Travel
The 90th birthday present that the Queen really wants
The Queen’s 90th birthday celebrations start this week with the real thing and barely stop until her official birthday in…
The heart of Los Angeles feels like somewhere else entirely
There’s a certain kind of Englishman who falls hard for Los Angeles. Men such as Graham Nash, who swapped the…
Dear Mary: How can I make a conversation-stopping gaffe go away?
Q. What should a host do when a guest says something so embarrassing in front of the assembled company that…
Would you like to buy an American’s vote?
Killing time in a Heathrow first-class lounge, I notice how many men adopt an unmistakable ‘first-class lounge’ persona. They stand…
Aftershocks and polo ponies in Christchurch, New Zealand
On my first night in Christchurch, I woke at 3.32 a.m. to what felt like an explosion. My bed was…
Flying from Donald Trump to the beautiful ruins of another empire
Just as the presidential race in America started to get really crazy, I left for India. On the morning of…
Courchevel – from pickled cockles to the height of luxury
The last time I stayed in Courchevel it was in a tatty roadside chalet a long way down the mountain.…
A silky, air-conditioned introduction to Bangkok
Last time I went to Thailand, there’d been something of a misunderstanding about accommodation, and my friend and I ended…
There may never be a better (or cheaper) time to visit South Africa
There are plenty of places to fly to for winter sun, but only one place that offers five-star hotels for…
Ernest Shackleton and other South Georgia ghosts
The terrible news that Henry Worsley had died just 30 miles short of crossing the Antarctic continent unsupported reached me…
The world is about to discover the wonders of Lake Iseo
If you’ve never heard of Lake Iseo, you’re not alone. Nestling shyly between chocolate-box Como and glamorous Garda, the smallest…
The glories of the Galapagos
Robin Oakley on what to see in the Galapagos – if you can
Paris: go while it’s still friendly
Julie Burchill hymns the joys of post-attack Paris
Why would the whole world’s book industry gather in booze-free Sharjah?
Who goes to the Sharjah International Book Fair? Sam Leith, for one
Stone houses and packed beaches: the pleasures of Puglia
If Italy is the elegant, over-the-knee boot plunged into the Mediterranean, then Puglia is the narrow peninsula that forms its…
Beyond the Leaning Tower: the wonders of Pisa
Say ‘Pisa’ and everyone thinks of the Leaning Tower. Fair enough; it’s a curiosity, and the tourist board must be…
The most important test that HS2 doesn’t pass
Despite my opposition to High Speed 2, I am quite a big fan of HS1, the line which runs from…
Wrestling with the romantic glory of the Lake District
Cumberland and Westmorland Wrestling is the best thing in the Lake District. I lived near Wigton, just north of the…
Anglesey: la dolce vita in north Wales
We teased our friends by saying that our holiday would be on a far-away island. The Maldives, perhaps? No, Anglesey,…
Sri Lanka makes me yearn to be a pre-war tea planter
James Delingpole tastes bliss in the steamy heat
The young entrepreneurs making the best of Spain’s crisis
Lara Prendergast finds delicacies amid the dilapidation in Andalucía
Cable cars, cheese and chic on the quieter side of the Alps
‘It sounds like you’re having an Ann Summers party up there,’ a male traveller called, as our group erupted into…
The wonders of Zanzibar’s Stone Town
Mark Palmer explores the Spice Island’s historic heart
Adventures on the isle that seduced Odysseus
Gozo — Malta’s tiny island neighbour — was once rather a crucial spot in the Mediterranean. The Knights of Malta…
My Schubert cruise was a transport of delight
Michael Henderson is transported to raptures on a Schubert cruise
