Catalonia, Spain
Four Ways Out of Barcelona
Four of my favourite days out by train: Sitges old town, Girona's giant Gothic nave, Roman Tarragona and the cliff path from Sant Pol to Calella's lighthouse.
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Wish You Were Here
City guides, trip itineraries and honest reviews, from the dive bar to the Michelin star.
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Ibiza, Spain
Ibiza & Formentera, Three Ways
Three trips to the White Island: beach hotels, Dalt Vila and a day on Formentera; a winter break by night ferry; and a villa in the pines, with...
Paris & the Vendée, France
Dita, Versailles and a Throne in the Vendée
Five nights in France built around one show: Dita Von Teese at the Folies Bergère, a Sunday of fountains at Versailles, Paris by e-bike and two days at...
Athens, Greece
Four Stars in Five Nights
Five nights in Athens in February: a grand hotel on Syntagma Square, a small suite hotel in Thiseio, and four dinners that each held a Michelin star, from...
Madrid, Spain
Madrid in Three Acts
Four winter days in Madrid: a mansion hotel with a gym in a gilded salon, Cabaret staged inside a hotel, chocolate caviar in Salamanca and a Cinderella on...
Palma, Spain
Palma, Out of Season
Three January nights in Palma: a spa hotel in Santa Catalina, sushi across the street, an underground concert in the Coves del Drach and a cathedral with hardly...
Mainland Greece
Greece, the Long Way Round
Two weeks on the Greek mainland in October: dinner in Thessaloniki, Meteora at golden hour, a fireplace night in Arachova, Ancient Corinth after the coaches leave, and five...
Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra
Narbonne for Lunch, Andorra for the Night
A two-day road trip from Barcelona: lunch at Les Grands Buffets in Narbonne, the N20 over the Pyrenees, a night in Escaldes and a morning at Caldea.
Lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon, Lit for Christmas
Six December nights in a Bica duplex: Christmas lights on Rua Garrett, a market lunch on Praça da Figueira, a nata under a painted ceiling inside Zara and...
Málaga, Spain
Everything's Coming Up Roses in Málaga
Four November nights in Málaga for Antonio Banderas's Gypsy: a restored 1926 grand hotel on the seafront, sushi around the corner, ham off Calle Larios and a spring...
Veneto, Italy
Palladio, Tiepolo and One Night in Venice
The last leg of my Italian summer: a stop in Verona, three nights in a frescoed suite on Corso Palladio, La Rotonda and Tiepolo's Villa Valmarana, then one...
Parma, Italy
Prosciutto, Palaces and a Leaning Tower
Five nights in an old Parma palazzo with a hire car for the day trips: the wooden Teatro Farnese, torta fritta and horse tartare, Romanesque Modena, Bologna's porticoes...
Lombardy, Italy
Como by Boat, Milan by Design
Four July days in Lombardy: the funicular up to Brunate, a hydrofoil to Bellagio, Portaluppi's Villa Necchi, Dolce&Gabbana's Alta Moda in the royal palace and lunch with the...