trips

The Foreign Office has issued a warning to Brits who are planning on heading to a popular European winter holiday spot in the coming weeks, as they could be at risk of hospitalisation or even death

British holidaymakers planning their dream winter getaway in the coming weeks face potential hospitalisation or even death, according to Foreign Office warnings. More than 20 million people flock to the European destination each year, with over one million of those being UK travellers.

Renowned for its tranquil landscapes and stunning mountain views, Switzerland remains a favoured destination for those keen on winter sports, including skiing, snowboarding, and hiking. However, the Foreign Office has warned that some Brits may be engaging in ‘risky’ activities that might not be covered by their insurance policies.

Being inadequately prepared could result in serious consequences for both your well-being and your finances, particularly if you haven’t been careful about selecting the right insurance cover for your trip. In certain circumstances, you might find yourself liable for more than £3,000 if you lack proper travel insurance protection, and that’s excluding medical expenses and hospital bills.

Foreign Office guidance warns: “Adventure sports can be risky. British nationals in the Swiss Alps have been involved in accidents and have been hospitalised or died. Check the company you are using is well-established and that your travel insurance covers any specific activity.

“For sports activities like skiing, potholing and mountaineering, and for sports classed as particularly dangerous (for example, off-piste skiing, mountain biking, climbing, paragliding or BASE jumping), you could get into difficulty and need emergency rescue. Adventure sports can be risky. British nationals in the Swiss Alps have been involved in accidents and have been hospitalised or died.

“Check the company you are using is well-established and that your travel insurance covers any specific activity. For sports activities like skiing, potholing and mountaineering, and for sports classed as particularly dangerous (for example, off-piste skiing, mountain biking, climbing, paragliding or BASE jumping), you could get into difficulty and need emergency rescue.”

Making sure you’ve got the right cover for your winter holiday

If you’re planning a trip to a ski resort this winter, it’s crucial to make sure any activities you intend to participate in are covered by your travel insurance. When sorting out your policy, ensure you’re fully clued up on any exclusions included in the policy and when you won’t be protected.

It’s also vital to consider medical costs, and when your insurance policy will foot the bill for you, especially if you plan on using rental gear, as this likely won’t be covered. Moreover, those hitting the slopes off-piste without a guide may not typically be covered by their insurance.

According to SOS 144, a helicopter rescue in the Swiss Alps can cost as much as 3,500 CHF (£3,293).

WHO says you have to fork out a fortune to go on your dream holiday?

For the price of just £79 you could be jetting off to see the big lights in New York city or sunbathe on a beach in Bali with Wowcher.

Throughout the year Wowcher runs its £99 Mystery Holiday sale – where you can bag yourself a trip to over 100 destinations around the world.

The package includes both a hotel stay and return flights.

Now, Wowcher has reduced the cost by £20 so you can get a trip abroad for £79.

It’s not just short-haul trips either, potentially you could be heading to the Maldives, New York or Thailand.

CHRIMBO WIN

Enter these travel comps before Xmas to win £2k holidays, ski trips & spa stays

SNOW WAY

All the best Xmas days out under £10 including FREE ice skating & Santa’s grotto

All you have to do is head to the Wowcher website, and and buy the holiday. Then enter your details and voucher codes into the site.

It’ll instantly reveal where you’re heading off to – so you can get packing straight away.

Trips on offer can be as short as two nights, or as long as seven.

You’re guaranteed to stay somewhere lovely as all accommodation is rated three stars or higher – and you stay in a private room with ensuite.

If you want to take advantage of the offer make sure to do it in the next few days as it closes on December 1, 2025.

The holidays are broken up into three tiers with six Tier 1 packages, 12 packages in Tier 2 and 1,982 in Tier 3 – which are randomly assigned.

Holidays in Tier 1 could be seven nights in places like the Maldives, the Dominican Republic, Bali or St Lucia – or three nights in New York City.

Tier 2 holiday packages include a four night Lisbon and Barcelona break, a three night all-inclusive to Crete and a three night Disneyland Paris holiday with park tickets.

Meanwhile Tier 3 breaks include two nights in destinations like Madeira, Dublin, Monaco, Rome, and Warsaw.

Each package is based on two adults travelling together and destinations are based on your chosen travel dates during redemption.

If you don’t like the destination you’ve been given, you can choose an alternative one for £20pp (depending on availability).

There are a few small catches. For example when it comes to which airport you depart from you only get to select a region, not a specific one.

These range from London, to Scotland, North East, North West, Yorkshire, Midlands, Wales, South West and Northern Ireland.

If you choose to fly from a regional airport outside of London, there’s a £40 per person supplement.

And of course the better holiday destinations are a lot less common with European breaks often the suprise destination.

After you redeem your voucher, you’ll receive an email to confirm your booking details, and you’ll need to reply within 24 hours to lock everything in.

Vouchers are valid for 28 days from the date of purchase, and an admin fee will be added based on your checkout basket total.

For more details and to take advantage of the deal, head to Wowcher.

One woman who spent £99 on ‘insane’ Wowcher Mystery Holiday was left stunned after heading on a three-day trip to Majorca.

For more ways to save hundreds on a holiday, hear from a travel blogger for the best websites, vouchers and discount cards.

Jailza Gatehouse, 60, from Hemel Hempstead says the side effects of the menopause improved after she started taking ‘extreme day trips’, and now she has embarked on 70

A woman who began embarking on ‘extreme day trips’ to tackle menopause -related insomnia has now completed 70 such journeys in just 12 months.

Jailza Gatehouse, 60, embarked on her first EDT last October – a distinctive travel approach involving stays of no more than 24 hours. The mother-of-two from Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, admits she had been observing others’ adventures in an online community for some time, never imagining she would attempt one herself.

Yet once she began, Jailza discovered she was hooked, and has since undertaken 70 EDTs, exploring every European nation except Russia and Ukraine. The Brazilian-born mum reveals that sleepless nights brought on by the menopause prompted her to take action, believing there had to be a more productive use of her time than lying awake in bed.

Since beginning these expeditions, she reports sleeping soundly, as the extensive travel leaves her thoroughly exhausted.

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She said: “With my menopause I could never sleep. I would wake up at one in the morning. Menopause used to take over my life. With EDTs, instead of waking up and doing nothing, I go to the airport. And because you walk so much and get so tired I sleep. Now when I am up I go and see the world.

“EDTs changed my life. Menopause was driving me mad. I am taking a short break now for Christmas and already I can’t sleep again. I had to book another one.”

Jailza’s maiden voyage was to Dublin on October 4 last year, as it was just an hour away and still within the UK, costing only £17.99 each way. She admitted that initially she felt extremely nervous, having always harboured concerns about her safety abroad, but those fears have since disappeared.

She explained: “I was in the group for a while but I just read the posts. I thought ‘that’s not me I could never go anywhere by myself.’ After I did my first one I just couldn’t stop. The EDTs brought me back to life. Because I don’t work I was bored, my life was boring. I needed to do something, I just didn’t know what.

“In the past I have said to my husband that we should visit places, and he always said that they don’t like black people there. My mind was always like that, I couldn’t go anywhere because they wouldn’t like black people. When I was on my way to Dublin I remember panicking. I felt so paranoid. I wanted to cry. But when I got there it was nothing like I had thought. It brought my confidence back. EDTs are becoming my therapy.”

Jailza, who invariably travels alone, says her favourite destinations include Italy, Greece, Barcelona, and Budapest, citing her passion for architecture.

The mother hasn’t revisited any destination yet, though certain cities like Prague have captured her heart enough to warrant a return trip. The adventurous traveller has even ventured to Transnistria, an unrecognised state sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine which appears on the government’s ‘do not travel’ list, describing it as “amazing.”

Jailza hasn’t kept track of her total spending, but admits she rarely secures bargains as she books her journeys last minute, explaining “if I want to go then I go.” Her travel advice includes thoroughly researching your destination, avoiding the front seat in taxis, and not hesitating to ask locals for information.

Her packing essentials consist of two power banks, a brolly, spare socks, and an extra top in case of spillages.

She added: “In the beginning people thought I was crazy. But now they have seen that I can do it, they are all starting to go too. Don’t hold yourself back. Just do it. I have had the best year of my life. After that first trip I have never been scared anywhere.”

Jailza shows no signs of slowing down, with a trip to Marseille in France scheduled for next week, and further visits to Milan and Krakow already in the diary. Looking ahead, she’s keen to expand her horizons further afield, even if it means abandoning her 24-hour time restriction.

One Reddit user recently posted six travel hacks they said “made my trips way cheaper and smoother”. The tips covered topics ranging from booking flights, to finding your way around and eating

Travel, whether it’s a relaxed few days on the beach with a cocktail, a fast-paced city break, or an exciting adventure exploring a foreign land, can be an enjoyable and rewarding experience – but it can also be very stressful. Whether it’s making sure you’ve packed everything you need, sorting out travel to and from your destination, and of course, remembering your passport, there are a lot of things to think about before setting off.

Thankfully there’s a wealth of handy tips online to help make any trip easier. One Reddit user recently posted six travel hacks they said “made my trips way cheaper and smoother”.

The first of these is to book flights online using your internet browser’s incognito mode. This allows you to browse the internet without storing history or data, meaning sites you visit won’t have any information about you and adjust prices accordingly.

The Reddit user said: “Check the same route on your phone’s browser, prices sometimes differ.” To access incognito mode on Google Chrome, click the three dots in the top right and click New Incognito Window. Others browsers operate in a similar way.

The second tip was: “Save the offline version of your Google Maps area before you even leave home.” This will allow you to navigate using your phone without relying on having internet access, and without using data abroad, which can be costly.

The next was: “Carry a cheap carabiner, hangs bags, locks zips together, secures stuff in hostels.” And the fourth tip concerned one of the most important parts of travelling. The user said: “Eat your big meal at lunch – same food, half the price in most cities.”

Something leaking in your bag can be a nightmare, and this can be doubly frustrating while travelling as you might not have a way of containing it or cleaning it up. The Reddit user has a solution for this. They said: “Always pack a ziplock bag: wet clothes, snacks, leaking toiletries, you name it.”

The final tip read: “Last one: When you arrive somewhere new, take the first hour slow, no rushing, just orienting. Saves mistakes and money.”

Reddit users added their own tips in the comments. One said: “Always bring safety pins! They can fix so many different problems and/or help other travellers.”

Another wrote: “My essentials case is small sewing kit (I collect the ones from hotel rooms), 5cm wide cotton adhesive tape (find it more versatile than duct tape), and superglue. Can fix almost anything with that.”

Someone else said: “Keep all important information in a small notebook. Key addresses, directions, passwords, etc, in case your phone battery goes dead, or your phone is lost or stolen. Have heard so many stories of people having major travel problems due to a dead or missing phone.

“Saves a lot of time, money, and stress. If traveling with a partner, never keep all wallets and phones in one bag in case one is lost or stolen. I’m a huge fan of traveling with Ziploc bags, packing blocks, bandannas, small fabric shopping bags.”

And a different user added: “Book hotels that offer breakfast if you are in an expensive city such as Reykjavik, Iceland. I stuff myself with good, delicious food that last me for the day.

“In between, I have tasting samples of baked goods or something very light to snack on. It’s well worth it since breakfast can easily cost about £22 ($30) per person anyway.”

BLACK Friday has arrived and the cruise deals are making waves.

From the Caribbean to the Norwegian Fjords, cruise lines are slashing prices, throwing in free drinks packages and cutting hundreds of pounds off cabin costs.

But don’t delay – most offers end in early December.

Jacob Lewis looks at the top deals.

PRINCESS CRUISES

THE cruise line is turning Black Friday ‘Blue’ with up to £1,000 off per stateroom across more than 1,500 voyages.

The sale runs until December 2, for cruises in 2026, 2027 and 2028.

AUSSIE RULES

Watch the Australian Open and take in a cruise of highlights of South Pacific

CRUISE SMART

Luxury cruise on ‘world’s smartest ship’ and top NFL game for just £1,929

Sail the Mediterranean on Enchanted Princess from Civitavecchia (Rome) on October 6, 2026.

This 14-night trip calls at Corfu, Dubrovnik, Kotor, Naples, Salerno, Santorini, Kusadasi and Katakolon.

Inside stateroom fares start from £1,318pp with £100pp savings, or £800 total savings if booking a suite for four.

Visit princess.com/en-uk or call 0344 338 8663.

HOLLAND AMERICA

SOME great savings can be had on Dover departures, valid on all cruises booked departing November 30 to September 30, 2027.

They include $400 onboard credit per person on 21-day cruises, $300 for 10-20 day cruises and $200 for eight days.

Examples include the 13-night Canary Island Enchantment with Portugal itinerary sailing from Dover on April 17, 2026 and including calls in Rotterdam, Agadir, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and Lisbon.

Prices start from £2,779pp for the ‘Have It All’ package including drinks, shore excursion credit, speciality dining, wifi and tips plus $300pp ship credit.

See HollandAmerica.com or call 0344 338 860.

P&O CRUISES

P&O is having its biggest Black Friday sale, with up to £300 off per cabin on more than 500 cruises.

The offer runs until December 2 on sailings from March 2026 to October 2027 in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and the Norwegian Fjords.

There’s a stunning 14-night Caribbean Islands cruise on Britannia, leaving Bridgetown, Barbados on March 6, 2026.

You’ll visit Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, St Vincent, Saint Lucia, Antigua and Saint Maarten.

Prices from £1,779pp based on two sharing an inside cabin. Call 0345 356 9999 or visit pocruises.com.

MSC CRUISES

MSC has up to 50 per cent off more than 5,900 cruises from Winter 2025 through Summer 2027.

Destinations include the Caribbean, Emirates, Mediterranean and Northern Europe.

Voyagers Club members get an extra five per cent off.

Grab a seven-night Northern Europe cruise on MSC Poesia departing Southampton on January 3, visiting Hamburg, Rotterdam and Le Havre.

It’s from only £379pp — perfect for a post-Christmas getaway. For more deals visit msccruises.co.uk.

AMBASSADOR CRUISE LINE

AMBASSADOR’S campaign brings back free drinks on selected UK no-fly departures from April 2026 to March 2028.

Running until December 1, the offer includes house-brand spirits, wines and soft drinks on sailings from London Tilbury, Portsmouth, Belfast, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Its ten-night France and Spain Explorer round-trip sailing from Portsmouth on Ambition, departs April 12, 2026.

Visit Bordeaux (with an overnight), La Coruna, Gijon and Santander.

Fares start from just £636pp with drinks included.

Book at ambassadorcruiseline.com or call 0808 102 8701.

VIRGIN VOYAGES

GET 80 per cent off the second sailor on Mediterranean cruises aboard Resilient Lady, plus free drinks worth up to $400.

The deal also comes with Virgin’s ‘Always Included’ package, covering soft drinks, juices, teas, coffees and essential drinks.

NO WEIGH

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WASHOUT

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Sail the Med in style on a seven-night cruise from Barcelona, calling at Tuscany and Cinque Terre (La Spezia), Rome (Civitavecchia), Ajaccio in Corsica, Cannes and Marseille before returning to Barcelona.

Departures on September 26 and October 17, 2027 from £1,045pp. Book at virginvoyages.com.

Sparkling wine, Canterbury, Kent

Stock up on festive fizz with a trip to the heart of Kent’s flourishing wine region. Start the tastings at Simpsons’ wine estate, 10 minutes’ drive from Canterbury, then head to Domaine Evremond, Taittinger’s UK vineyard, where its first release, Classic Cuvée Edition I, is available at the Cellar Door shop. Nearby, the medieval village of Chilham makes an ideal stop for lunch at the Woolpack Inn. Back in Canterbury, Corkk is a specialist English wine shop with more than 100 labels to try, and cheese and charcuterie platters to nibble on while you decide what to buy. Stay at the Millers Arms, in the heart of town, with B&B doubles from £93.50.

Foodie treats, Narberth, Pembrokeshire

Swap Tesco’s crowded aisles for Narberth in Pembrokeshire, fast becoming Wales’s premier foodie hub. Wisebuys is a great first stop; pick up locally produced goodies: laverbread and rapeseed oils, handmade chocolates, chutneys and cheese, available in a range of hampers. Pop into Rock ’N’ Dough Bakehouse for fabulous freshly made pastries and coffee, before stocking up on Mediterranean treats at Ultracomida, a tapas bar and deli offering authentic Spanish cured meats, patés and cheese to take away, along with classic paella pans and ceramics. Stay at Top Joe’s Townhouse, with rooms above a buzzy pizzeria, from £90 B&B.

Outdoors kit, Bakewell, Derbyshire

Blow away the winter cobwebs with a Peak District weekend and bring an empty rucksack to snaffle gifts from Bakewell’s plethora of outdoorsy shops. Trespass is good for van lifers and campers, with folding furniture, lighting and clever cooking stoves, alongside ski, surf and hiking gear; while Mallon & Green has rods, lines, tools and accessories for the angler in your life. Pause for coffee at Summat, the in-house café at Inov8 – a shop that sells everything from bags and beanies to running and hiking footwear and nifty accessories – and reward yourself with a Bakewell pudding (never a “tart”) from The Old Original Bakewell Pudding Shop. Stay at the Rutland Arms Hotel, a grand old coaching inn right in the centre of town, with doubles from £104 a night, room only.

Jewellery, Birmingham

Whether you’re seeking a bespoke pair of cufflinks, a one-off pendant or something for a Christmas proposal, Birmingham’s jewellery quarter has more than 100 shops, offering everything from vintage pieces to handmade designs. Browse the historic workshops on Legge Lane, pop into Deakin & Francis, where jewellery has been designed and created in the same building since 1786, and take a guided tour of the Museum of the Jewellery Quarter. Ponder your purchases over lunch at 1000 Trades, a historic pub that was originally a jewellery workshop. Stay at Saint Pauls House, a bar, restaurant and slick boutique hotel with room-only doubles from £99.

Art, Cambridge

Cambridge’s historic streets are dotted with galleries and elegant museum shops, which makes it a great place to pick up a one-off artwork or unusual gift. Byard Art, opposite King’s College, is a good place to start, with works by more than 50 contemporary artists, while Cambridge Contemporary Art, just along the road, specialises in handmade prints, ceramics and crafts. Get inspiration from browsing some of the half a million artworks at the Fitzwilliam Museum, before picking up more art-themed gifts at the excellent museum shop; or dip into the shop at Kettle’s Yard for art-themed books, homeware, fashion and stationery. Stay at the Varsity on the banks of the River Cam, with room-only doubles from £155.

Books, Wigtown, Dumfries and Galloway

Home to 17 bookshops and book-related businesses, Wigtown is the perfect place to find literary treats, vintage titles and specialist books that make unusual Christmas gifts. Allow plenty of time to browse in the Bookshop, where more than a mile of shelving holds about 100,000 new and secondhand books, dip into the Old Bank Bookshop for vintage books on everything from art and architecture to travel and memoirs, and pick up presents for younger family members at Foggie Toddle Books. Pop into Books & Bakes (6 Bank Street) for hearty sandwiches and coffee, and stay at the Creebridge House Hotel, around 15 minutes’ drive away in Newton Stewart, with doubles from £120 B&B.

Chocolate, York

Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without an unseemly amount of chocolate, and few places have a more cocoa-rich history than York, home to Rowntree’s, Nestlé and Terry’s. Kick off a chocoday with a visit to York’s Chocolate Story, where the interactive displays cover everything from how chocolate is produced to the history of the most familiar brands, with plenty of tastings along the way. Then pop into York Cocoa Works where the Christmas collection includes stocking fillers, hampers, vegan chocolate and mince pie-flavour caramels. Finish up at Monk Bar Chocolatiers – the oldest artisan chocolatier in town. Stay at the Fat Badger, a cosy inn with room-only doubles from £119.

Ceramics, Stoke-on-Trent

There’s no such thing as too many mugs – or vases, dinner plates or jugs – particularly when they’re handmade in one of Stoke’s historic potteries. Middleport Pottery is a great place to start; it’s the UK’s last working Victorian potbank in continuous production, with guided and self-led heritage tours, a well-stocked gift shop and the Burleigh Factory Shop, where the shelves brim with affordable seconds. For quirky, contemporary designs, head to Emma Bridgewater; while for something more classic, World of Wedgwood has a large outlet centre and a store selling Waterford crystal, alongside chinaware. Stay at the Hilton Garden Inn, with room-only doubles from £132.

Craft beers, Sheffield

There are 58 breweries in and around Sheffield, making it the perfect place to pick up unusual ales and beers for the festive period, or gifts for any enthusiasts in the family. Choose from more than 200 beers – from Belgian to barrel-aged – at Hop Hideout, while the Bear offers everything from lagers and sours to dark beers and IPAs. The wonderfully named Saint Mars of the Desert is also worth tracking down; the taproom is open from 2pm to 8pm on Fridays and Saturdays, with cans and bottles of fruity, hazy bitters to take home. If coming by train, start with a pint or two at Triple Point Brewery, a five-minute walk from Sheffield station, where all the beer is brewed on site, and stay at the Crow Inn, known for its range of cask ales, with room-only doubles from £50.

Toys, Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire

A small market town on the edge of Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons), Llandeilo punches above its weight in terms of shops. Eve’s Toy Shop is a gift when it comes to buying Christmas presents for younger family members, with hand-carved wooden games and puzzles, mini gardening tools and “kidnoculars” for junior explorers, along with all the unicorns you can carry. Once the kids are ticked off, pop into Davies & Co for handmade Welsh blankets; Peppercorn for culinary-themed gifts; and Dot Clothing for elegant womenswear from niche designers. Stay at the Cawdor, a revamped coaching inn on the high street, with B&B doubles from £115.

Berlin

A city as celebrated for its quirkiness as Berlin is almost duty-bound to deliver on the flea market front – plus, many of its shops close on Sundays, making market browsing the natural retail fix.

Although Mauerpark in the Prenzlauer Berg district is well known for its flea market and sells good stuff, if you have the patience to rummage through the inevitable piles of tat, smaller markets tend to have more interesting one-off finds. A favourite is Arkonaplatz in the Mitte district, which is especially alluring in autumn when the light and surrounding trees take on golden shades. There’s old film and camera equipment to be had here, as well as industrial furniture. My favourite buy is a huge, hand-crocheted blanket in shades of lapis and rust.

The Rathaus Schöneberg flea market in Tempelhof-Schöneberg is one of Berlin’s oldest, and is located where John F Kennedy made his famous “Ich bin ein Berliner” speech. It’s mostly the wares of people having a clear-out, as opposed to professional dealers, and is affordable.

Lesser known to non-Berliners, Neukölln’s Kranoldplatz Flohmarkt – in one of the city’s most vibrant alternative neighbourhoods – is a good choice for cool castoffs. Strict regulations limit what vendors can sell, too, so you’re spared much of the new, mass-produced junk you might find elsewhere.

For the most beautiful setting, though, the Bode antique and book market on Museum Island is pure romance. I can’t read any of the books I’ve bought there, nor have I ever served cake with the silver-plated slice I found there, but who cares?

Secondhand stores can be found all over the city – but it’s worth homing in on Friedrichshain. It’s home to Europe’s biggest Humana store (five floors of vintage treasure, including a selection of lederhosen) and there are several smaller outfits here, too. V Vintage (Kopernikusstraße 18 and Grünberger Straße 50) has a great range of pieces, from vintage denim to retro après-ski, while Soul and Style (Krossener Straße 24 and Frankfurter Allee 35-37) serves up fashion with a distinctly 80s flair, complete with band T-shirts, glitter and lurid shell suits.
For more insider tips, check out @ezcape, @jessica.miusha

Athens

Who wouldn’t have old things on their mind when visiting the cradle of western civilisation? Once you’ve taken in the Acropolis and Parthenon, swerve the stalls selling fridge magnets of ancient ruins and head to the port city of Piraeus. About 5 miles south-west of Athens, it’s where the ferries depart for hundreds of Greek islands and a Sunday flea market takes place, alongside the railway tracks, until 2pm-ish. There’s often good retro clothing and vintage homewares – be prepared to rummage, sometimes at ground level, as not all vendors set up on tables. Then head for lunch at one of the many waterfront restaurants.

Another Sunday option is Pazari Rakosyllekton, or Scavengers’ Fleamarket (the name alone gets my treasure-hunt heart racing), a few minutes’ walk from Eleonas station, selling everything from furniture and homewares to books and records. Having found Olivia Newton-John’s Xanadu here, I feel I’ve peaked.

Elsewhere, curated vintage stores include Kilo Shop (Ermou 120), where finds are charged by weight and rails restocked every second day. Higher-end options include Anthophile Vintage (Zoodochou Pigis 55), where florals and whimsy reign, and Handpicked Cherries (Frinis 51) for vintage leather and Y2K treats.
For more insider tips, check out @athens_thrifts, @posh.vintage

Stockholm

Sweden and its Scandi neighbours are known for being savagely pricey, so balance the books with a touch of secondhand shopping. Stockholm has two stores from the popular European chain Humana – one in the Norrmalm district and another in Södermalm – good for clothing and accessories. With several locations around the city, Myrorna – owned by the Swedish arm of the Salvation Army – is more for your home than wardrobe. Gustavsberg porcelain and stylish glassware by Kosta Boda pop up frequently, as do pieces by other Nordic brands, such as Marimekko.

Södermalm is also home to a branch of the UK chain Beyond Retro and Judits Second Hand (Hornsgatan 75), which operates partly on a consignment basis, selling unwanted garments of local people for a split.

For a particularly Swedish experience, seek out a loppis. Not quite a garage sale, not quite a flea market, it’s an immensely popular way to socialise on a weekend, while unearthing the treasure that is someone else’s trash. Some are spontaneous, others semi-permanent with on-site refreshment and music. Spring and summer are prime times for loppisrunda (loppis-hopping), especially in the countryside, but they can be found year-round (check loppiskartan.se). A vintage Swedish Christmas tablecloth with matching fabric napkins and a pair of sleek brass reindeer, all from Uppsala, a 40-minute train journey north of Stockholm, remain beloved finds.
For more insider tips, check out @modernretrostockholm, @vintageretrosimon and @myrornaopsten

Madrid

Fast-fashion behemoth Zara was born in Spain, and although its largest retail store worldwide is in Madrid, the capital isn’t enslaved to high-street dressing. As well as its 29 Humana shops, where you might stumble upon anything from 90s streetwear to 50s corsetry, those with a yen for designer labels should check out the city’s many upmarket secondhand boutiques, which are more akin to concept stores than thrift shops.

Try Second Chance in the city centre (Calle de la Virgen de los Peligros 11) for lightly used clothes by names such as Loewe, Dolce & Gabbana and Yves Saint Laurent. While not exactly bargains, they are far more affordable than they would be new.

Denim is the staple at Friperie (Calle Rodriguez San Pedro 2), which has been name-checked by Vogue; and for those who consider Y2K to be vintage (rude) then Neare in the centre (Corre Alta de San Pablo 21) has a varied selection of clothing and accessories.

At Piel de Mariposa (Calle Embajadores 35) there are books, vinyl and homewares, as well as a good range of fashion and accessories, many for under €10 apiece.

The traditional flea market experience is also readily available in Madrid: El Rastro, home to many restaurants and bars, bursts into life on Sundays, when the flea market takes over the neighbourhood. Be prepared to wade through lots of rubbish, but when you do strike gold (for me, the vintage ceramics are particularly beguiling) it glitters for real.
For more insider tips, check out @rastro_madrid, @matiz.life

Amiens

There are plenty of reasons to visit Amiens, the capital of the Picardy region: France’s largest Gothic cathedral, the country’s first purpose-built museum (with displays covering everything from Egyptian artefacts to Francis Bacon), and for Channel-hoppers it’s only a 90-minute drive from Calais. Plus, twice a year it hosts the Réderie, one of the largest flea markets in France.
On the second last Sunday in April and the first Sunday in October, 2,000-plus vendors spread over 50-odd streets in the town centre.

Aim to arrive on the Saturday, as many of the vendors start setting up the night before. So wrap up warmly, wear comfortable shoes and a head torch, and maybe you’ll bag an early bargain. Take a camping trolley for your finds: some of my favourites have included framed floral needlepoints, heavy brass swans and acrylic candleholders.

While the biannual market is the big draw, the town has plenty to keep vintage lovers happy year-round. Fripes et Merveilles (151 Rue Gaulthier de Rumilly) is a time capsule of well-priced finds, from bric-a-brac to jewellery. Prices are far higher at Silk & Roses (18 Rue Saint-Martin aux Waides), but expect to find the likes of Kenzo, Moschino and Yves Saint Laurent. Meanwhile, Icône Friperie (21 Rue du Général Leclerc) charges by the kilo – €30 a haul.
For more insider tips, check out #grandrederieamiens, @se_souvenir_des_belles_choses

Marburg, Germany. It’s a fairytale city, not only because of the hilltop castle that overlooks its cobbled streets and half-timbered houses, but also because this is where the Grimm brothers once lived and studied, starting the collection of folklore stories that would eventually become their famous anthology of fairytales. Throughout the city, sculptures – some perched in improbable places – pay homage to this past, forming a mile-long route known as the Grimm Path. It’s very much like a treasure hunt.

But on my visit to Marburg, I had a different type of treasure hunt in mind and, once done with enchanted mirrors and kissy-lipped frogs, headed straight for the SecondHand by DRK (Deutsches Rotes Kreuz – the German Red Cross) to scout for pre-owned items.

Whereas once there was a stigma to buying secondhand, nowadays it’s on trend. “Thrifted” has been tagged more than 7m times on Instagram, and accounts such as @charity_shop_life and @my.thrifted.abode have tens of thousands of followers. According to Booking.com’s 2025 travel predictions, “Thrift shopping and vintage stores are becoming a core part of the travel experience, with 73% of travellers having already purchased secondhand items while abroad”. Google data also shows that searches for destination-specific secondhand shopping – “thrifting in Berlin” or “vintage markets in Stockholm”, for example – have skyrocketed.

Guides and tour operators haven’t been slow to jump on board either – for £200, Fashion Tours London will guide you around the capital’s secondhand stores for a whole day, while Red Shed Vintage Tours and Gold Crest will set you loose on a variety of French brocantes (flea markets).

But while curated tours suit some, for me it would dampen the thrill of exploring on my own. There is bounty almost everywhere, of course, but I’ve found France great for rustic kitchen and homewares, Madrid a good hunting ground for vintage designer accessories, while in Venice it’s glassware (there’s a tiny charity shop attached to a church where I almost always find genuine pre-loved Murano glass).

The appeal of a tour also depends on how you feel about rummaging with others in tow. For me, it’s a bit like skiing: you don’t want to stop others from having a good time, but nor do you want them to affect your good time. Personally, when I’m in treasure-hunting mode, I prefer being alone, without someone sighing at my shoulder. I’ll just meet you at the bar later and reveal my finds, OK? “You’re a bit like Oscar the Grouch in the Muppets,” observed one friend. “Happiest alone in the bin.” Well, quite.

Whatever your MO, it always helps to do some research before you go – get acquainted with the names of the charity shops at your destination; look for Instagram accounts specialising in vintage. Use Google to search for pop-ups such as kilo sales, and in France use brocabrac.fr to look for brocantes calendars in the area you’re visiting – they generally move from location to location each weekend. This worked nicely for me in the summer, when the brass swans I’d been eyeing up one Sunday were still available the following week on the same stall – but in the next town.

Google Lens can be helpful, too, in determining whether the item you’ve found is genuine or worth the price being asked. Towns with an ageing population, such as Kraków and Léon, tend to have the best bargains, while capital cities and those with a university will probably have higher prices, due to the number of avid shoppers. And generally speaking, the farther out of town you travel, the better the bargains will be. I also wander the streets surrounding weekend markets as residents often capitalise on the passing footfall to set up their own little garage sales.

I’ve been buying secondhand since my early teens and it still gives me a dopamine hit: in Germany I stumbled across an ostrich leather handbag for €2, right next to a synthetic Primark one tagged €3.50; in Romania I unearthed a silk Hermès scarf in a bin full of polyester ones; and in Greece I sifted through shelves of books to find a volume of beautiful botanical drawings. An angry rooster jug I picked up for 100 krone (£12) at a market in Copenhagen remains one of my most beloved purchases. Only recently did I discover he was made in Czechoslovakia in the 1930s and that others like him have sold for close to £200 on Etsy (although there’s no way I’m ever selling mine).

One of the great delights of buying secondhand abroad is that you’ll uncover items not readily found at home and they make the best souvenirs. The vintage stoneware escargot dishes I nabbed in a market near Biarritz, for example, that now sit on my dresser holding my rings, remind me of that trip daily. I love, also, the interactions that such purchases spark. People on market stalls or in small shops tend to be far more engaging than staff in big chains and this often leads to interesting chats and fun exchanges.

“Non, non, ce n’est pas pour toi!” shrieked a woman, laughingly, at a flea market in Nantes, as I peered closely (too closely, in retrospect) at a small statue, trying to make sense of it, before realising it graphically depicted a sex act. “German,” scoffed the man on the stall in Copenhagen, as I examined a mustard pot in the form of a boy squatting with his pants down (the mustard was dispensed via his bottom).

Of course, it’s very easy to get carried away, and you need to be mindful of what you can pack and carry. On a girls’ weekend in Lisbon a few years ago, the Humana secondhand stores were so full of gems that some serious sitting on suitcases was required for the return journey – but, honestly, who in their right mind would leave an utterly perfect, €10 camel cashmere coat behind? Or a pair of Italian leather boots that actually fit?

The really impossible items – furniture, huge mirrors and ornate frames – make me sad because even I have to admit there’s no way that chaise longue or antique dressing table can be squeezed into my bag (and where shipping is available, it tends to be from slicker operations with consequently higher prices). It may well be time for a driving holiday – in a lorry. And I doubt I’m the only one with such ideas: on a recent stay at a campsite in France, the noticeboard listed a week’s worth of local brocantes and vides-greniers (“empty attics” or car boot sales).

As for the DRK in Marburg? Well, I didn’t strike gold on my own behalf – but I did for someone else. A few years ago, while travelling, I met an Australian woman as keen on secondhand shopping as I am. We’ve stayed in touch and she mentioned recently how much she likes Boden prints. Guess what was hiding on the rails? A blouse in a vibrant green pattern, tick; silk, tick; size, tick; one parcel winging its way to Oz, tick. Proof that thrifting isn’t just good for the planet and addictively fun – it’s a great way to make friends, too.

An Edinburgh institution

W Armstrong in Edinburgh is a true institution. There are several locations, but the Grassmarket spot is a treasure trove. Frequented by locals, students and tourists alike, there is a price point for all. Whether I’ve been on the hunt for vintage cashmere, denim, fabulous 1950s dresses, garb for a fancy dress party or even a kilt, this store has sorted me out. It is always a favourite for when friends visit the city, and whether you are looking to buy or not, it is worth a visit just to see its eclectic collection.
Amy

An Erasmus exchange took me to Budapest, where I discovered a city full of vintage shops and flea markets. The city is dotted with Humana shops for staple wardrobe finds; there’s the Ecseri flea market for the more unusual (interspersed with the occasional plastic Stalin bust); plus chic, rambling stores like Szputnyik and Retrock Vintage – think racks of leather jackets and tulle tops among giant monstera plants. Antiques shops are also found tucked away, their contents spilling on to the pavements outside. A particularly favourite find was a set of intricate hand-painted embroidery layouts on kraft paper from the 1930s, each signed by the artist.
Katie

Lyon’s canalside treasure trove