Literary Lübeck Lübeck – Queen of the Hanseatic League – has a fading charm and vulnerability that is absent in Berlin, Munich and Hamburg… and in most of Germany. I loved my trip there, wandering the cobbled streets, climbing every brick Gothic church tower – mostly alone! Thomas Mann wrote the unbearably sad novel Buddenbrooks … Read more
Exploring Palma, with its heady mix of Moorish, medieval and Gothic sights, and galleries, museums and historic churches, is always a pleasure, whether for a weekend getaway or a longer stay. But there is so much more to experience in this compact and beautiful coastal city. In the labyrinth of cobbled streets of the old … Read more
Praia no Parque is a beach bar overlooking the lake in Eduardo VII Park and is one of the best bars in Lisbon Lisbon has a vibrant nightlife, spilling out into the cobbled streets of Chiado, watching the dawn rise over the Tagus River and serenading the stars from rooftop bars in the fragrant, warm … Read more
The Baltic capitals of Riga in Latvia (pictured) and Vilnius in Lithuania are now connected by train – Getty/Westend61 I don’t normally take pictures of the trains I’m about to board and compare them with the pictures taken by a stranger sitting next to me in the carriage. But this train, which ran between the … Read more
Swap Milan for Bergamo in 2024 – Getty Last month, cruise giant Royal Caribbean got into trouble by advertising a trip “departing from Venice (Ravenna)” – when even the youngest geography student is sure that the historic city, while beautiful, is also a two-and-a-half-hour drive away Italy’s floating masterpiece. The Advertising Standards Authority warned of … Read more