, allow me to guide you through the best of Austrian cuisine.

Let’s start at the very beginning…

Relishing a few days in the foodie city of Lisbon, I’d scribbled suggestions, pinned pictures on Pinterest, flitted hearts across instagram and whatever else we’re supposed to do in this social media age before taking our taste buds anywhere.

I had the additional perk of knowing not one, not two but three food writers familiar with the city and, quite literally, ran into a woman who wrote the book on travel and eating out in Portugal only a few weeks before.

With no fewer than seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the claim as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, the Leaning Tower of Pisa and more, it’s no surprise that Tuscany remains one of the most popular places to visit in Italy, if not the world.

And yet.

A weekend in Paris provides enough to time to grab a sugar-dusted, zinc-topped, art-soaked two day itinerary yet still leave wishing for more. For first timers and repeat offenders, here’s our inside guide to the perfect weekend in Paris.

How to work out where to stay in London without giving yourself a migraine or giving up on your dream to, well, afford to do anything else in life. Born and bred in London and now a professional traveller, here’s my guide on finding the best place for you.

Lech Zürs am Arlberg is a small place that attracts big names to its ski slopes. The Jordanian Royal Family. Formerly, Princess Diana. But summer in Lech is often overlooked. New flavours, traditional herb walks and innovative art installations spice up these hiking routes in Austria. Locals call it “the door to pure nature.”

From historic houses to wilderness, magnificent gardens, James Joyce and even a UNESCO Biosphere reserve, Dublin has plenty of thoroughly good day trips hiding among the cockles in her Molly Malone basket.

The Nuremberg sausage or bratwurstUnderstanding the Nuremberg SausageThe city of Nuremberg may have an international reputation for some of the worst events on earth. But the Nuremberg sausage shows another side of the city. Whether called bratwurst of a Nurnberger, here’s the inside info on 700 years of sausage making history. Oh, and it tastes […]

The hills are alive with the sound of cheese! The Kasestrasse translates to cheese road but it’s actually a vast trail of tradition, culture and innovation. A great route for foodies and off the beaten track experience in West Austria.

As the oldest oak forest in England and an area of natural beauty, the Forest of Dean has plenty of things to do. Find a slice of rural luxury here.

Your guide to Chiavenna Italy, including what to see in Chiavenna, where to stay and eat, day trips, local delicacies and lots more helpful tips.

The best things to do in Germany – travel ideas and itineraries  Germany attracts repeat visitors through an intoxicating mix of sweet gingerbread and beer. Sizzling sausages (some protected by law,) fairytale castles and snow-laden chalets with glühwein on tap take the chill off the history of the Berlin Wall and the shadows from the well documented […]

Get back to nature and the salty, sandy, rocky coast of West Wales with a luxury camping experience in Felin Geri.

London, you sweet, pretty, gritty city, you. With your thousands of years of history, your up to the minute design, your art, your celebrities, your Harry Potter Platform 9 ¾, and your life-saving discoveries, you. Here’s how to unlock your secrets within 3 days.

Geneva, Switzerland. My first thoughts leaped to watches, chocolates and human rights – and my first half hour in the city certainly backed up that list.

   When I first started looking for things to do in Harrogate, it was out of a dull sense of duty: I had to go there for work. But then I uncovered a world of intrigue, relaxation and reinvention in this pretty Yorkshire town.Introducing HarrogateHarrogate hit the headlines in the 19th century with its strong subterranean […]

It’s an astonishing feeling to sip morning tea high above the treetops. To see them swaying, sunlight splintering through, to feel with them, swaying slightly, unable to see their base.

The treetop cabin at Redwood Valley seems different to how I’d imagined: not perilous and poky but refreshing and full of the promise of adventure. A steep path leads here, rather than a ladder, the banks of earth thrusting upwards to lift visitors up, up, up and into the forest.

And what a forest it is.

And so, at last, I am in Berlin. After more than a thousand miles by train, through some of the darkest moments in European history, some well known, others not, I find myself with a plastic fork in one hand and a fluffy orange sausage in the other.

Venice has a tempestuous love affair with the world. Millions of adoring fans visit La Serenissima each year, lured by the sirens of the Adriatic. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time squashed on the London Underground, but…

Ah, beautiful Graz. A city that’s worth falling in love with for so many reasons, but it’s the Graz restaurants that will have you falling hard and fast.

The Grand Central Hotel Belfast is back on the scene, reopening after a £53m refurbishment. So what’s it like? And how does the rest of Belfast look as part of a relaxing weekend away?