travel

If you’re flying economy, you’re probably going to be squished into a tiny seat for the duration of your flight

When it comes to jetting off on holiday, the thought of getting from A to B can feel like a dread for some people. This could be due to turbulence, boredom or just how little legroom there is.

Flying with budget airlines doesn’t necessarily mean worse seats. Most airlines, including the likes of Ryanair, easyJet and Wizz Air, use modern narrow-body aircraft such as the Airbus A320 family or Boeing 737 family.

A lot of the budget airlines have a typical 3–3 layout of: window — middle — aisle or vice versa.

As travellers are probably aware, you can upgrade your seat with extra legroom for a certain price.

According to easyJet, “you can pay to select a standard, Up Front or Extra Legroom seat. If you don’t pay, easyJet allocates one automatically at check-in and says it will try to seat people on the same booking together, but this isn’t guaranteed”.

Meanwhile, Ryanair is probably the most notable example of the “pay if you care where you sit” model.

According to Ryanair’s website, “you can get a free randomly assigned seat, with random allocation happening during check-in 24–2 hours before departure. Paying lets you select a specific seat, with the price varying according to its location”.

Wizz Air works similarly and offers free random allocation, while you can pay for a particular seat. “Wizz also has premium seats such as front-row, Upfront and Extra Legroom, and even a “Sitting Together” option for two adults on eligible bookings”, according to its website.

Thankfully, there’s now a way to work out which budget airline offers the widest seats, so you needn’t compromise on your precious comfort.

Which? has looked at which airlines boast the most generous seating, so you can ensure you’re getting the best value for your money.

When it comes to short-haul flights, seat width (the distance between each armrest) ranges between 17 and 18 inches, which may not sound like a great deal, reports the Express.

However, that extra inch can make a world of difference when you’re packed in like sardines.

The airlines offering the widest economy seats are Wizz Air, TAP Portugal, easyJet and Lufthansa, all measuring 18 inches in width.

That means the airlines with the narrowest seats are British Airways, Jet2, KLM, Norwegian, Ryanair, Tui and Aer Lingus, all tied at 17 inches.

Meanwhile, Vueling sits somewhere in between at 17.5 inches.

Airlines seat width and legroom

Below are airline seat widths and legroom in inches:

• Aer Lingus 31-32 (legroom) 17 (seat width)
• Air Canada 30-34 / 17.5
• American Airlines 31-32 / 17
• British Airways 31 / 17.5
• Delta 31-32 / 17.9
• Emirates 32-34 / 17-18
• Etihad 31-33 / 17.5
• KLM 31 / 17.5
• Lufthansa 31-32 / 17
• Qantas 31 / 17.5
• Qatar 31-33 / 17.5
• Singapore Airlines 32-34 / 17.5
• Tui Airways 33 / 17
• United 31-34 / 17
• Virgin Atlantic 30-31 / 17.5

If you’re looking to bag a bit more space on your budget flight without splashing out extra cash, there are a couple of handy tricks worth knowing.

The first is to book a bulkhead seat – those positioned directly behind the walls, curtains or screens that divide the cabin. With no seats in front, you’ll be able to stretch your legs out to your heart’s content.

Bear in mind, however, that these can be slightly narrower if tray tables are stored within the armrest.

If a bulkhead seat doesn’t appeal to you, opt for a seat towards the back of the plane where the rows begin to taper.

This can occasionally mean fewer seats per row – though naturally, you may find yourself beside the toilet queue, which can prove a touch disruptive.

If you’re on a flight that has already departed and you spot additional empty seats, you can always politely enquire with a flight attendant about the possibility of relocating.

Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get – and provided you remain courteous, there’s every chance they’ll accommodate your request.

If you have additional requirements that would benefit from extra room, such as being particularly tall or pregnant, there’s a reasonable chance you could be moved to a more comfortable and spacious seat.

Cape Town and Rio de Janeiro are two cities on most people’s bucket lists, but which one reigns supreme when it comes to the best – one writer compares the two

Days shaped by sand, surf and salt air. Nights by bars, beats and grills. All played out in a city somehow woven between soaring mountains and sun-swept shores. Sounds good, no? Well this is both Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro and South Africa’s Cape Town. Then chuck in vibrant waterfront neighbourhoods, primeval hiking trails, world-class food and drink, plus a melting pot of cultures and you’ve got what it takes to be the greatest city in the world. Which is what both have boldly claimed.

But they both can’t be right, so which takes the crown? I’ve lived in samba-soaked Rio, and recently spent a month exploring the city straddling Africa’s southern tip, so may just be qualified enough to have a say in the debate that’s enraged Brazilians and South Africans online. The neutral voice of reason ’n’ all that.

Weather

Rio has a glorious tropical climate. Hot and humid, with sweltering summers often as high as 40C. You’ll rarely feel cold, but if you’re of a sensitive disposition, it may be too much heat to handle. Plus biblical rains can wash your trip away.

Conversely, Cape Town has a Mediterranean-style climate. Dry, warm summers with highs of a perfect 30C. Fantastic if it weren’t for one thing – the wind. Known as the “Cape Doctor”, it’s like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Sweeping in off the ocean, it can make a hot summer’s day feel like autumn. Worse, it can be downright violent, turning beaches into giant sandblasters, stinging your skin, near blinding you. Bad doctor.

Verdict: Rio is the winner.

Beaches

Oh my, what an amazing array of beaches they both have, like no other city in the world. Apart from each other, of course. Both have smaller arcing sands near the city centre, becoming longer and more pristine the further out of town you head.

Just south of the centre, Rio has the world-famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, broad stretches of golden sand where the whole city decants to at weekends to let it all hang out in too-scant swimwear.

Cape Town has the likes of smaller yet very pretty Sea Point, Clifton and Camps Bay, which were far more debonair than I expected. More like the Cote d’Azur than the Cape of Good Hope.

Further up the coast, Rio has beautiful Barra, and Cape Town kite-surf strewn Bloubergstrand, giant stretches of glorious open coastline pounded by those big blue waves.

But the key difference is that Rio’s waters are much warmer, whereas Cape Town’s side of the Atlantic is surprisingly cold year-round, plus that wiiiind, meaning you don’t see many people swimming – the complete opposite of Rio.

Verdict: Rio takes the crown.

Mountains

Both have an imperious plethora of peaks. Cape Town’s most famous is Table Mountain, which your eyes can dine upon from all over the city. Rio’s is craggy Corcovado, atop which the statue of Christ offers redemption to thousands of tourists daily. But there are countless breathtaking viewpoints from many other fantastically surreal mountains, plus hiking trails that transport you into oh-so-big nature – lush jungle in Rio, temperate forest in Cape Town – a world away from the urbanity below.

Verdict: All too amazing to call. Draw.

City centres

Surprisingly, their city centres are the least impressive aspect. Both have smallish downtowns and historical quarters, which are nice but nothing impressive compared to some global cities. Much better are the colourful colonial-era neighbourhoods – Lapa in Rio, Bo Kaap in Cape Town – where you can join the tourist hordes to get your Insta-pics.

Down by the water, Rio’s Port Zone has cool museums and galleries, while Cape Town’s upmarket V&A Waterfront is very pretty with great views and shops, albeit a tad generic. Then both have plush beach front neighbourhoods, where you can whimsically while away days on the golden sands or trendy terraces.

Verdict: Again, too close to call. Draw.

Food and drink

Both have excellent culinary scenes, especially their meats and barbecues. Yum. But Cape Town has a much broader option of cuisines and restaurants, local and international, and during the entire month I was there I didn’t have a single bad meal. Caipirinhas and other potent cocktails get the party rocking in Rio, but Cape Town’s wines are next level. Despite being of proud Provençal stock, I can freely admit their rosés were the best I’d ever tasted. Perfect sundowners.

Verdict: Cape Town is the clear winner here.

Prices

Both have similar prices, which are considerably cheaper than the UK and Western Europe. Decent budget meals are around £4-£10, and mid-level accommodation around £50-£100pn. There are plenty of upmarket options, which are also relatively good value for money.

Verdict: Draw.

Nightlife and music

Both cities come alive even more when the sun sinks into the ocean. Your more mainstream bars and restaurants line the beachfronts, while cool bar-clubs are found in the more hipster hoods of Ipanema and Lapa in Rio, and Bree St and Woodstock in Cape Town.

Both cities are home to world-class music, Rio sways to the sound of samba, rap and “funk”, whereas in Cape Town it’s Afro house, amapiano and 3-step that get things thumping.

Verdict: Cape Town (but mostly due to my penchant for house music), although if we were judging it on Carnival season alone, nothing comes close to Rio!

Vibe

Brazilians are famously some of the most friendly and welcoming people in the world, which is true for Rio, but like any big city, you get plenty of miserable buggers too. People of all shades were friendly with me when I was in Cape Town, yet seemingly not that much with each other.

Sadly, both cities are still riddled with historical divisions between class and race, yet in Cape Town the legacy of Apartheid looms large indeed, and as a tourist you unfortunately won’t see much of the native African side of the city. The division feels tense.

Verdict: Rio.

Overall verdict

My biggest gripe with Cape Town is that as a tourist, you only really see the predominantly rich, white neighbourhoods that feel more like Canada, the US and Australia than Africa.

In Rio, though, everywhere is very Brazilian, no matter the social makeup of the area. Plus the beaches are a leveller, especially Copacabana where the whole city congregates for communal sun-worshipping, eating, drinking, sport playing, and strutting of stuff, no matter if black, white or brown, muscle-bound or beer-belly beautiful – nobody seemingly cares.

And that, for me, is the key difference – which is why Rio is my overall winner.

Jopsie Eccles says they were told to pay £170 or go to court

A mum has blasted the “ridiculous” £170 airport parking fine she received after a five-minute drop-off led to the threat of court. Josie Eccles had travelled to the airport with her husband, 33, to catch a flight to Malta with her mum and three-year-old son.

The 32-year-old claims her husband pulled into the drop-off zone at around 2pm, unloaded their luggage and said goodbye before heading off. But the couple later realised they had forgotten to pay the airport’s £5 drop-off charge within the required 24-hour period.

Josie says they accepted they would have to pay a penalty and even tried checking the airport’s payment portal for the charge – but no fine appeared. “My husband was there for under five minutes,” said Josie, a marketing consultant from Cheshire.

“A couple of days later, I was still in Malta and was speaking to my husband on the phone and asked if he had remembered to pay the charge. I was frustrated that both of us had forgotten to pay within the allocated window, but aware that these things happen and just accepted we would probably have a penalty to pay.

“My husband then checked the payment portal on the website where you usually pay the charge and entered the vehicle details, expecting to see a penalty fine, but nothing was there. I tried again a few days later, and still no charge appeared, so we thought we’d just wait and see if we got a letter in the post.”

But it wasn’t until almost two months later that Josie says she opened a letter from a debt collection firm. The letter claimed she had ignored previous correspondence and said the charge had risen to £170. Josie was given the option of paying the £170 in full or £42.50 over four months, while the letter warned the amount could increase further and potentially lead to court action.

She says she was stunned because she had never received the original parking charge notice. Josie said: “I was very confused, as it had been two months since the airport drop-off and I had received no correspondence at all so to receive a letter from a debt recovery company seemed rather extreme. At this point, I thought it must be a misunderstanding, and I would be able to resolve the issue by speaking with them.”

Josie claims she immediately tried to appeal the charge through Manchester Airport’s car parking operator, APCOA. But she says she received an automated response telling her that she had missed the appeal window and that the matter had already been passed to debt collectors.

She then called the debt recovery firm to explain what had happened. According to Josie, they told her that Manchester Airport had evidence that a letter had been sent to her on June 5. But when she asked whether it had been sent by tracked or recorded delivery, she was allegedly told it hadn’t.

Josie says this left her in an impossible position because the original letter contained the information she needed to pay the penalty. She said: “Not at any point did I try to get out of paying anything. I just wanted the opportunity to pay the initial fine, which would have been £60 if paid within 14 days.

“The only way I would know how to pay the penalty fine was by reading the instructions sent in the letter, so without the letter I had no chance of ever paying the charge before it was handed over to debt recovery. He said my options were to either pay the fine in full, which is £170, or I could seek independent legal advice and email in a dispute that they would look into it.”

In the meantime, Josie says she received two further letters threatening potential court action and warning that the amount could rise to up to £235. Josie claims she contacted the debt firm again and says a member of staff confirmed that her emails had been received but told her the company would not investigate disputes.

She says she was told her choices were to pay £170 or go to court, where the charge could potentially rise. She alleges she was then told that Manchester Airport would be responsible for taking any court action. Josie said: “I completed an online enquiry for Manchester Airport explaining I wanted to pay the £60 fine, detailed my communication with the debt company and reattached the dispute I had submitted to them with all the legal grounds.

“Within 10 seconds of submitting, I had received an AI response stating this had been handed over to debt recovery and I should liaise directly with them. I then forwarded that response along with my online enquiry submission to the complaints department, saying that was not an adequate response and I would like somebody to review the case so I can resolve this and pay the £60 fine.

“I have still not had any response or acknowledgement.”

Josie insists that she accepts responsibility for forgetting to pay the original £5 charge on 30 May but she believes the escalation is unfair because she claims she was never given the opportunity to respond to the original penalty.

She said: “I’m extremely frustrated. I hold my hands up; we forgot to pay the standard £5 charge within the next 24 hours, so a fine was expected, but to increase it to up to £235 was ridiculous. If I had been ignoring communication, it would maybe be justified, but I have responded to every bit of communication I have received, which surely shows I would have responded had I received the initial letter.

“I can afford to pay the fine; it’s not about financial difficulty. It’s about the principle of the system being set up to catch you out and the lack of reason they have. If the letter is so important, surely it would be sent tracked?

“Or at least they would try a few attempts before sending it over to debt collectors.”

She believes airports should introduce a free grace period for motorists who are only at the terminal for a few minutes. Josie added: “I’ve used Manchester Airport many times both before and after this encounter and always paid the drop-off charge on time.

“They’ll have a record of this on their system, which validates the fact I did not intentionally avoid paying. Sometimes people forget and these things happen. Other passengers could easily make the same mistake.

“It’s very easy to forget. There’s no option to pay at a machine or barrier while you’re there, so they are relying on people remembering to pay later on, which, whether you’re the person travelling through the airport or the person doing the drop-off, it’s easy to get distracted.

“I’m sure that’s why they removed the barriers, as they knew it would catch people out. The cars are logged using ANPR on their registration plates, so surely you should be able to pay on the same payment system even if outside the 24-hour window, with an additional penalty charge added.

“I think it’s ridiculous airports charge you for drop-off and pick-up. I think under 10 minutes should be free, but unfortunately all airports in the UK at least charge these days.”

An APCOA spokesperson said: “We have been in contact with the customer and offered the original charge of £60. The customer has since made payment of the £60, and the matter is now resolved.”

Manchester Airport has been contacted for comment.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from an autumn trip to Finland, my first ever to the country, but spending an afternoon sprawled on a deck chair beneath blazing blue skies certainly wasn’t part of it. After a morning walking beneath the leafy canopy at the Mustila Arboretum – the oldest, most extensive botanical garden in the country – and a lunchtime wine-tasting (more of which later), my friend Sara and I pitched up at the Sahanlahti resort, deep in the Finnish Lakeland, only to find sun-drenched scenery that felt far more Mediterranean than Nordic.

Sahanlahti was the second stop on a mid-September road trip from Helsinki to the shores of Lake Saimaa; a journey in search of ruska, the spectacular autumn colours that blaze for a few short weeks before the long Finnish winter sets in. However, on our opening drive east from the airport to the Radalla resort, set on Lake Urajärvi, most of the thousands of trees we drove past were resolutely green, with just the very tips of the leaves tinged with auburn, like a foliage balayage.

“You’re too early,” the waitress told us, cheerfully, after we had checked in to our chic waterfront cabins, and were tucking into hefty plates of crispy garlic chicken, scattered with freshly picked chanterelles, in Radalla’s quiet dining room. “But you might get some sun tomorrow.” Later, walking back to our cabins through thick drizzle, we agreed she was most probably just being kind.

The Radalla resort is just one of dozens of lakeside hotels scattered across southern Finland – many with self-catering cabins, sauna complexes and gleaming metal steps that lead from wooden piers down into the chilly waters of the lake. The grey drizzle we awoke to made a dip less than appealing, and instead we decided to set off for our next stop, taking in the arboretum en route before finding a place for lunch.

Driving in southern Finland turned out to be quite different from other countries. Most settlements fringe the lakesides, so they tend to be tucked away down side roads leading off from the main highway. Instead, trees – those resolutely green trees – rolled past us for mile after mile, until slowly the fields began to melt into lakes, one after another, the road snaking alongside the blue-grey waters, or stitching together small islets that lay scattered between them.

Googling somewhere for lunch, Sara came across the Ollinmäki winery, an unexpected find in a country that grows absolutely no grapes. Instead, berry wines are hugely popular, and once settled in at our table, we were persuaded to try a flight of six, accompanied by a bowl of hearty elk soup (which tasted considerably better than it looked) and a leaf salad with local cheese. One wine, the white currant and berry Myllärin Matti was particularly delicious, with the tang of a crisp sauvignon – although I wouldn’t want to find out what a Finnish hangover feels like.

From the winery it was an easy drive to Sahanlahti, by which time the weather had cleared and pin-sharp blue skies gleamed above the shores of Lake Saimaa. The main house – painted butterscotch-yellow and dating back to the mid-18th century, when the owners presided over the local sawmill – had a languidly old-fashioned air, but dinner at the Koskivahti restaurant was anything but: rich mushroom soup, slivers of goose confit with lingonberry sauce, wafer-thin beetroot carpaccio with tangy goat’s cheese.

It might have been too early for the leaves to turn, but we had arrived right in the middle of harvest season, when heading out into the fields and islands to pick wild mushrooms and berries (of which there are 35 different varieties) is practically a national sport. We had barely set down our bags at our final stop, Järvisydän resort, before we were whizzing out across Saimaa on a small motor boat, baskets tucked between our feet, to hunt for chanterelles and look for rare ringed seals and ospreys.

The sky was flawlessly blue as we whipped across the water, disembarking first to pick the mushrooms – slashes of bright yellow among the green undergrowth. We were guided in our harvesting by Sebastian, the 12th generation of the Heiskanen family to be running Järvisydän. “Back in 1654,” he told us, “my family were given a portion of land by the Russian tsar, to build a tavern on the route between St Petersburg and Helsinki.” More than 350 years later, the tavern has morphed into a 100-room resort, offering everything from starkly modern glass-walled cabins, high in the forest, to hexagonal log houses with bedrooms set off a central, fire-lit atrium, and camping pods.

It’s an extraordinary place: everything – from the vast reception, dwarfed by a replica Viking longship hull hung above reception, to the restaurants, bar and the Hobbit-like spa – is built entirely from local stone and timber. A visit to the spa seemed the perfect way to warm up after our chilly boat trip, with six different saunas to dip into – although the “sunken log” sauna, where the temperature reached 70C, gave me some sense of how an ice-cream might feel if left out in the sun.

Of the three resorts we visited, Järvisydän was the standout – for its history, for the spectacular scenery of Lake Saimaa that surrounds it, for the delicious mushroom soup and for the long, sunlit walk we took on our final afternoon, through the dense pine forest, where red squirrels skittered around in the branches above. It was a wrench to leave on our last morning, but as we sped back along quiet roads to Helsinki, we agreed Finland had – in spite of our foliage fail – outstripped our expectations. It was more beautiful, more peaceful, more sunkissed than we could ever have imagined.

Ruska (the vibrant colours of autumn foliage) begins in the north of the country in early to mid-September, reaching the Lake Saimaa region in the south by early October.

The trip was provided by Discover the World. A four-night bespoke self-drive trip staying at Radalla, Sahanlahti and Järvisydän resorts starts at £794pp, including B&B and car hire, but not flights.

GRAB granny and pack your bags – multi-generational holiday packages are an absolute bargain.

It comes as new research from Jet2 reveals that more and more families are bringing the grandparents with them on holiday.

According to booking data, most family trips are taken in groups of five or six, with the Canary Islands proving to be the most popular spot.

Choice of destination is a huge consideration for multi-gen groups, with 43 per cent choosing somewhere based solely on suitability for their party.

Following the Canary Islands on the list of most in-demand multi-generational getaway locations is Turkey, the Balearic Islands, Greece and mainland Spain.

Sophie Swietochowski shares her pick of holidays for the whole family . . . 

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TENERIFE

Promising year-round sunshine and affordable deals, the rugged Canary Isle of Tenerife is the sweet spot for families after something quick and easy with unlimited R&R.

Check in to the 4H Paradise Park Fun Lifestyle Hotel, which has enough to keep the kids happy while the older generations kick back with a pina colada.

Kids’ clubs, for those aged four to 12, will keep them busy in the day with arts, crafts and competitions, while evening entertainment is geared up for everyone, with bingo, live music and mini discos.

Five outdoor pools ensure you won’t struggle to find a sunlounger and there’s an onsite spa, too.

TURKEY

This European hotspot is crammed with all-inclusive resorts where vast food choices help take the faff out of having multiple mouths to feed.

The Aquapark at Orka World Hotel stays open until mid-October and the kids will absolutely love it.

The park is home to 13 water slides, four pools and a lazy river that even the grandparents can enjoy.

You’ll keep well fuelled at the buffet restaurant, which has all the favourites plus some traditional Turkish offerings, including pide (a savoury flatbread) and gozleme (a thin, doughy pancake stuffed with spinach, feta or meat).

GREECE

You don’t need to spend buckets to bag a deal that will suit everyone, and the calm Rodos Palace resort in Rhodes is a prime example.

The Greek island offers fascinating history for the grandparents to sink their teeth into, as well as high-intensity activities for the kids and views that look super in the sunshine.

Rooms are bright and airy, while the eight restaurants on site will ensure you’re never short of dinner options.

There’s also a plush private beach with plump cabanas and a volleyball net.

WHILE this beautiful hideaway hotel looks like it’s in Asia, you’ll actually find it two and a half hours away in Spain.

The 5-star Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa is described as having the “serenity, peace and quiet of South-East Asia”.

It was named Spain‘s Leading Hotel in the World Travel Awards in 2024.

A number of famous celebrities have stayed too, including Wayne Rooney, Bruce Willis, Joan Collins and Zinedine Zidane.

The hotel itself is a 10-minute drive inland from Benidorm by the slopes of the Sierra Cortina mountains.

But thanks to being surrounded by 370,000sqm of pine forest and its own lush garden, it lives up to its name, and feels more like being in Thailand.

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The tropical grounds have 3,000 Asian plant species, including a 200-year-old bonsai tree as well as other bonsai and palm trees.

The hotel has a total of seven swimming pools, four of which are heated, and all are surrounded by jungle.

The Caras de Angkor pool is an adults-only Balinese style pool, while another is the Zen pool which has hydromassage.

Thailand is known for its massages and the hotel has its very own Thai spa on-site too.

Treatments include various types of massages, foot reflexology and beauty pamper sessions.

There are nine restaurants too, ranging from Asian cuisine at Koh Samui as well as a range of Mediterranean options and a poolside snack bar.

The hotel has its own fitness centre, tennis, volleyball and padel courts as well as football field.

Hotel staff can even advise guests on the best running routes in the area.

One visitor wrote on Tripadvisor: “Incredible place, not only for its design, floral decoration, gardens, atmosphere… but once you set foot in the lobby, you could perfectly believe you are anywhere in Asia.”

Another described it as: “A taste of heaven amongst beautiful gardens a feeling of being whisked away to Thailand without the long haul flight!!!“

Rooms range from Bali-style Deluxe to Deluxe Suites which have huge outdoor terraces with a Jacuzzi.

Room rates start from around £240 per night, but can increase to around £400 during peak season.

The most luxe room is the Presidential Suite which has its own lounge, kitchenette, outdoor terrace with sea views and a hot tub.

It also comes with 24-hour room service and guests can enjoy private in-room breakfasts.

Asia Gardens Hotel & Thai Spa, a Royal Hideaway Hotel can be booked with On the Beach – a seven-night stay for two adults in September 2026 starts from £840pp.

This includes return flights to Alicante and a stay in a Deluxe Room.

A stay with TUI in November starts from £985pp – which also includes bed & breakfast and return flights to London Stansted.

I NEVER ever thought I’d be into geology – but after a week on a nature reserve in Tenerife, I’m officially an earth geek.

Admittedly, the ice-cold margaritas served inside the tranquil oasis of Barcelo Tenerife oiled my educational rediscovery of the island’s natural wonders, but now I am well and truly hooked.

My last memory of visiting Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, was marred by an over-excited, elderly sailor who threatened to throw my beloved teddy bear into the path of an approaching pod of pilot whales when I was only eight years old.

But after touching down 31 years later, I rediscovered my love for it.

The Barcelo Tenerife, my home for the trip, is set within 124 acres of almost untouched land in the San Blas Environmental Reserve — and it fully takes advantage of its rural surroundings.

It’s not just the decor that sets the tone for rustic Tenerife — guests at the resort can book a guided tour through the reserve that will showcase the best of Tenerife’s wild scenery.

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During my two-hour or so trek through the fascinating landscapes, I touched stone formed by molten lava as well as compressed volcanic ash, a type of rock that created the foundations of the island after the (still active) Mount Teide volcano erupted millions of years ago.

It was one of the best experiences I’ve had — and reminded me that this gorgeous island offers so much more than just sun-drenched beaches and cocktails by the pool.

Make sure to try and catch a look at Teide on your flight in — the mountain top peeps out above the clouds.

While it is still active, the last eruption happened in 1909 and there’s nothing to suggest it’s going to happen again in the next 100 years or so, so visitors need not panic.

When it comes to history, the mighty volcano isn’t all the island has to boast about, though.

Travellers visiting the San Blas Environmental Reserve can observe the archaeological remains of the Guanches, an indigenous community who first inhabited the islands.

Fans of The Lord Of The Rings will also recognise many of the rocky pastures as sets from the show.

It’s well worth exploring this striking landscape — if you can tear yourself away from the seven luxurious swimming pools at the hotel.

The Barcelo Tenerife manages to exude luxury without stomping on thousands of years of history — as the incredible scenery has been incorporated into the hotel’s earthy design.

The beauty of the land is seen in every inch of the hotel, from the terracotta plant pots on the terraces to its clay-coloured buildings.

Barcelo Tenerife also prides itself on its eco-friendly ethos, with sustainability built in, not tacked on — and walking through the building, you feel immersed in the natural environment.

Along with solar power energy, the hotel relies on energy-efficient lighting and ethical food supplies.

And with a 500,000-square-metre nature reserve on your doorstep, you could walk a different route every day and still feel like you have explored more of Tenerife than anyone else.

The food options include an impressive and tasty buffet for breakfast, while fine-dining restaurant La Dolce Vita Trattoria brings a taste of Italy while using superb Spanish produce.

Creamy burrata served with locally-reared beef carpaccio was a highlight, as was a tasting menu inside the Arrozante Restaurant — where I had a truly wonderful paella.

The hotel is a five-star — and worth it — but if you fancy spending a little more, upgrading to the Royal Level is worth saving your cash for.

A private pool and access to a premium bar and restaurant give you a chance to live the high life without breaking the bank too much (from just £160 per night).

Rooms have a slightly more elevated feel to them, too, with chic, sandy-toned furnishings inspired by the nature reserve and fabulous views of the ocean.

But the hotel is so well proportioned and the nature reserve so vast, I don’t think you could ever feel cramped, even during the high season.

Now is the best time to visit, too, with the weather in the UK finally taking a rather more drizzly turn, announcing the official arrival of autumn.

In Tenerife, by contrast, temperatures tend to stay balmy throughout this time of year — with highs of 26C in October perfect for both sunbathing and exploring the island — and even into winter.

My helpful hotel guide informed me that Tenerife has only had five days of rain in the last four years, so the sunshine is pretty much guaranteed.

It’s a go-to destination for winter sun and I, for one, am sold.

See you again in November, Tenerife — and this time, I’ll be bringing along my walking boots.

People have been advised to stay indoors because of the ash fallout

Hundreds of flights have been suspended after an airport had to be closed because of the ash cloud caused by a volcanic eruption. Tens of thousands of passengers have been left stranded. 209 flights were suspended after ash from Anak Krakatau blew into the airspace near Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta International Airport on Sunday.

Soekarno-Hatta is the main airport in Indonesia. The volcano started erupting on Friday night and there were two more eruptions on Sunday. More than 22,000 people have been hit by the suspension of flights, which has hity major international routes.

There is no tsunami warning linked to the eruption in the Sunda Strait between Java and Sumatra. The health minister has urged residents to stay indoors and wear face masks.

Local newspaper Kompas said schools cancelled activities on Saturday after students reported eye irritations. Fishing vessels have also been grounded amid health concerns.

Resident Aldi Candra Prayogi told Kompas it felt like “small grains of sand had gotten into my eyes” and he is having to clear the path outside his home every five minutes.

Anak Krakatau emerged from the sea in 1927 inside the caldera formed by the catastrophic, climate-altering eruption of the original Krakatoa volcano in 1883.

Indonesia’s Geological Agency said the volcanic island located in Indonesia’s Sunda Strait between the main Java and Sumatra islands had shown signs of activity since Friday before erupting for 30 seconds at 3.53am.

CCTV footage showed lava flares from the volcano. No casualties were reported and no evacuation order was issued. The nearest settlement is more than 16 kilometres (10 miles) away, but authorities warned residents and visitors to stay at least three kilometres (2 miles) from the active crater.

Volcanic ash spread across parts of Jakarta and Lampung province on Sumatra’s southern tip, Indonesia’s centre for volcanology and geological hazard mitigation said. AirNav Indonesia closed airspace around Soekarno-Hatta and Halim Perdanakusuma airports in Jakarta, as well as four other airports, including Radin Inten II Airport in Lampung, because of volcanic ash.

By mid-afternoon, the closure had affected 516 flight movements, with 202 in Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport alone, affecting about 22,800 passengers, on Sunday. The airport was ordered closed until at least 5.30pm.

Indonesia’s directorate general of civil aviation said it was closely monitoring the eruption’s impact on air travel and co-ordinating with airlines, airport operators, air navigation services and the meteorology agency.

“Safety remains our top priority in every operational decision,” Lukman F Laisa, ministry of transportation director general of civil aviation, said in a statement.

He warned flight schedules could face cascading disruptions affecting aircraft rotations, fleet availability and terminal capacity as airlines work to restore operations.

The eruption also disrupted services at Bali’s I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport and at Medan.

Indonesia’s volcanology agency and the Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre identified two ash clouds using satellite imagery. One plume rose to 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) and drifted northeast over Jakarta, Banten, West Java and nearby waters. A second cloud reached 50,000 feet (15,200 meters) and spread over parts of Banten, Lampung and Bengkulu provinces, the southern Sunda Strait and sections of the Indian Ocean west of Sumatra.

Lana Saria, head of Indonesia’s geological agency, said activity at Anak Krakatau has intensified since July, with Sunday’s eruption the strongest during the current period of unrest.

The repeated eruptions indicate a continued supply of magma and volcanic gases beneath the volcano, she said, though officials cannot predict whether a larger eruption will occur.

“We continue to evaluate the volcano’s development based on all monitoring data, not solely on the number of eruptions or the height of the ash column,” Ms Saria said in a video briefing.

She said the main hazards include volcanic ash, high concentrations of gas and the ejection of hot rocks and other material around the crater area.

SEEING the Northern Lights tops many a traveller’s bucket list.

The problem is, they can be elusive and costly to find and because they are at the whim of nature, there are never any guarantees . . . until now, that is.

There is a new Northern Lights Train in Norway which promises to take you where there’s a greater chance of spotting the Aurora Borealis than ever before. It costs £115pp and looks so good I booked a ticket.

Meeting point: Narvik Station, high in the Arctic Circle. Waiting on Platform 1 is a four-carriage train, guide Lill and buckets of white stuff. It’s been snowing non-stop from thick, heavy clouds.

Spotting the Aurora normally requires a clear sky, so these conditions are far from ideal. Do we really have a chance of seeing them? Lill consults an app and smiles. “Yes,” she says.

I’m nonetheless sceptical as I hop on board.

FJORD FIESTA

I tried the Nordic cruise with dog-sledding, Northern Lights and cable cars

WINTER WONDERLAND

My night in Arctic igloo where you can watch the Northern Lights in bed

The three-hour experience includes a 90-minute stop in the Arctic wilderness and, as the train pulls off, lights are dimmed to better see the Aurora.

After we’ve rattled past Narvik’s fjord and suspension bridge, a fellow passenger points excitedly at the window. Outside, a green plume is painting the sky.

Well I never — our first sighting.

From here, we climb north into the mountains towards the Swedish border. This historic track was built in 1902 and is still used to transport iron ore from Sweden’s Kiruna mines to the port of Narvik and beyond.

Our destination is Katterat — a remote, 373m-high (1,224ft) outpost accessible only by train or foot.

There’s no light pollution or civilisation and, thanks to its altitude, the sky is usually clear here when elsewhere else it’s not.

Once we’ve arrived and descended on to the platform, nobody budges — we’re too busy looking up.

Streaking overhead are bands of green criss-crossing a starlit sky.

Necks crane, photos are taken and the excitement is palpable. A trail leads to a makeshift camp where there are snowshoes to try, fires to warm hands and an indigenous Sami tent called a “lavvu” for shelter, with hot drinks, biscuits and sausages.

Despite the sub-zero temperatures (it’s -20C), nobody cares about warming up because we’re all too fixated on the sky show.

One moment the aurora shines to the right, the next to the left.

They come, they go; they fade, they flare; they keep us guessing, eyes peeled. It’s a magical night.

This train is one of many ways to chase the Northern Lights but there’s still magic to be found when the Green Lady plays shy.

On an excursion with Arctic Moments the next night, we sip hot chocolate and toast cinnamon buns on a fire in a Narnia wonderland.

No Aurora but happy memories with photos included in the package.

Narvik’s also a superb base for other adventures. There’s downhill skiing — it’s hosting the 2029 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships — as well as cross-country skiing, considered Norway’s national sport.

I give it a go but it’s harder than it looks — even on flat terrain.

There are also historical links. A fierce World War Two naval battle was fought and lost in Narvik in 1940 — Norway was occupied by Germany afterwards — and the town’s War Museum tells this story.

A new boat excursion even sends a drone underwater so you can see the shipwrecks on the ocean floor.

Narvik has everything from self-catering apartments to hotels offering Scandi-style breakfasts — think herring and smoked salmon — to the deluxe glass cabins of Camp 291, which cling to the mountainside.

This is my favourite accommodation, with superb fjord views.

Hiring a car allows you to explore even further. Polar Park is home to lynxes, musk oxen, moose and wolves. I’m taught how to howl and, amazingly, they howl back.

Best of all is the Arctic fox experience. You get to feed them but be prepared — they’re playful and love nothing more than clambering all over you.

For a final treat, I head to Narvik’s floating Arctic Sauna where a hole and a ladder lead directly from the heat into the chilly sea.

But the ultimate thrill is the Aurora Borealis. Travellers have been trying to find the best and most reliable way to see them.

Norway’s Northern Lights Train may just be the coolest way to do just that.

When partygoers in Ibiza were enjoying a fun evening of drinks and good music, the last thing they expected was for a 90s icon to take to the stage and start DJing

Ibiza is the perfect holiday destination for people who want to let their hair down and dance the nights (and maybe days) away. From Pacha to Amnesia, there are so many clubs to choose from that will guarantee you a good night filled with good music, and whoever is DJing is likely to put on a really good show.

But people were left gobsmacked when a woman got up to DJ in the party capital, and they realised who was performing. She’s a complete legend who has a whopping nine number one singles under her belt and two number one albums.

Have you guessed who it might have been DJing in Ibiza yet? Here are some other clues…

She rose to fame with four other bandmates, and their hits included ‘Too Much,’ ‘Holler / Let Love Lead the Way,’ and, of course, if you hadn’t already guessed it, ‘Wannabe’.

But it was 52-year-old Mel C holding it down on the decks playing millennial banger after banger in Ibiza, and her set went down a storm with fans.

Mel C was bringing the vibes and the sass as she boogied in an outfit that showed her rock-hard abs – she is Sporty Spice after all.

Kevin Coundon, who posts on Instagram as @mr.kevin.at.home, shares lifestyle content and more, and on top of his video of Mel C, he wrote: “POV: Ibiza finally starts playing music for the millennials”.

First off, Mel remixed ‘King of my Castle’ by Wamdue Project, which came out in 1997, then a snippet of ‘You’ve Got the Love’ by Candi Staton was remixed, too. Then, the last snippet showed Mel C singing along to DJ Rui Da Silva’s ‘Touch Me’.

Kevin captioned his video: “Who decided Ibiza had an age limit anyway? Good music, an incredible crowd and one of those nights where you completely forget what time it is… and we did!”

In the comments, people raved about how much of a “legend” she is, saying “she was the most last Saturday” when they saw her DJing.

“Wow, I wish I was there,” someone wrote, with another saying that she was “an icon and goals”.

Another wrote: “What a night”. Someone else noted: “Our kind of party.”

A different social media user also said: “Always thought Mel would smash it as a DJ. Mixy Spice now. I liked her solo stuff.”

One more also responded: “That’s Sporty Spice? Wow, playing the tuuuunnnneeesss.”

THE summer holidays might only just be wrapping up, but I’m already deep in the database looking at where you should be booking for Summer 2027.

Before you accuse me of wishing the year away, there’s method in the madness.

Securing your booking now gives you plenty of time to spread the cost, turning a peak summer holiday into a manageable monthly payment.

I crunched live booking numbers to track down the resort areas where early bookers are securing the lowest average monthly direct-debit payments per person.

Couples are booking breaks from an average of just £40pp a month, while family packages are getting snapped up from just £45pp a month.

So, instead of clogging the list with ten resorts on the same two Spanish islands, I’ve broken down five top spots for couples and five for families across ten completely different coastlines – counted down from five to one.

FAMILIES: 5. La Cala de Mijas, Costa del Sol – £42pp a month

La Cala de Mijas is my top shout for families who want all the convenience of the Costa del Sol without being swallowed by the high-rise noise of the massive resorts.

It still feels like an authentic seaside town, with a wide sandy beach, a flat seafront promenade for buggies, and family tavernas that won’t cause an argument when the bill arrives.

Our booking data shows families booking in September 2026 to spread the cost until Summer 2027 are paying an average of £51pp a month for this resort.

I managed to beat that, though. I found a 7-night bed & breakfast stay at Gran Hotel Costa del Sol from £460pp, flying directly from London Luton on 25 August 2027.

Spread across 11 monthly payments, that specific deal comes out at just £42pp a month.

The direct garden access onto the sand here is brilliant too, meaning you can step straight off your breakfast terrace onto the beach without navigating busy coastal roads.

• Book a 7 night bed-and-breakfast stay at Gran Hotel Costa del Sol  from 25 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Luton, from £460pp.

COUPLES: 5. Mellieha, Malta – £46pp a month

Malta serves up a brilliant hybrid of sun, sea, and exploring, and Mellieha is the ultimate base if you want a proper beach holiday.

Mellieha Bay is the largest sandy stretch on the island, while the historic village sits elevated on the hill with open-air bistros overlooking the coast.

Couples booking early in September 2026 are locking in Mellieha for an average of £55pp a month.

But I found a 7-night self-catering stay at Luna Holiday Complex from £510pp, flying directly from Newcastle on 24 August 2027.

Spread across 11 monthly payments, that works out at just £46pp a month.

What makes this complex a steal is its rooftop panoramic pool deck – it’s a quiet, adult-friendly sanctuary looking out over Gozo, allowing you to avoid the busier beach crowds when you just want a relaxed afternoon swim.

• Book a 7-night self-catering stay at Luna Holiday Complex from 24 August 2027, with direct return flights from Newcastle, from £510pp.

FAMILIES: 4. Agadir, Morocco – £57pp a month

Agadir is a fantastic shout if you want an exotic North African beach trip that remains entirely hassle-free for kids.

The broad sandy bay is backed by a wide, paved promenade custom-built for evening pushchair walks, while modern resort hotels take the stress out of daily parenting.

The data reveals families booking early in September 2026 are spreading the cost at an average of £50pp a month for Agadir.

I found a 7-night all-inclusive stay at Allegro Agadir from £625pp, flying directly from Manchester on 24 August 2027.

Split across 11 monthly payments, the deal works out at £57pp a month.

Landing a full all-inclusive stay with meals, drinks, and snacks in August for under £650pp total is a massive result.

The on-site highlight is the property’s dedicated, shaded kids’ splash park that lets younger children cool off out of the intense midday sun.

• Book a 7-night all-inclusive stay at Allegro Agadir from 24 August 2027, with direct return flights from Manchester, from £625pp.

COUPLES: 4. Caleta de Fuste, Fuerteventura – £52pp a month

Caleta de Fuste is built for couples who want a chilled holiday without feeling stranded in the middle of nowhere.

The horseshoe bay keeps the Atlantic waters calm and flat, the marina is packed with waterside bars, and the resort sits barely 10 minutes from the airport – meaning you go from arrivals to the sunlounger in record time.

Booking data shows couples locking in summer 2027 trips this September are averaging £53pp a month here.

But I found a 7-night all-inclusive stay at SMY Tahona Fuerteventura from £570pp, flying directly from London Gatwick on 25 August 2027.

Spread across 11 monthly payments, that deal costs just £52pp a month.

The standout feature at this hotel is its low-rise bungalow layout built around three separate pool zones, allowing you to easily find a quiet sunbathing corner away from the main bar.

• Book a 7-night all-inclusive stay at SMY Tahona Fuerteventura from 25 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Gatwick, from £570pp.

FAMILIES: 3. Los Cristianos, Tenerife – £51pp a month

Los Cristianos is a classic for a reason: it makes family travel feel effortless.

You get a sheltered sandy beach, flat walking paths, loads of kid-friendly restaurants, and quick access to Siam Park just down the road.

Families booking in September 2026 to spread payments out until next summer are averaging £49pp a month for Los Cristianos.

I found a 7-night half-board stay at Sol Arona Tenerife from £558pp, flying directly from Bristol on 25 August 2027.

Across 11 monthly payments, that works out at £51pp a month.

For energetic kids, this place has a massive on-site climbing block and outdoor play zone, giving toddlers and kids a safe space to burn off their final energy reserves before dinner while parents grab a drink at the pool bar.

• Book a 7-night half-board stay at Sol Arona Tenerife  from 25 August 2027, with direct return flights from Bristol, from £558pp.

COUPLES: 3. Lloret de Mar, Costa Brava – £36pp a month

While Lloret de Mar has a famous reputation for high-energy nightlife, there is far more to the town than neon lights.

The main beach is enormous, the surrounding Costa Brava cove scenery is gorgeous, and cheap direct train links into Barcelona make day trips effortless.

Couples securing their 2027 spot in September 2026 are paying a destination average of £49pp a month.

When I went deal-hunting, I found a 7-night half-board stay at Clipper Affiliated by FERGUS from £395pp, flying directly from London Luton on 25 August 2027.

Split across 11 payments, that brings the cost down to just £36pp a month.

This hotel’s central location is perfect too – it sits tucked just two streets back from the main beach, giving you a quiet pool area during the day while keeping the coastal nightlife and seafront dining within a two-minute walk.

• Book a 7-night half-board stay at Clipper Affiliated by FERGUS from 25 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Luton, from £395pp.

FAMILIES: 2. Sidari, Corfu – £49pp a month

Sidari takes the runner-up family spot because of the sheer quality of the local beach infrastructure, offering shallow waters, traditional tavernas, and the iconic Canal d’Amour rock formations right around the corner.

Families booking early in September 2026 are locking in Sidari for a resort average of £48pp a month.

I found a 7-night self-catering stay at Megali Luxuries from £543pp, flying directly from London Gatwick on 20 August 2027.

Divided across 11 monthly payments, that deal works out at £49pp a month.

Booking self-catering here is a smart move because the property sits directly adjacent to Sidari’s main strip of family-run Greek tavernas, where you can get authentic local dinners without spending a fortune.

• Book a 7-night self-catering stay at Megali Luxuries from 20 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Gatwick, from £543pp.

COUPLES: 2. Magaluf, Majorca – £52pp a month

Hear me out: if your ideal couples’ break involves stylish beach clubs, modern seafront dining, and not being forced into bed by 9:30pm, modern Magaluf is one of the best-value options on the island.

The main beach is immaculate, high-end hotel refurbishments have elevated the waterfront, and quiet Palma Nova sits right next door.

Couples getting their 2027 plans sorted in September 2026 are averaging £47pp a month.

I spotted a 7-night bed & breakfast stay at Sol Guadalupe from £595pp, flying directly from London Luton on 25 August 2027.

Spread across 11 monthly payments, that deal costs £54pp a month.

The hotel features a huge lagoon-style pool setup with underwater lounger jets, giving you a sleek, high-end resort feel just a short walk from the seafront.

• Book a 7-night bed & breakfast stay at Sol Guadalupe from 25 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Luton, from £595pp.

FAMILIES: 1. Gerani, Crete – £52pp a month

Gerani takes the number one family spot on our board as an absolute value anomaly.

Tucked near Rethymnon, this peaceful Cretan village is built for families who want space, wide beaches, and a slow, authentic Greek pace away from commercialised tourist hubs.

Our booking data shows families getting in early in September 2026 pay an average of just £45pp a month to spread the cost to Summer 2027 – the single lowest family figure on the map.

And I found a 7-night bed & breakfast stay at Hotel Ideon from £575pp, flying directly from London Luton on 23 August 2027.

Divided across 11 monthly payments, that featured deal comes out at £52pp a month.

The highlight here for families is the studio room setup – every room features a wide balcony looking out over olive groves towards the sea, giving you a peaceful, spacious base for a fraction of standard hotel prices

• Book a 7-night bed-and-breakfast stay at Hotel Ideon from 23 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Luton, from £575pp.

COUPLES: 1. Tholos, Rhodes – £33pp a month

Taking the absolute overall crown is Tholos (also known as Theologos) on the breezy west coast of Rhodes.

It is infinitely more relaxed than Faliraki or Rhodes Town, serving up traditional tavernas, uncrowded beaches, and incredible Mediterranean sunsets.

This is the single cheapest destination average in our database: couples booking in September 2026 pay an average of just £40pp a month to spread payments until Summer 2027.

I found a 7-night self-catering stay at Sunlight Studios from £365pp, flying directly from London Luton on 25 August 2027.

Across 11 monthly payments, that featured deal costs just £33pp a month.

At under £38pp a month, that is quite literally the cost of one takeaway each – and a week under the Greek sun lasts a whole lot longer.

• Book a 7-night self-catering stay at Sunlight Studios from 25 August 2027, with direct return flights from London Luton, from £365pp.

IF you need a loud announcement to tell you when it’s time to board, you might be in trouble at certain airports.

More silent airports are being introduced all over the globe – and these ones have no background noise, but it means you could potentially miss your flight.

Silent airports were first launched in 2015 to create a calmer, less stressful environment for travellers.

Essentially these are terminals that significantly reduces certain sounds like general boarding calls, final calls, and flight updates – or gets rid of them altogether.

Airports Council International (ACI) Angela Gittens previously told CNN Travel that silent airports are designed to “create a calm, relaxed ambiance.”

She added: “Passengers can wind down while they wait for their flight to board in the common airside lounges, commercial, and food and beverage areas.”

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Instead of announcement over loud speakers, lots of airlines are opting for live updates when it comes to their flights on apps or text messages.

Any sort of changes are usually sent straight to the passenger.

But for anyone not paying attention, it could cause problems – and even mean missed flights.

If any passengers are running late, in a silent airport, they will not be called to board their flight.

It’s likely that any last-minute gate changes won’t be announced either.

The very first silent airport was Helsinki Airport in Finland and many others have since followed suit.

Currently only two airports in the UK are ‘silent’ – Bristol and London City.

Around the world, other silent airports include Riyadh Airport, Barcelona El Prat Airport, and Venice Marco Polo Airport in Italy.

Deputy Travel Editor Kara Godfrey almost missed her flight at the airport at Amsterdam Schipol Airport in the Netherlands because there were no announcements.

Kara said: “Returning from Amsterdam Schipol Airport and having checked what gate I would be flying from, I headed straight there and sat down with my headphones on, waiting to board.”

Kara continued: “Yet I didn’t realise the gate had changed until I saw a group of people from the corner of my eye all get up and start running.

“It was only when I saw the women leaving the boarding gate desk that I asked and she told me the gate had moved to one on the other side of the airport.

“So while they can be “less stressful” – keep an eye on your flights.”

Milo Boyd wanted to see how best to learn a bit of Spanish before heading on holiday, putting Preply, Rosetta Stone and Battersea Spanish language school to the test

“¿Hola, qué tal?”

Cue a string of mysterious words from the cheery bartender I’d nervously tested out my very limited Spanish on. When she stopped speaking, I took that to be my turn.

“¿Me puede dar tres cervezas y tres tortillas?”

After the bartender looked confused for a moment, a miracle happened. Three beers and three tortillas arrived. If you’ve ever spent time learning a language, then you’ll know how toe-curling it can be to try it out, in the wild, for the first time.

Without an expert tutor to pick through your dodgy accent or an encouraging classmate to wait patiently while you remember what the Spanish word for ‘I’ is (yo, incidentally), it’s easy for it all to fall apart.

And on several occasions during my week in Bilbao, it did. Fumbled orders turned to English halfway through; garbled questions were met with blank stares. But when it works, it’s a fantastic feeling that almost lets you forget all the traumatic memories of KS3 French lessons.

If you do want to pick up a bit of a language before heading on holiday, how best to go about it? I put three different ways of learning to the test and found one clear winner.

The evening classes

It’d been ten years since I was last in a classroom, and I was nervous. Would my classmates like me? Would they all be really young? Would they all already know Spanish for some reason?

It’s certainly daunting going back to school, all these years on, however shiny your new pencil case is. Battersea Spanish could not have done a better job of easing me through the first-day jitters.

The South London school bills itself as a cultural hub where learners can immerse themselves in Spanish film nights, cava and conversation sessions in the on-site bar, a Spanish book club, live flamenco performances and much else.

In the first session of the term, learners get a free glass of wine, which really helps get things going. I love this way of learning. The teachers are warm, encouraging and just strict enough that you make sure to do your homework, while my classmates were lovely. Committing to an hour and a half each week, along with an hour of revision, means progress feels gratifyingly quick.

The downside? Getting there! Having to travel somewhere after work is a slog, especially on the cold winter evenings, but well worth the journey.

The app

Duolingo. Babbel. LinQ. Pimsleur. There are now almost as many language-learning apps as there are languages. Having previously spent too much time with the green owl, I gave Rosetta Stone a go.

The interface is a little simpler and more classic-feeling than Duolingo, but I prefer it. Learners choose a category (shopping, travel, food and drink, etc.) and are then shown stock photos of people doing something, with a description alongside.

‘Como comida’ is written next to a photo of someone eating food, with the words spoken out loud. Rosetta Stone works through repetition, having the learner listen to, read, and speak versions of a sentence several times, adding new words along the way.

For me, it’s a perfect app. None of the bells, whistles and premium add-ons that make language learning feel like you’re playing Angry Birds. Just straightforward, comprehensive, and vocabulary-expanding.

The downside? These apps are great if you’ve already got a bit of the language and want to expand it, or are naturally confident when trying them out. Otherwise, the move from private learning on your phone to real-world experience can be particularly daunting.

The tutor

Sitting on a bench in my local park, the summer morning sun lighting up the duck pond, I flicked open Preply and Lucia appeared. We chatted for 40 minutes, with her leading me through the words for family members and basic questions you might get asked at a party.

The major strength of one-on-one tuition is the extra time and attention you get to root out little issues before they grow into big ones, and to put everything you’ve been learning over the past week into practice. Taking a language from the textbook page into real life is probably the best, quickest way to make it stick, while building a rapport with a tutor can turn lessons from a dutiful slog to a fun cultural exchange.

From my experience, Preply tutors are lovely and affordable.

The downside? I have one major issue with Preply. It’s one that has made me start and then cancel a learning plan on three separate occasions. Preply requires learners to buy blocks of at least four hours, which get renewed on a 28-day cycle. While this encourages commitment and regular learning, the lack of flexibility is frustrating, as is the cycle length. If you start a subscription the day after payday, next month it will fall two days before. For anyone balancing a household budget, this is a big downside.

The verdict

For me, nothing beats in-person classroom learning. The accountability it requires is key to learning a language; the social scene it offers makes learning fun; and the combination of reading, writing, speaking and listening means all bases are covered.

If you’re going to learn a language, why not commit and really throw yourself into it? Battersea Spanish is based in London only, but there are plenty of similar schools across the UK, whichever language you’re learning.

The regulations are being updated again from September 6

A change in EU border rules comes into force on Sunday, meaning everyone from the UK heading into Europe from today could face longer queues. The European Union has been rolling out a new Entry/Exit System (EES), which sees everyone from the UK entering countries like France, Spain, Greece and Portugal having to wait for a machine to enter biometric data.

That includes having your picture taken, having fingerprints scanned and allowing the machine to take a copy of your passport. The system was launched at the end of last year, but queues were so long – sometimes around four hours – that the machines were switched off at some borders and a new date for full use was set – September 6, 2026.

EES was originally planned to go live in 2022 but has been repeatedly delayed due to technical problems and then to avoid peak travel times. It was officially launched in October 2025 and was supposed to be fully rolled out within six months.

By April this year, there had already been severe queue delays, with passengers missing flights, and Greece temporarily suspended EES – followed by suspensions at multiple other EU borders. Those suspensions are supposed to end today.

Airlines have called for the EU to extend the suspension until the end of this year. And there are reports that not everyone will face EES, with France reportedly suffering technical problems that could see it out of use this week.

The fingerprinting kiosks at Port of Dover and London St Pancras are not currently working. A Eurotunnel spokesperson told The Guardian it is “awaiting confirmation from the French authorities on the timing of this next phase”.

A source told The Guardian some countries, including Greece, may continue to use manual checks rather than the automated system despite the September 6 deadline.

Airlines trade body Iata last week called for an official extension, saying there are still delays and still reports of missed flights.

A European Commission spokesperson said: “We are in close and constructive contact with those few member states where some adjustments are needed at certain border crossing points. And during an additional period of operational adjustment that is needed at these few operational border crossing points, the commission stands ready to provide additional support to these member states.”

Thinking of heading to Europe’s Christmas markets this year? Here are some destinations you can reach directly on Eurostar, making them ideal for a day trip or a quick overnight break

A European Christmas market is an amazing way to get into the festive spirit. The historic city backdrops, authentic food and drink, and unique gifts all make it a must-do in the run up to Christmas.

Eurostar can be a good alternative to flying for short breaks, as it allows you to get to the heart of the city for a day trip or quick overnight stay, without the hassle of the airport. (Although do factor in the logistics of getting to London from where the trains depart).

If you’re already starting to count down the days until Christmas, we’ve got you covered with some of the top markets you can reach by Eurostar this winter…

1. Lille Christmas Market

Lille is Eurostar’s shortest route from London at around 90 minutes, so it’s ideal for a Christmas market day trip. Lille Christmas Market takes place on Place Rihour, just a 15-minute walk from the Eurostart terminal, making it an easy location to get to.

The event runs from November 19 to December 30, and is open seven days a week with Fridays and Saturdays seeing the event stay open until 10pm. In the square you’ll find a huge Ferris wheel covered in lights and around 90 wooden chalets selling food, drink, and crafty items. It’s relatively small compared to some of Europe’s other giant markets, but Lille’s red-brick Flemish architecture and cobbled streets make the whole city perfect for a Christmas break.

2. Paris – La Défense Christmas Market

Paris has a few festive markets around the city, and La Défense Christmas Market is the largest, running daily from mid-November until early-January, with exact dates not confirmed yet for 2026.

Running on La Défense Esplanade, it includes an ice skating rink, carnival rides, and hundreds of stalls selling mulled wine, tartiflette, and raclette. However, it’s worth noting that the market can get incredibly busy as it’s in a Paris business district, so you may want to visit during off-peak times.

Another option is the Tuileries Garden Market, set in a park between the Louvre and Place de la Concorde, a sprawling market which takes up about half a mile of space. It runs for about six weeks from mid-November, again no dates are confirmed yet, and features 80 wooden chalets, a Ferris wheel, and lots of festive activities in this lively space.

3. Brussels – Winter Wonders

Brussels has a compact city centre that makes it ideal for a short break, and from the Eurostar station you can take a quick 10 minute journey to get to Winter Wonders. Taking up several streets in the Belgian capital, this sprawling Christmas market runs from November 27 to January 3 and features over 200 stalls.

At the heart of the market, in the beautiful Baroque Grand-Place, you’ll find the giant Christmas tree and a sound and light show. The market also has an ice rink and Ferris wheel, and closes daily at 10pm, so you can enjoy the festive atmosphere when the sun goes down and the Christmas lights turn on.

4. Antwerp Christmas Market

Eurostar launches a new direct service to Antwerp on December 14, and this city full of unique architecture, from ornate medieval buildings to quirky art nouveau structures, is the ideal backdrop to enjoy a Christmas market.

In the centre you’ll find the Grote Markt and Handschoenmarkt full of handmade crafts, local treats like Antwerp’s hand-shaped biscuits, a huge ice rink and plenty of festive bars. An adjacent street is turned into a giant light tunnel, perfect for exploring after dark, and the market is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays for festive night owls.

5. Amsterdam Christmas Market and Village

Amsterdam, Eurostar’s longest direct route from London, has multiple Christmas markets and events, but perhaps its best-known takes place in Museumplein, the city’s largest square. This area, popular with tourists thanks to its several attractions such as the Van Gogh Museum, is transformed into a Christmas village complete with live entertainment, 45 festive stalls, and a roaming acappella choir.

But if you prefer something a little less traditional, visit the Funky Xmas Market on December 20 in Westerpark. The event brings together the work of artists and creatives from across this colourful city, with lots of unique and quirky ideas for loved ones who are difficult to buy for.

6. Rotterdam – Scandinavian Christmas markets

Enjoy the ultimate hygge atmosphere at one of Rotterdam’s Scandinavian Christmas markets, which are held in traditional Seamen’s Churches across the city. Rotterdam has always had close ties to Scandinavia thanks to its large harbour, so you can enjoy the Scandi-vibes at traditional Norwegian, Danish, and Swedish markets, which are mostly held during November.

If you’re visiting in December, then Deliplein Winterplein is a two-week community festival where the Katendrecht neighborhood is turned into a winter wonderland. It kicks off with a parade and tree lighting, and includes lots of live music events, visits from Santa, and creative workshops. It’s a more community-focused alternative to the usual touristy Christmas markets.

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The EU’s Entry/Exit System (EES) is now in place and, while most travellers are familiar with the biometric checks, a travel expert warns it’s the lesser-known rules that are catching people out

Lots of tourists may be feeling nervous about travel delays this year after reports emerged airports could face a new wave of chaos. Some of this worry has stemmed from the fact that EES, which stands for Entry/Exit System, has come into place this year – this is an automated digital IT system developed by the European Union to register non-EU nationals each time they cross the external borders of participating European nations.

However, if you’re due to travel and want to know what to expect, there’s some expert advice you may want to take on board. A few simple travel tips can make all the difference to helping the start of your holiday go more smoothly.

It’s not the first time the subject has been highlighted to travellers either. Previously, it was reported how UK travellers were preparing for border delays due to the system.

What’s it all about?

This year marked the first summer that the EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES) has been in operation and, while you’ve likely seen reports about lengthier queues at certain airports, for most holidaymakers, it’s simply another aspect of travelling that requires a bit of adjustment. If you’re bound for countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Portugal or Greece, here’s what you need to be aware of before you fly.

Travel expert Ricky Durrance, of package holiday specialists Teletext Holidays, says that, while everyone’s heard about the biometric checks, it’s the minor regulations that are tripping people up. He issued some guidance to help travellers.

Don’t get caught out

One of the least well-known aspects of EES is that your registration is tied to your passport, not to you personally. So, if you’ve renewed your passport since you last visited an EU country, you’ll be treated as a first-time traveller, even if you’ve previously completed biometric registration.

That means providing fingerprints and a facial scan once again at the border. So, you’ll need to allow extra time.

“Many travellers would assume once they’re already in the system that’s job done,” said Ricky. “But EES is tied to the passport, not the person, so don’t be caught out by unexpected enrolment.”

Can things be sped up?

Depending on where you’re departing from, you may even be able to complete part of the process before you set off. The EU’s free Travel to Europe app allows travellers using participating border crossings to upload passport details and a facial image up to 72 hours before departure, helping make the process even smoother.

It’s worth checking whether your airport supports it before you travel. If you’ve booked a package holiday, border delays can have a knock-on effect on transfers, so check with your travel agent whether your departure airport supports early enrolment and allow extra time on arrival.

What about kids?

Families should also bear in mind that every traveller has their own EES record, children included. Each child will require their own passport and facial image check, although under-12s are exempt from providing fingerprints, which helps to speed things up slightly.

It doesn’t apply in every country

The good news is that EES isn’t applicable across the board. Popular holiday hotspots including Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia fall outside the Schengen Area, meaning British tourists heading there won’t need to complete EES checks.

For anyone weighing up destinations, it’s simply another factor worth taking into account alongside the weather, budget and the kind of break you’re looking for. Check whether your chosen destination requires EES before you travel.

“Like any new system, there’s always a settling-in period,” added Ricky. “The important thing is not to let the headlines put you off travelling. Millions of people are still enjoying holidays across Europe.

“If you know what to expect, allow a little extra time where needed and make sure your passport is up to date, the whole process should be straightforward.”

Nantes, France

As dilemmas go, it’s an unusual one: saddle up a giant squid or board a submersible for a voyage to the bottom of the ocean. In the end, I find myself drawn to a fierce-looking merhorse and tentatively take the reins. High above, my daughter glides by on a flying fish, metallic fins flapping, while her Dad is battling stormy seas at the helm of a huge conch shell. A ride on the Carrousel des Mondes Marins (marine worlds carousel) – a three-storey steampunk merry-go-round inspired by Jules Verne’s novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea – is one of the highlights of a visit to Nantes. A surreal fairground ride, a work of art and a homage to the city’s most famous son. It’s also a lot of fun.

On the banks of the Loire, 30 miles from the Atlantic ocean, Nantes is a city whose fortunes were built on the sea. As a young boy growing up near the docks in the 1830s, Verne dreamed of being a ship’s captain, but it wasn’t to be. Instead, he embarked on a series of journeys of the imagination, channelling his wanderlust into novels such as Around the World in 80 Days and Journey to the Centre of the Earth. The last of Nantes’ shipyards closed in the 1980s, but Verne’s unique vision provided the inspiration for a radical art and regeneration project, Les Machines de l’Île, that has breathed life into the abandoned quays and warehouses of the Île de Nantes, the river island that was home to the city’s docks.

This is now the stomping ground of the Grand Éléphant, a 12m-high mechanical pachyderm that carries passengers on tours of the island, spraying bystanders with water from its trunk. I’d seen photos but nothing prepares you for the thrill of turning a corner and seeing the real thing lumbering towards you. You can learn about the magic behind the machinery at the nearby Galerie des Machines, where the creators bring a mechanical menagerie of strange creatures to life.

The Verne connection also inspired the name of the city’s summer arts festival, Le Voyage à Nantes, which transforms streets, parks and public spaces into an open-air art gallery from July to September. Our visit coincides with the festival’s opening weekend, and the squares and avenues of the elegant Graslin district are busy with DJ sets, food stalls and people checking out the new artworks. In the Place Graslin, a beautiful square built – like much of Nantes – from chalky-white tuffeau stone from the Loire valley, some kind of cataclysmic eruption has been conjured up in front of the opera house. Huge ammonites appear to have been forced up from beneath the earth, engulfing cars in a mountain of rubble, their doors wide open, radios playing, as though abandoned in haste.

Just yards away, children are playing in the dancing water fountains of the square, while the white-aproned waiters of art nouveau brasserie La Cigale weave through the pavement tables delivering seafood platters to diners unfazed by the apocalyptic scene before them. Titled Fossil Opera, the artwork is a commentary on consumerism and the fleeting nature of human endeavour, and is one of about a dozen site-specific installations that have appeared in the city, as if by magic.

Even outside the summer months, there is plenty to discover in France’s sixth largest city. Each year, a handful of the festival installations are selected to become permanent fixtures, which has resulted in an impressive collection of contemporary public art, from Les Anneaux, a series of 18 giant steel rings on the Quai des Antilles, which frame views of the Loire and light up at night, to Tadashi Kawamata’s Belvédère de l’Hermitage, a viewing platform inspired by a swallow’s nest, which juts over a sheer cliff.

All of these cultural highlights, old and new, are linked by the Ligne Verte, a 12-mile (20km) green line painted on the pavement. We follow the trail through the Passage Pommeraye, an exquisite 19th century glass-roofed shopping arcade; past the imposing Château des ducs de Bretagne, a moated 15th-century castle; stop off at the excellent Musée d’arts de Nantes, which houses an impressive collection of international art spanning seven centuries; and finish up at the peaceful Jardin des Plantes, a charming (and free) botanical garden which is home to a handful of modern art installations and a good cafe. From here it’s a short stroll to the Lieu Unique, a cultural space and concert venue in the factory that once produced the city’s beloved buttery LU biscuits.

And there’s more to come. The Jardin Extraordinaire is a newly created garden and climbing wall in a disused granite quarry in the Bas‑Chantenay district. The exotic planting, waterfall and paddling pools were inspired by descriptions in Verne’s novel, The Mysterious Island. The nearby Chantenay docks have been colonised by studios, music spaces and the Little Atlantique Brewery, housed in a 19th-century former oil mill. Opposite the quarry, a derelict industrial building is being transformed into a new riverside cultural hub, the Cité des Imaginaires, which will eventually provide a home for an expanded Jules Verne museum. It’s an ambitious project: creative, unconventional and looking to the future. I’m sure Jules Verne would approve.
Joanne O’Connor

The trip was supported by Le Voyage à Nantes. Oceania Hôtel de France, just off the Place Graslin, has air‑conditioned doubles from €101 room-only

Winter’s Journey, a seasonal festival of concerts, temporary light installations, artworks and gastronomic events, runs from 21 November to 3 January.

Basel, Switzerland

Unless you’re a professional who makes their way to the Art Basel fair every year, chances are Switzerland’s third largest city will have passed you by – or rather you will have passed it by. Basel is one stop before Zurich on the fast train from Paris, but to whiz through would be a mistake. For art and design lovers, it is the perfect city to explore on a long weekend.

Basel bills itself as “the city of art and culture on the Rhine”, and it lives up to its boast. Stroll around the charming old town and marvel at the cathedral before enjoying a cold beer at one of the many cafes. If temperatures soar, you might want to join local people with a dip in the Rhine.

Once you’ve done all that, you need to engage with the area’s art offerings. Within the city, the Kunstmuseum holds more than 300,000 works spanning eight centuries, with big hitters such as Monet, Van Gogh and Warhol, while Museum Tinguely is home to the work of the idiosyncratic Swiss sculptor Jean Tinguely and his dada-esque machines.

But the two real draws are on the outskirts of the city. Fondation Beyeler in the suburb of Riehen is home to an impressive collection of modern and contemporary art, and always has a blockbuster exhibition (currently Pierre Huyghe) to check out. A short bus or train ride across the German border in Weil am Rhein is the Vitra Design Museum, home to one of the world’s largest permanent exhibitions of modern furniture design.

Before you admire the furniture collection, take a walk around the campus, where you can marvel at the main museum building designed by Frank Gehry; the Vitra Schaudepot – which houses the furniture collection – designed by Herzog & de Meuron; Zaha Hadid’s former fire station; and Tadao Ando’s conference centre. There is a beautiful garden by the Dutch designer Piet Oudolf, and the recently added Doshi Retreat for a moment of quiet reflection designed by the Indian architect Balkrishna Doshi, his first completed project outside India and the last he worked on before he died in 2023.

That’s half the day gone, so time to head inside. In lots of ways, exploring the Schaudepot is like walking through a giant doll’s house, with the rooms filled with instantly recognisable furniture icons from the 19th century to today, including works by Verner Panton, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto and Charles and Ray Eames. The museum also puts on temporary exhibitions. And if all of that has exhausted you, head to the VitraHaus Café, which serves a delicious lunch.
Max Benato

The Volkshaus, a boutique hotel in the old town, has doubles from 152 swiss francs (£138) room-only

Lübeck, Germany

Unless you’ve read Buddenbrooks, Thomas Mann’s epic family saga, you may not have heard of Lübeck. But in the middle ages, this port city in Germany, 70km north-east of Hamburg, was one of the richest and most powerful places on Earth. Today, despite the best efforts of the RAF to destroy it in 1942, it remains a beautifully intact medieval gem.

The old town is a Unesco world heritage site. It sits on an island in the centre of the city, encircled by the rivers Trave and Wakenitz, and the water is a good place to start exploring. My boyfriend and I hired an electric boat (€49 for up to six people) and spent an hour circumnavigating and gazing at its distinctive seven church spires.

Back on dry land, we set off on a guided walking tour, starting at the imposing – if wonky – Holsten Gate. We took in the five red brick churches the spires belong to (two have doubles), and climbed one of them, St Petri’s viewing tower, for a panoramic view. We also stopped at the 800-year-old town hall on the marketplace.

But just as fascinating was what lies behind the gothic splendour. At one time, there were 180 hidden alleyways and courtyards threaded through the old town, and about 80 remain. These labyrinthine lanes were built behind wealthy merchants’ mansions to house the poor. Today, the restored cottages are sought-after and the flower-filled, cobbled alleys are charming to explore.

To better understand Lübeck’s past, we visited the European Hansemuseum in the old castle monastery. It tells the story of the Hanseatic League, the powerful trade network that stretched from England to Russia and gave Lübeck (“the Queen of the League”) its wealth in the middle ages and its status as a free city state right up to 1937.

In a nearby palace, the Museum Behnhaus Drägerhaus displays 19th- and early 20th-century German and European art, including work by Edvard Munch, who visited Lübeck and painted its salt warehouses. Just round the corner is the Günter Grass-Haus, where the writer regularly stayed (he died in Lübeck in 2015).

We visited in June during the HanseKulturFestival, when the quarter around St Jakob’s church was full of live music stages, food stalls and outdoor bars. The next festival isn’t until 2028, but there are annual museum, theatre and literature nights, and popup live music in the summer.

Lübeck has three natural open-air swimming areas, one on the island. And the seaside isn’t far away – we had a day trip to Travemünde, a historic resort town with miles of sandy beach, taking a scenic river ferry there (90 minutes) and a 20-minute train back.

In town, the medieval Schiffergesellschaft (Seafarers’ Guild) is now a traditional Hanseatic restaurant, with long communal tables. Alongside North Sea fish and Holstein meat dishes are vegetarian versions of labskaus, a sort of hash.

Sadly, we couldn’t visit Buddenbrookhaus, the museum dedicated to the novel, as it is being renovated. It is expected to reopen in 2030 – which gives you plenty of time to read Mann’s 864-page doorstopper. Like Lübeck itself, it is worth the effort.
Rachel Dixon

The trip was provided by germany.travel and luebeck-tourismus.de. Accommodation was provided by Liho Lübeck, doubles from £73 room-only

Parma, Italy

Parma is just far enough off Italy’s main travel routes to discourage the huge crowds of tourists that flood the likes of Venice and Florence. Most travellers reach this tranquil Italian gem by flying into Milan or Bologna, followed by an hour’s train ride. It is definitely worth that extra effort, as I discover a city that ticks every box for a weekend getaway: fabulous museums and frescoed churches without long queues or the need to book a timeslot in advance; friendly, affordable trattorie and osterie showcasing a feast of local food and wines; and, if you time it right, the chance to catch an opera composed by locally born Giuseppe Verdi in the intimate Teatro Regio.

The historic centre of Parma is small and easily explored on foot, taking me past an array of architectural masterpieces. I kick off at the grand Piazza Duomo, dominated by the imposing 900-year-old romanesque cathedral. Everyone’s eyes are drawn up to the ornate cupola, decorated with a captivating illusionist fresco by local Renaissance artist Antonio da Correggio. Next to the cathedral stands the early gothic Battistero, an octagonal baptistery whose bare, minimalist exterior contrasts with an incredible explosion of colours from the 13th- and 14th-century paintings that cover the interior. Then, tucked away behind the Duomo, I come upon the entrance of the medieval Monastero di San Giovanni Evangelista, whose cloisters and garden are a peaceful oasis. Entry to the monastery and cathedral is free.

Parma’s big must-see is the monumental Palazzo della Pilotta, a baroque complex of palatial museums, a library and remarkable 400-year-old theatre, all included in a single €18 entry ticket. Just by the Parma river that slices the city into two, the palazzo was built by the Farnese family, whose patronage created most of the city’s Renaissance monuments. The Teatro Farnese, made almost entirely of wood, is rarely used as a venue today, but a visit remains an incredible experience. I leave most sightseeing time, though, for the Pilotta’s landmark Galleria Nazionale di Parma, a treasure trove of old master paintings. It may not quite rival the collection of the Uffizi, but I enjoy the chance to just turn up without booking in advance and quietly appreciate works by Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Canaletto and Tintoretto without being surrounded by crowds.

Sightseeing is only part of Parma’s attraction, however, as this is one of Italy’s food capitals. I walk into the rustic, raucous OsteMagno bar, where everyone is tucking into tagliere – wooden boards piled with razor-thin slices of cured ham, the famous prosciutto crudo di Parma, artisan salami and crumbly aged parmigiano reggiano cheese, accompanied by a glass of the local’s favourite tipple, fizzy red Lambrusco wine, which is a lot more drinkable than I expect.

This is not a city to seek out chic, gourmet restaurants, but rather one of the many traditional trattorie such as Da Antonia, whose eponymous owner has overseen the cucina for more than 50 years, or the 120-year-old Trattoria Corrieri, serving up generous plates of homemade pasta for less than €15.
John Brunton

Palazzo Dalla Rosa Prati has doubles from €80 room-only

Santander, Spain

Often dismissed as little more than a ferry terminal – somewhere to stop overnight if you want to take your dog to Europe or lower your carbon footprint – the port city of Santander is undergoing something of a cultural renaissance. It’s already blessed with a spectacular bay facing the Cantabrian mountains, wide sandy beaches, grand, colonnaded plazas and superb food, but the opening of new art spaces and museums in the coming months will put the Cantabrian capital firmly on the weekend-break map.

Leading the way on 8 September is Faro Santander – a new cultural centre in a grand historical building housing a 1,000-piece art collection belonging to Banco Santander, including works by Velázquez, Goya, Titian, Rubens and Picasso. Different parts of the collection will be shown at different times.

With its ornate white facade facing the bay, the Pereda building was previously the bank’s headquarters, but has been transformed into a striking, 21st-century museum space by Pritzker prize-winning British architect David Chipperfield.

Santander’s moment in the spotlight will extend into 2027 when Madrid’s Reina Sofia Museum opens its first outpost, set in a similarly grand neo-Renaissance building just a few metres away from Faro Santander. The museum will house the Archivo Lafuente, with paintings, sculptures and manuscripts, including major collections on dadaism and the Spanish civil war, as well as art from Spain, North America and Latin America.

Faro Santander and Archivo Lafuente will form two points on a kind of “art triangle”, along with architect Renzo Piano’s 2017 Centro Botín contemporary art centre just over the road. With a bijou but impressive permanent collection, including works by Matisse, Juan Gris, Joaquín Sorolla and Mark Rothko, the Centro Botín sits on the waterfront like a giant, stilt-mounted, 60s alarm clock sawn in half.

Spaniards cottoned on to Santander’s charms long ago, and the seafront is lined with elegant fin-de-siècle villas built when well-heeled Madrileños discovered that the city’s Atlantic breezes were the perfect respite from the Spanish capital’s infernal summer. More than 100 years later, while Britain was experiencing its own heatwave, I followed their lead. Temperatures were in the balmy high 20s as I ambled past toddlers building sand castles and teenagers frolicking in the surf on El Sardinero beach, just 15 minutes by bus from the city centre.

The centre itself is wonderfully walkable and there’s an unhurried, laid-back vibe in the streets, grand plazas and narrow alleys near the gothic cathedral, lined with bars serving pinchos – the Cantabrian equivalent to tapas.

After tucking into tender, grilled squid, laced with gutsy garlic and olive oil, at Mesón Rampalay on a leafy square, I spent a fascinating couple of hours at Mupac – the Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology of Cantabria, just a few minutes’ walk away from Faro Santander.

The museum, which is home to one of Spain’s most important prehistoric collections, features excellent interactive displays, and in 2027 it is moving to a brand new, multimillion-euro building. By next year, it seems, Santander will be not just the capital of Cantabria, but a capital of culture too.
Eddi Fiegel

The trip was provided by Faro Santander. Abba Santander, near the Centro Botín, has stylish doubles from €66 room-only

THE home of fiery Sichuan dishes and giant pandas, China’s Chengdu is an adventure you’ll never forget, says writer Qin Xie.

I’m watching a clumsy brawl between two sulky teens. They keep lunging at each other with gusto, but neither manages to land a single punch.

Instead, both end up rolling on the floor covered in leaves.

If these were human teenagers, I might not be laughing, but, thankfully, it’s a pair of juvenile pandas.

They can barely stand up without a wobble, but still seem totally serious about winning, so have been chasing each other around their huge open-air enclosure for the last 10 minutes, dodging behind trees and somersaulting down ramps.

Eventually, one gives up and runs off – but not before making a loud, protesting squeal that triggers a burst of laughter from the crowd.

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The scrappy pair are residents of Panda Base in Chengdu, a sprawling conservation park in south-west China that’s credited with bringing the bears back from the brink of extinction.

Of the 2,700 or so pandas alive today, around 80% live in Sichuan (the province of which Chengdu is the capital), and about 10% are at Panda Base, so there’s no better place to see them. Plus, tickets are a bargain £6.

I was born in Chengdu, so I’ve been coming to the park for years, but only learned recently that if you want to see the bears at their most active, you have to get there early – it’s why the park is open by 8am every day (Panda.org.cn).

Go Green

Still relatively unknown compared to the likes of Beijing and Shanghai, Chengdu is actually a mega-city, home to more than 21 million people.

But unlike other cities of its size, it doesn’t feel hectic, as there’s greenery everywhere.

In fact, Chengdu is currently building a 10,000-mile cycle network to connect its green spaces.

Several sections are already open, like the 62-mile Tianfu Greenway, which wraps around the city centre.

I borrow a dockless bike for 30p per hour to explore a stretch in the south, and as I cycle past fields and a lake dotted with egrets, I spot the New Century Global Center – the world’s largest building.

Day trips in the mountains are easy, too. I head for Mount Qingcheng, which is just half an hour on the fast train, with fares from £2 return.

This UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the sacred mountains of Taoism, a philosophical religion that predates Buddhism in China, and it’s split into two visitor areas.

The front mountain is easier to get to, with paved paths leading up to several incense-filled temples where monks still live. Entry costs £9.

But I prefer the quieter back mountain – it’s wilder and more scenic, with several small waterfalls, and entry is £7 cheaper!

Both offer several hours of serious hiking, so booking a stay at a hot spring hotel to soak tired muscles is a smart move, and the Howard Johnson Conference Resort Chengdu is only a short walk from the train station.

Double rooms cost from £52 B&B (Howardjohnsonchengdu.cn).

Spice up your life

Chengdu is also known for its food. It’s one of UNESCO’s Cities of Gastronomy, and those addictively hot and numbing Sichuan dishes you find in Chinese restaurants around the world are all from here.

Pick a place where there’s a queue and you can’t go wrong, but I always make time for a hot pot, where you order a selection of meats and veggies to cook yourself in a pot of bubbling broth.

I’ve done everything from big buffets to solo dinners in cubby holes, but my go-to is HaiDiLao.

This chain is pricier – meals cost about £15 per person – but there are branches everywhere, and they put on live TikTok-style dance performances while you eat.

At bigger outposts, like the one on Chunxi Road, you can even get a free manicure during your meal (Haidilao.com).

For classic street food, I hit Zhong Shui Jiao (Zhong’s Dumplings) in People’s Park for its namesake garlicky pork dumplings, £1.50, the plain Long’s wontons, £1.40, and spicy dan dan noodles, £1.

Next door, the century-old He Ming Tea House is great for people-watching.

Green tea starts from £1.60, and you can stay all day and bring your own snacks.

All Night Long

One of my favourite things about Chengdu is that there’s so much to do after dark.

Most locals go for post-dinner strolls or take speakers to public squares to dance to C-pop.

Midnight snacks are routine, and there are even 24-hour spas, like FuFu Tang near Renmin North Road station.

Spa entry costs from £30 per person. It’s also an unbeatable time for shopping.

Most malls are open until 11pm and some, like the subterranean SKP Chengdu, even have huge light installations that are attractions in their own right (Skp-beijing.com).

Unlike the UK, there isn’t a big drinking culture. Beers tend to be a watery 2.5% ABV and tea houses easily outnumber bars.

The one main strip, Jiuyanqiao, has around 100 competing bars clustered along the Jinjiang River, each one trying to outdo the next with its club beats. But even here is pretty sedate.

By my 11pm bedtime, the music has already been turned down, although I can still spot the lasers and strobe lights from my hotel across the river – the luxe but surprisingly affordable Shangri-La.

That said, it only takes a wedding or banquet for locals to break out the baijiu, China’s grain-based national spirit.

And in Chengdu, you can try it at Shui Jing Fang’s distillery museum, where the £5 entry fee includes a tour plus a guided tasting of three throat-burning spirits, each delivering a fiery 52% ABV, meant to be sipped neat.

It’s fascinating to see distilling as it was done 600 years ago (Shuijingfang.com).

That’s the most incredible thing about this city: futuristic skyscrapers and boundary-pushing architecture surround you wherever you look, but you only need to turn a corner to spot fascinating cultural relics dating back centuries.

Two thousand years ago, people called Chengdu the land of abundance – it’s as true then as it is now.

EVER fancied having a massive party on a plane and feeling like you’re on a private jet?

This September and in February next year you can head to an event on a Concorde plane.

Lost Track Of Time runs different nighttime events with DJ sets, across the UK.

The events in September and February will feature a DJ between the jet’s two engines, with stages under the wings of the aircraft.

The hangar will have immersive lighting and projections as well as dancers, 360 staging and house and disco music.

The Concorde was the world’s fastest passenger plane, capable of reaching speeds twice the speed of sound.

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It also cruised at an altitude of 60,000ft, where passengers were even able to see the curvature of Earth.

Tickets to the event are currently sold out, but you can sign up to get notified of when the second phase of tickets will be dropped.

If you are looking for other cool events though, the same company is hosting a Halloween event at Wake The Tiger in Bristol.

There will be 53 rooms of interactive actors and cool sets to explore, created by the people behind Boomtown festival.

Aerospace Bristol is home to a number of different aircraft including the Concorde.

Called Concorde Alpha Foxtrot, it sits in its own hangar and is the last of the passenger jets to be built as well as the last to fly.

Visitors can catch three short films in the hangar which reveal the history of the aircraft.

And of course – for the main event – you can step onboard the jet.

There’s also an exhibition gallery with memorabilia including a pilot’s uniform.

Tickets cost £20 per adult and £13.50 per child.

BRITS jetting off to countries including Spain and France should be aware of new entry rules which are set to be rolled out in full in just a matter of days.

The EU’s new Entry/Exit System (EES), which is an automated border check for non-EU nationals, comes into full force on September 7.

It involves people from third-party countries such as the UK having their fingerprints registered and photograph taken to enter the Schengen Area, which consists of 29 European countries, mainly in the EU.

This system first launched back in April, and was linked to lengthy queues and in some cases passengers missed their flights.

As it stands, EU member states are able to pause the checks in “exceptional circumstances”. This includes when queues get too long.

But come September 7, they will no longer be able to temporarily switch off the system at airports.

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It means the rules will be fully enforced with no exceptions, raising fears of even longer queues for British holidaymakers.

Popular holiday destinations including Greece, Spain and France have all used flexibility when needed.

Back in July, countries including Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland wrote to Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner asking to keep the congestion EES opt-out, EuroWeekly News reported.

The countries backed a full roll out, but did not want to face a cliff edge before Christmas.

A decision has not yet been made on the extension, so travellers should prepare to use the EES machines on September 7.

It comes as the new system has caused huge problems for those holidaying abroad this summer.

Some Brits reported waiting for up to six hours in airports and others even missed their flight.