Europe and Middle East

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in Europe and Middle East. independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Anna Smith shows us what to expect with a weekend on Vis Island  Vis sunrise 2 credit Ben Robards

A weekend on Vis Island. Explore one of Croatia’s beautiful Islands.

A two-hour ferry ride from the city of Split, green and mountainous Vis is a gem of an island. A former military base, it’s only been open to foreign visitors since 1989, so it’s relatively undeveloped and unspoiled, while still having all you need for a comfortable stay.

Read the full story here
Cyclists Niendorf

Northern Germany by bike

Rupert Parker explores the three north German cities of Lübeck, Lüneberg and Hamburg on two wheels and finds delightful streets with fairy tale houses.

Read the full story here
Delicatessen Staff 23

Delicatessen

Delicatessen is the brainchild of Israeli-born Or Golan, a student of Tel Aviv’s restaurant scene before joining Yotam Ottolenghi’s Belgravia deli as head chef. It is a genius move to open up bang in the middle of Hampstead’s affluent kosher crowd,

Read the full story here
Michael Edwards reviews the New Hall Hotel in rural  Sutton Coldfield

New Hall Hotel. A luxury rural Tudor retreat in middle England.

Stepping out of the 21st Century, for a stay at New Hall Hotel, you expect to see Henry Vlll stomping across the drawbridge powering towards a substantial lunch in the wood-panelled-mullion-windowed Great Chamber.

Read the full story here
Rupert Parker explores Carinthia in south east Austria. Row Boat Millstätter See

Carinthia . The Land of the Lakes and soaring peaks

Austria has long been a popular destination with British travellers, both for winter skiing and summer hiking. The Tyrol gets most of the action, but Carinthia, in South East Austria, is well worth a visit.

Read the full story here
Michael Edwards stays at Crathorne Hall Hotel, an historic country house in Yorkshire.

Crathorne Hall Hotel. Historic luxury country house

Though it’s towering gates were patriotically donated to the 1940s war effort and never replaced – the discovery that you can’t manufacture bombers from iron came after melt-down – Crathorne Hall Hotel’s facade framed by two bell towers, still has a stately grandeur.

Read the full story here