A spokesman for the Co-op told the BBC: “Our culture, as a co-operative, ensured decision-making throughout has listened to views from leaders and colleagues across our food and wider business, whilst simultaneously acknowledging when a wide range of views are expressed, not everybody will always agree with the final decisions and actions taken.”
Born in Milan in 2000, Paralympic swimmer Simone Barlaam, is a 13-time world champion who won three golds and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He’s a torchbearer and ambassador for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, which run from 6-22 February (the Paralympic Games run from 6-15 March) at sites across Lombardy and north-east Italy (with events such as speed skating, figure skating and ice hockey in the city). He also worked as a graphic designer for the games.
Barlaam grew up in Milan and lives in NoLo (North of Loreto), a vibrant, artistic neighbourhood. “I’ve lived all over the place, so I can take you around the city and the places that belong to my heart,” he says. Here, he chooses his favourite spots, beyond obvious sights such as the Duomo, La Scala opera house and the glossy Quadrilatero della Moda fashion district.
If I’m training, there’s this beautiful pastry shop next to my pool that I go to with my teammates after a long, hard session: Pasticceria Grossi in Piazzale Udine. It’s the best coffee place.
I like Panificio Storico Vailati on Via Vitruvio because the pastries are lovely, and it’s welcoming and warm – they treat you as if they’ve known you for the last 30 years.
Pizzeria da Mimmo near Chinatown has a special place in my heart because my parents always used to take us there for lunch. It’s a very small place and the pizza slices are very thick, soft and fluffy, like a cloud. Every time I go there, I feel like a kid again.
When I was a student, studying at the Politecnico di Milano, I would go to Grano e in Viale Romagna, where the food is very cheap and very fresh. If I want to treat myself I go to Ratanà on Via Gaetano de Castillia, it’s the restaurant of my friend and chef Cesare Battisti. It has traditional dishes like mondeghili, a type of fried meatball made of leftovers, and I think it does the best risotto in town. I also love a Vietnamese restaurant called Vietnam Mon Amour, where I used to go as a student. It’s tiny and the food is amazing.
Via Paolo Sarpi, in Chinatown is a must, and comes alive at night. There are so many places to eat – restaurants as well as amazing street food places. There are a few karaoke places too – it’s fun to go with your friends and just sing and make a fool out of yourself.
Milan is the city of Armani, and there is so much of Giorgio’s legacy here. It’s an incredible honour to have developed a race suit with them. When Giorgio passed away, I went to the funeral and the queue of people there to say goodbye was kilometres long. That showed how much people love him and how his legacy affected this city.
The Acquario Civico di Milano, one of the oldest aquariums in Europe, was built in the early 20th century. There are sculptures of the sea and fish around the building. Part of the aquarium is outside, with freshwater fish; most of the displays are dedicated to Italian aquatic environments, though inside there’s a little tropical aquarium too. What I love about water is the sense of freedom it gives me, because obviously, for a person with a disability, I’m very clumsy and not very graceful on land – but in the water, I’m fast and can be agile. It feels almost like flying. I could stay for hours just watching a fish swim in an aquarium, it’s mesmerising. I have this passion that I can’t really express in words about swimming creatures, they give me a kind of peace.
Milan is full of little green parks, but Parco Sempione is one of the best and it’s connected to the medieval Castello Sforzesco, the triumphal arch Arco della Pace and the excellent Museum of Triennale. It has so many cool events – live music, concerts, exhibitions – they are displaying original Olympic posters until 15 March.
Most of the time, Milan is an accessible city. It’s flat, and with the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, there have been many renovations in the city. For example, they’ve finally built an elevator at the metro stop in front of my house. But obviously we cannot stop here and we need to always improve because like every part of Italy, Milan is full old buildings that need to be made more accessible.
Obviously, Milan is well known for its culture and museums but there are plenty of hidden gems, too. One of them is the L.O.V.E. statue by Maurizio Cattelan, a contemporary visual artist. This statue in front of Milan’s stock exchange is a giant middle finger, and not many tourists go to see it. It’s interesting: it’s made of marble but is so different to classical buildings. It’s as if it’s saying, “screw you” to the Milan stock exchange building, which was built during the Ventennio (Italy’s fascist dictatorship).
There are many other museums that I love, such as the Mudec, the Museum of the Cultures of Milan. The Museum of Natural History is tiny but it’s in a beautiful building in a beautiful park. At the weekend it’s crowded with kids. I used to be one of those kids, I’d go there all the time. Outside they have lifesize models of dinosaurs. It’s amazing to think they used to roam on the land that became Milan back in the day.
Laura Coffey was a guest of Crowne Plaza Milan City and YesMilano
In speech after speech, this year’s Grammy-winning artists returned to one message—ICE is a menace that must be stopped.
After dramatic, violent escalations in federal raids on immigrant communities and their supporters in Minneapolis and across the country, Americans have been shocked into despair and action. Many artists up for top Grammys have been vocal about their opposition to these raids, but at Sunday’s Grammys, the topic was front and center for many winners in their speeches.
“I want to dedicate this to all the people who had to leave their home, their country, to follow their dreams,” Bad Bunny said in his mostly-Spanish acceptance speech for the Grammys top prize, Album of the Year.
Earlier in the night, he joked with host Trevor Noah about Puerto Rico not being a great place for Noah should flee to, the island still being an American territory and all. But Bad Bunny made his point clearly even before taking home his biggest prize yet. “Ice out,” he said. “If we fight, we have to do it with love.”
With a Super Bowl halftime show coming next week, he’ll take the stage as the most important musician on earth right now, an urgent message brought to the heart of the most aggressively American live event.
As musicians around the country and the globe use their platforms to organize and speak out against the ICE raids, many acts wore pins on the red carpet Sunday—from Joni Mitchell and Carole King to Olivia Rodrigo, Brandi Carlile and Justin and Hailey Bieber.
Yet it was striking just how many artists used the acceptance speeches to decry the agency’s actions under President Trump.
Billie Eilish, an upset winner with brother Finneas for song for “Wildflower,” was even more direct. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said. “It’s hard to know what to say and what to do, but we need to keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter.” Then came a long, bleeped moment on the CBS broadcast—presumably something urgently profane directed at a similar target.
That sentiment spanned genres and cultures. New artist winner, the U.K. R&B singer Olivia Dean, acknowledged the gifts of being “the granddaughter of an immigrant. I’m a product of bravery and I think these people deserve to be celebrated.”
“Immigrants built this country, literally,” said country star Shaboozey, a descendant of Nigerian immigrant parents, winning for country duo/group performance. “This is also for those who came to this country in search of better opportunity to be part of a nation that promised freedom for all and equal opportunity to everyone willing to work for it. Thank you for bringing your culture your music, your stories and your traditions here.”
Kehlani, a winner for R&B song and performance, said that “Together, we’re stronger in numbers to speak out against all the injustice going on in the world right now. I hope everyone is inspired to come together as a community of artists ad speak out against what’s going on.”
” F— Ice,” Kehlani added, walking off the stage.
Recording Academy chief Harvey Mason Jr. also used his speech to underscore the “uncertainty and real trauma,” of the environment in America now. “It can be easy to feel overwhelmed, even helpless in challenging times. But music never stands still,” he said. “When we’re exhausted, music restores us. When were grieving, music sits with us.”
Alongside the night’s words of warning and rage, singer SZA offered what amounted to reassurance in her speech after winning record for “Luther,” her Hot 100-dominating collaboration with Kendrick Lamar.
“Please don’t fall into despair,” she said. “I know algorithms tell us it’s so scary and all is lost. But we can go on, we need each other. We’re not governed by the government, we’re governed by God.”
If 31-year-old Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny wins the Grammy for album of the year Sunday, it will be the first time the award goes to a Spanish-language LP. A week later the singer, known as “the King of Latin Trap,” will headline the Super Bowl halftime show.
These twin feats by one of the world’s most famous performers — a proud Latino and a vocal critic of President Trump’s stance on immigration — plays out against the heartbreaking and chaotic backdrop of the federal government’s aggressive tactics on the streets of American cities, including Minneapolis, where two citizens were shot dead by federal agents.
For the record:
3:12 p.m. Jan. 30, 2026In the “On our radar” section of the newsletter, the item on “Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages” at the Getty mischaracterized the exhibition. The show primarily draws from the Getty’s collection of manuscripts, which are displayed alongside four works by contemporary artist Harmonia Rosales.
This is likely why a painting by an L.A.-based Puerto Rican artist named Ektor Rivera, a reimagining of Emanuel Leutze’s iconic 1852 painting, ‘Washington Crossing the Delaware,” is attracting a wave of attention online. An Instagram post about the painting by Rivera — which features Bad Bunny alongside a host of other Puerto Rican cultural heroes, including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sonia Sotomayor and Tito Puente — has more than 170,000 likes and 2.3 million views, spurred in part by the fact that Ricky Martin, who is also featured in the tableau, shared it.
Titled “The Discovery of Americans,” the 5’ x 8’ acrylic-on-canvas painting was commissioned by Seth Goldberg, a talent agent who spent his career working with Latin celebrities from his homebase in Miami. In a phone interview, Golberg said he felt disappointed by the controversy that erupted after the announcement that Bad Bunny would play at the Super Bowl — particularly when people didn’t seem to realize that as a Puerto Rican the singer is an American.
A detail of “The Discovery of Americans,” Ektor Rivera, acrylic on canvas, 2025.
(Ektor Rivera)
“And I thought that maybe if we reframe that Leutze painting with these cultural icons, maybe it changes who we see and celebrate as American, or at least makes a few people think about it a little more,” Goldberg said.
Rivera, who met Goldberg at a dinner with his manager five years ago, ran with the idea, placing a cast of Puerto Rican luminaries in the famous rowboat alongside Bad Bunny — who is draped in the Puerto Rican flag and standing in Washington’s place.
“As a Puerto Rican, I have U.S. citizenship, but I’m still asked if I have my green card,” Rivera said in a recent phone interview. “The people who voluntarily don’t want to learn about the great aportación [contributions] Latinos are giving to this country, and in my case, Puerto Ricans, is really frustrating, and how ICE is dealing with our people is something that is very sad.”
It is notable in the painting that the boat is literally breaking the ice on the river as it moves across the water, Rivera said.
Rivera — a graduate of the School of Plastic Arts and Design of Puerto Rico — is also an actor. He starred in a Puerto Rican production of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s early musical, “In the Heights,” during which time he met the famous actor and composer. Miranda and his father, Luis Miranda, later commissioned Rivera to paint a portrait of Rita Moreno, which now hangs in Centro de Bellas Artes de Santurce in San Juan.
The joy Moreno showed when the painting was unveiled has stayed with Rivera, who now lives and works in Santa Clarita. He is raising his children to know and love their Latin heritage — during a trying time when Latinos are often denigrated by the current administration.
Trump recently told the New York Post that he won’t be going to the Super Bowl this year, noting of Bad Bunny and the band Green Day, which will open the telecast, that he is “anti-them.”
“I think it’s a terrible choice,” Trump said. “All it does is sow hatred. Terrible.”
In Rivera’s painting, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — where the Super Bowl will take place this year — can be seen on the horizon. Those in the boat are smiling. They are looking forward to being part of the mix. It’s a loving representation, filled with hope and possibility.
“We’re celebrating that we are putting our identity as Latinos on one of the major stages in the world,” said Rivera. “And that’s huge. That’s going to educate people, and make them interested.”
America, Rivera said, is not just for certain people.
“America is everybody. America is the world.”
I’m arts editor Jessica Gelt and I’ll be rooting for Bad Bunny at the Grammys this weekend. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.
“Creation” by Harmonia Rosales, 2025. Oil, gold leaf, gold paint and iron oxide on panel. 121.9 × 91.4 cm (48 × 36 in.).
(© Harmonia Rosales/ Elon Schoenholz Photography)
Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages
The Getty exhibition explores how people in the Middle Ages imagined the creation of the world through manuscripts, alongside works by LA-based artist Harmonia Rosales, who utilizes West African Yoruba mythology and Black resilience and identity.
Through April 19. J. Paul Getty Museum, 1200 Getty Center Drive, L.A. getty.edu
Tiffany Townsend performs Saturday and Sunday in Long Beach.
(Mia McNeal)
Crash Out Queens: A Tiffany Townsend Recital
The soprano officially kicks off the Long Beach Opera’s season with an exploration of women in opera that expands into a multidisciplinary collaboration with pianist Lucy Yates, dancer Jasmine Albuquerque, scenic designer Prairie T. Trivuth and more.
7:30 p.m. Saturday; 4 p.m. Sunday. Altar Society, 230 Pine Ave. in Long Beach. longbeachopera.org
Midori Francis and Noah Keyishian rehearsing for “Sylvia Sylvia Syvia” at Geffen Playhouse.
(Jeff Lorch)
Sylvia Sylvia Sylvia
A woman struggling with writer’s block and her own husband’s literary success takes refuge in the Boston apartment once occupied by Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes in the world premiere of this tragicomic thriller from playwright Beth Hyland. Directed by Jo Bonney.
Wednesday through March 8. Geffen Playhouse, 10886 Le Conte Ave., Westwood. geffenplayhouse.org
FRIDAY
Soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha appears with the L.A. Phil Friday and Saturday.
(LA Phil)
Mahler, Bartók & Ravel
Dudamel Fellow Elim Chan conducts the L.A. Phil in a program culminating with Mahler’s Fourth Symphony featuring South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha.
11 a.m. Friday; 8 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Miles Davis Centennial Concert
The Miles Electric Band, led by Emmy- and Grammy Award-winning producer/drummer Vince Wilburn Jr., features a fusion of Miles Davis alumni and next-generation talents, including Darryl Jones, Robert Irving III, Munyungo Jackson, Jean-Paul Bourelly, Antoine Roney, Keyon Harrold and DJ Logic, plus special guests.
8 p.m. Friday. Carpenter Center, 6200 E. Atherton St., Long Beach. carpenterarts.org
Lifeline
Written by Robert Axelrod and directed by Ken Sawyer, this drama finds a mother volunteering at a suicide hotline following a life-altering event.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; 2 p.m. Sundays, through March 1. The Road Theatre, NoHo Senior Arts Colony, 10747 Magnolia Blvd. roadtheatre.org
101 Dalmatians
The 65th anniversary release of the Disney animated classic gets a one-week run in movie palace splendor. Tickets are $10 and include a complimentary small popcorn.
10 a.m., 1, 4 and 7 p.m. daily, through Thursday. El Capitan Theatre, 6838 Hollywood Blvd. elcapitantheatre.com
“metal mettle metal mettle” by Steve Roden, 2020. Acrylic with paper collage
(Robert Wedemeyer/Courtesy Vielmetter Los Angeles)
Steve Roden/Sophie Calle
A pair of new exhibitions open today in Orange County: ‘Wandering” focuses on the late Los Angeles–based artist Steve Roden’s works on paper, presenting drawings and collages as forms of travel without a set destination; and “Overshare” is a survey of French conceptual artist Sophie Calle’s photography, text, video and installation work that mines intimate relationships and chance encounters.
Through May 24. UC Irvine Langson/Orange County Museum of Art, 3333 Avenue of the Arts, Costa Mesa. ocma.art
Sweeney Todd
Jason Alexander directs Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical thriller about the Demon Barber of Fleet Street and has assembled a topflight cast led by Tony nominee Will Swenson and Olivier Award winner Lesli Margherita.
Through Feb. 22. La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, 14900 La Mirada Blvd. lamiradatheatre.com
SATURDAY
Garrick Ohlsson and Richard O’Neill
Pianist Ohlsson and violist O’Neill team up for an evening of Schubert and Rachmaninoff.
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Broad Stage, Santa Monica College Performing Arts Center, 1310 11th St. broadstage.org
SUNDAY
Common Ground
The Los Angeles Master Chorale performs the world premiere of “The Beatitudes” by five-time Emmy Award-winning composer Jeff Beal, who will play the piano and flugelhorn, and Henryk Górecki’s “Miserere,” inspired by the 1980s Polish Solidarity movement.
7 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. lamasterchorale.org
TUESDAY
Jacob Aune, left, and Sam McLellan in the North American tour of “The Book of Mormon.”
(Julieta Cervantes)
The Book of Mormon
The latest national tour of the Broadway smash comes to town. When the show had its L.A. debut at the Pantages in 2012, Times theater critic Charles McNulty wrote, “Just know that this exceedingly naughty, though in the end disarmingly nice, show is devised by the minds behind ‘South Park’ and that risqué ‘Sesame Street’ for theater-loving adults, ‘Avenue Q.’ In other words, leave the kids at home with a baby-sitter”
Through Feb. 15. Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Feb 24-25. The Granada Theatre, 1214 State St., Santa Barbara. thebookofmormontour.com
Adams, Cheung & Lanao
John Adams curates the third installment of the LA Phil Etudes, highlighting the orchestra’s principal musicians in solo pieces by contemporary composers Francisco Coll, Samuel Adams, Nico Muhly, Sílvia Lanao and Anthony Cheung.
8 p.m. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com
Dr. Strangelove
Steve Coogan plays four roles in this screening of the National Theatre stage adaptation of the 1964 Stanley Kubrick film recorded live in London.
7 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
THURSDAY
Cheyenne Jackson plays the Wallis Thursday night.
(Vince Truspin)
Cheyenne Jackson
The Broadway heartthrob performs a “musical memoir” with tunes made famous by Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Sam Smith and Chappell Roan, plus his own song “Ok,” detailing his father’s unconditional love for his gay son.
7:30 p.m. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd. Beverly Hills. thewallis.org
— Kevin Crust
Eddie Izzard brings Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” to Los Angeles in a new solo staging, adapted by Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell.
(Carol Rosegg)
Eddie channels tragedy
Times theater critic Charles McNulty weighed in on the gender-fluid British comedian Eddie Izzard’s solo performance of “Hamlet,” running through Sunday at the Montalbán Theatre in Hollywood. McNulty calls the show “a daredevil feat of memory, theatrical bravado and cardio fitness,” noting that, “As a spectacle, it’s as exhilarating as it is exhausting. The thrill of seeing a fearless, indefatigable performer single-handedly populate the stage with the myriad figures of this masterwork never lets up. But fatigue can’t help setting in once it becomes clear that this marathon drama will be delivered in the broadest of strokes.”
Father and son
McNulty also headed to Matrix Theatre’s Henry Murray Stage to catch a Rogue Machine world premiere of L.A. writer Justin Tanner’s solo show, “My Son the Playwright.” McNulty calls Tanner “one of the signal voices of L.A.’s wild and free intimate theater scene.” The show is divided into two acts, one that presents the father’s side of the relationship, and the other, the son’s. “Tanner plunges into these ostentatiously autobiographical roles, heedlessly, hectically and without a psychiatric net,” McNulty writes.
Academy cuts
Arts and entertainment writer Malia Mendez got the scoop that the Academy Foundation laid off all five staffers with its Oral History Projects team, “effectively dissolving the department responsible for conducting and preserving interviews with notable members of the film industry.” In a statement posted on social media, the Academy Foundation Workers Union, AFSCME Local 126, called the cuts “a sad and reckless choice.” (Also, two of the laid-off staffers were placed in other roles in the organization.)
Breaking Glass
I jumped on the news that composer Philip Glass abruptly canceled June’s world premiere of his Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln” at the Kennedy Center, saying its message does not align with the vision for the venue under the Trump administration. “Symphony No. 15 is a portrait of Abraham Lincoln, and the values of the Kennedy Center today are in direct conflict with the message of the Symphony. Therefore, I feel an obligation to withdraw this Symphony premiere from the Kennedy Center under its current leadership,” Glass wrote Tuesday in a letter to the board that was shared with The Times.
The hits keep coming
Speaking of the Kennedy Center: As the artistic losses continue to mount at the beleaguered performing arts center in the wake of President Trump’s takeover — and renaming — of the venue, the Washington Post reported that Kevin Couch, who was recently announced as the new senior vice president of artistic programming for the venue, resigned less than two weeks later. No reason was given, and Couch declined a Post request for comment.
50 is nifty
In happier local news, San Diego’s Opera Neo — a summer opera festival and young artist training program — celebrating its 50th anniversary season, and has announced its upcoming lineup. Highlights include Antonio Vivaldi’s, “Arsilda,” Louise Bertin’s “Fausto” and Gioachino Rossini’s “Il turco in Italia.”
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— Jessica Gelt
I am resurfacing this handy 2023 guide to the best Italian sub sandwiches in L.A. It is not a coincidence that I am hungry and planning what to eat for lunch.
DID you know there’s a town in the UK that is twinned with Disney World?
While Swindon is often overlooked as a destination, it is now even bidding to replace Bradford to be the latest current UK City of Culture.
Every four years, places in the UK are crowned the City of Culture – which in this case will come with £10million of government funding for arts and events.
Swindon is going up against the likes of Plymouth and Portsmouth for the crown in 2029.
One hope would be to rebrand the town, even Council leader Jim Robbins said: “I’m bored of just reading those same, old negative comments about Swindon.”
Despite it being slated, the town actually has a number of big claims to fame.
Back in 2010, Swindon was surprisingly twinned with Florida‘s Disney World after a competition.
Beating 24 other British towns, a promotional video compared the town’s famous Magic Roundabout the the Disney teacup ride.
Afterwards, a plaque at the park read: “Swindon, Wiltshire, UK, the Walt Disney World resort, sharing the magic 2010.”
Not only did British band Oasis took their name from the town’s now-closed Oasis Leisure Centre, but it was mentioned in the BBC‘s The Office starring Ricky Gervais.
And it was was even used as a backdrop for two James Bond movies.
Pierce Brosnan filed scenes in The World is Not Enough at the former Motorola building.
He reportedly called the town a ‘great place’ during his stay – he was spotted at the Chiseldon House Hotel and local pubs.
And Roger Moore also filmed scenes in Swindon at the iconic Renault Building, which is now the Spectrum Building for A View to Kill.
If any of that still hasn’t tempted you, let’s see what Swindon has to offer…
Swindon is an artistic town with 127 murals scattered about the town.
There’s a long-standing tradition of street art here which was originally spurred by local artist Ken White in the 1970s.
The most well-known mural in Swindon is the Golden Lion Bridge on the corner of Corporation Street and Fleming Way, dating back to 1976 although was restored last year,
If you want to see the murals, head to StreetArtCities which has all the details – and a handy map so you can see them all.
High Score Arcades Swindon is a new arcade with over 80 games and for £12.50, you get free reign over all of them for one hour.
There’s old-school classics like Space Invaders and PAC-Man, to pinball, sports games and the newest arcade fun; there’s something for everyone to enjoy.
Another place perfect for entertaining the kids, especially during half-term is Roves Farm which has an indoor play and activity barn with huge slides, tunnels and soft play.
It’s also a working farm so there are lots of animals to see too.
Swindon is more than a busy town – it’s actually got wide open spaces and some pretty parks.
Lydiard Park is 260 acres and has a Palladian House, a church, Walled Garden, hotel and restaurant.
Throughout the year events are held at Lydiard Park and in the summertime there’s open air theatre, live music and an outdoor cinema.
There’s also an outdoor play area with a huge climbing frame, plenty of slides, poles and rope ladders.
Next to the play area is the Forest Café which serves hot and cold drinks, snacks, pastries, soups, jacket potatoes and toasted panini.
When the weather warms up an Ice Cream Parlour opens next door.
Day ticket entry to Lydiard Park for adults is £6.70, and £3.65 for children (age 3-15).
One of the strangest tourist attractions in Swindon is The Magic Roundabout in the centre of town.
The ring junction was built in 1972 – it’s made up of five mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle.
People travel from all over to test out the roundabout – it’s even rated the 10th best thing to do in Swindon on Tripadvisor with 126 ‘excellent’ reviews.
One Australian tourist said: “I checked out how it worked on YouTube just to be sure, I’m guessing it’s easy for the locals anyway and love how it’s called “magic roundabout” adds a bit of a laugh to the whole quagmire – love how the Brits think!”
Health Hydro pool in Swindon, a Grade II listed swimming pool has just reopened after a £6.5million renovation.
The Victorian structure recently underwent improvements to its pool – which is 33-metres long with four-lanes and gym.
While it might seem like your typical leisure centre, this swimming pool has been part of Swindon since 1891.
It was built by Great Western Railway workers – the washing baths were built in 1891, with the Turkish and Russian baths being added in 1904.
You can book to swim in the new pool for £8.
The Swindon and Cricklade Railway is Wiltshire‘s only standard gauge heritage railway – and it’s open for plenty of events throughout the year.
Visitors are welcome to check out vintage locomotives.
In September last year, Swindon & Cricklade Railway opened the last surviving and fully restored railway cinema carriage for a unique event.
Vintage seats were even salvaged from a cinema in Deptford, London, and placed inside the carriage for comfy viewing.
Events include Mother’s Day Cream Tea, Beer and Cider Festival, Jazz Evening and Santa Specials at Christmas time.
There’s even more trains to be seen at Swindon’s STEAM – Museum of the Great Western Railway.
Here you can learn all about the history of the Great Western Railway, filled with vintage trains and interactive museums.
Tickets for adults cost £14 and entry for children is £10.50.
There are plenty of eateries in Swindon, but some of the top-rated on Tripadvisor include Del Mundos in the old town, with hundreds of five star reviews.
It serves up full English breakfasts for £14, brunch options, small tapas plates, sharers and cocktails.
Another popular choice is The Choptank Restaurant– the ‘Old Town’s Premier Champagne & Oyster Restaurant’.
When it comes to drinks, head to the Vault Bar & Lounge – this is Swindon’s ‘hidden bar’ found in the vault of the old post office building.
It even has 2-for-£14 on selected Happy Hour cocktails until 9pm every night.
When it comes to staying in Swindon, there’s the classic Premier Inn, Holiday Inn and ibis.
But for a more unique stay, there’s the beautiful Chiseldon House – where rooms are available from £75.
The country house hotel built in 1821 is tucked away on the outskirts of Swindon and feels more like a countryside escape.
It has 21 ensuite bedrooms and has a beautiful patio for dining in the summertime – you can book afternoon tea for £27.50.
Plus, this quaint British villages with toy-town cottages, car-free roads and cosy pubs – handpicked by our travel writers.
And the lesser-visited Cotswolds town with one of the UK’s prettiest high streets – and used to film huge Disney TV show.
