Europe and Middle East

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

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Cortina d’Ampezzo. Walking on summer sunshine

Guido Pompanin knows a thing or two about The Dolomites. Not surprising really when you consider his father Ugo and few friends built their very own cable car service to ferry passengers 2,700 metres up from Cortina d’Ampezzo to the summit of Mount Lagazuoi in 1965.

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WW1 Trenches of the Dolomites

High up on the Lagazuoi slopes of The Dolomites, some 2,500 meters above Cortina d’Ampezzo, a fierce struggle took place in atrocious conditions from 1915 to 1917 between Italy and the forces of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

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The Rhine Valley. Or should it be the Vine Valley?

Marcos and Marco are father and son. They also happen to own a castle. Not just any old castle you understand, but a real, solid, medieval one, sitting up on the banks of  the mighty Rhine valley just up river from Rudesheim.

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Waterloo. Belgium’s battlefield can be a big break too.

Mid June and it’s the eve of the annual re-enactment of Wellington’s famous victory over Napoleon in 1815. I am looking out at the battlefield atop the Lion Mound, some 140 feet up offering up an impressive 360 degree view.

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Abruzzo. Where northern Italy meets the south.

Lying right where the north of Italy meets the south, it’s a region of complete contrasts. With the towering Gran Sasso range and the Apennines on the east side, and the dramatic 130 kilometres of Adriatic coastline to the west, Abruzzo cannot fail to offer you the best of both worlds.

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Ceviche. London

Peruvian cuisine is the world’s hottest new trend, and outside Lima London is leading the way, with three Peruvian restaurants already in play.  Of these, Ceviche is the one which has been setting Soho on fire since 2012.

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