Europe and Middle East

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

Former Nazi Party Rally Grounds©Uwe Niklas 2

Bavaria In the Footsteps of Hitler

I wanted to know more about why Bavaria became such an important region for Hitler; walking in his footsteps from his seat of power in Munich, to the grandeur of the rally grounds in Nuremburg and up into the stunning alpine mountains of Obersalzberg and Berchtesgaden, where he spent more time in his house there than in Berlin. Is there anything left standing from the dust and rubble 70 years on that will help me understand the insanity of those terrible years?

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Hutong at the shard

Hutong at The Shard. Stellar food and spectacular views

I am in an express elevator and in less than 30 seconds whisked 121 meters (400 feet) above the streets of London to the 33rd level where Hutong at The Shard awaits.

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Gstaad Palace Hotel

Glorious Gstaad Palace Hotel

The Gstaad Palace has been looking down at the residents of Gstaad from her lofty hilltop perch for over a century, like a well to do matriarch protecting her flock. This is a proper grand hotel, from a golden age when luxury European hotels were seen as iconic establishments, the haunt of the glamorous and well heeled from all over the world.

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Moorland Garden Hotel. Dartmoor

The white, sprawled out, Moorland Garden Hotel is situated 20 minutes out of Plymouth in the beautiful Dartmoor National Park. As I drove up the long drive the surrounds were really impressive. After all it had been the byword in glamour when it first opened in the 1930’s, with visitors’ ranging from President Truman to David Niven.

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New Executive Lounge At Grosvenor House Hotel

In a £1.4 million refurbishment the new Executive Lounge at Grosvenor House Hotel in London has been moved from the seventh floor to the ground floor of the hotel and is three times larger in size at over 340 square metres.

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Mixed Seafood at the Cafe

The Boathouse Cafe. Plymouth

Eating a deliciously fresh lemon sole by Sutton harbour and the mouth of the River Plym with the sun shining on the water, was a great way to first experience the much underrated city of Plymouth. It was there that I met Ben Squire, owner of The Boathouse Cafe who told me his own story.

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