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With temperatures in the mid-20s and a lively cafe culture, Seville is brilliant to visit now, although it will be busy (with pricey rooms) over Easter and during Feria de Abril festivities a fortnight later.  Yet Andalusia’s capital thrives on its buzz — and its flamboyance.  Flamenco dancers perform in the streets near the gothic … Read more

Britain at its best: Walking with Wordsworth in the Wye and Usk valleys Gliffaes is an ‘ultra-comfy’ country house hotel in the Usk Valley, Wales The artist and cleric Rev William Gilpin once lauded the qualities of the river Wye Llangoed Hall, above Hay-on-Wye, is being ‘driven to yet greater heights’  By Clive Aslet For … Read more

Oregon’s annual UFO festival is just the place to channel your inner green man UFO Fest, in McMinnville, Oregon, will be celebrating its 20th anniversary in May In 1950, the small town was the location of an alleged UFO sighting by a farmer  The highlight of the wacky festival is a parade where people dress … Read more

The turtles have been disloyal. That’s what Keilu, our water sports supremo, tells us mournfully on our first morning. Normally, you can just snorkel out to them, but after a few days of rough seas they headed off and haven’t returned. Keilu seems genuinely upset by their desertion. But his inability to produce aquatic reptiles … Read more

Wherever your travels lead in southeast Sicily, you’re never far from 1693. The earthquake of January that year destroyed more than 70 cities, killing some 60,000 people —including two-thirds of the population of Catania. Which makes the Baroque cities, built with such nerve and verve following the quake, so awe-inspiring — both from an architectural … Read more

Don’t starve in the Algarve! Baker Brothers share their recipe for a fab time sampling Portuguese wares Loule market has stalls filled with fresh produce and is buzzing on Saturdays  Dive into the fish market in Quarteira for clams, prawns, sea bass and dourada Gigi’s has good seafood and its opera-singing owner uses a sabre … Read more

One of my favourite Gerard Manley Hopkins lines is from his poem The Windhover: ‘My heart in hiding stirred for a bird.’ Has your heart ever stirred for a bird? Have you ever, even for a fleeting second, looked at a bird and thought how wonderful it is? How wonderful life is? How wonderful the … Read more

You may have had your fill of the sights of Paris but still feel drawn to the French capital. One way to discover something new is to visit easily accessible places in the countryside just outside the city that most people don’t know about. I have lived in Paris since 1991 and still delight in … Read more

Great British Boltholes: Mind your head on the beams and bring a dog (if it’s well-behaved) – these are the orders at the Horse Guards Inn, West Sussex Horse Guards Inn was a stopping-off point for the House Cavalry in the 1840s The hotel is bijou – from its three rooms to the low beams … Read more

Saddle up for a really wild ride: The inside story on cycling safaris in Africa Cycle safaris tend to be small group tours with an average of 16 guests  Travelling on a bike is practically silent, so you see more animals undisturbed But you’re unlikely to see the ‘big five’ African safari animals from your … Read more