Europe and Middle East

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

Walking the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites

24/12/2015 by .
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The immense cathedral-like spires of the Northern Dolomites are the perfect venue for tackling one of Europe’s classic long distance treks. Forget about luxury hotels, the only accommodation is in mountain huts, known as Rifugios and I’ll have to carry everything on my back. Walking the Alta Via 1 in the Dolomites runs for around 140 km and my eight day walk will involve daily distances of between 9 and 16.5 km, with ascents of up to 900 m and descents of up to 1,300 m. Will I be tough enough?

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Val Gardena. Summer in The Dolomites.

19/10/2015 by .
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Anna is teaching me the highly skilled art of Tyrolean cooking at the chalet Luech de Curijel in Selva and she’s not looking best pleased. It seems my Apfelstrudel and spinach crafuncins, two of the simplest of local dishes here in Val Gardena, are not up to standard. Now when your teacher possesses hands with the power to knead dough as if it were mash potato, generating hostility is not a healthy option.

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Kilkenny. Friendliest city in the world?

23/09/2015 by .
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Kilkenny, only 90 minutes south of Dublin has been voted one of the friendliest cities in the world. It was also Ireland’s tidiest town in 2014. No wonder. Locals talked to us nonstop about nothing and everything and I never saw a stray ice cream wrapper or a crumpled greasy chip bag during my stay in this beautiful medieval masterpiece along the ‘Ancient East’ route.

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Standon Calling Festival. A Fantastic Family Favourite.

21/08/2015 by .

Andermatt. In the footsteps of James Bond

20/08/2015 by .
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Admittedly I am driving a classic Morgan, but in my head it is an Aston Martin. Nevertheless I am hurtling down the twisty Oberalp Pass towards Andermatt, with the top down enjoying the hot summer sun and feeling distinctly like a secret agent. Actually I’m lying about the hurtling bit, you never hurtle in a Morgan, you just glide and make sure everyone can see you.

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Inspector Montalbano Sicily

12/07/2015 by .
Inspector Montalbano Sicily

 

Andy Mossack travels to the home of Inspector Montalbano Sicily to see the locations for the series.

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Brilliant Edinburgh festivals and other fancies

09/07/2015 by .
Brilliant Edinburgh festivals and other fancies Edinburgh Festival Fringe credit Janeanne Gilchrist gallery detail

When my friends say they’re going to the ‘Edinburgh Festival’ I’m tempted to ask – which one? These days there’s a whole host of them year round – 12, in fact, from the Jazz and Blues fest to the Storytelling to the famous Fringe.

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Slack Deux Caps Art Festival. Where beautiful art and nature merge.

23/06/2015 by .

Barcelona Primavera Sound 2015 by Train. Arrive at Barcelona’s premier festival in style.

19/06/2015 by .

Walking Holiday in Le Marche

16/06/2015 by .
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Our first evening briefing in the lounge of Hotel Leone was preceded by wine and nibbles, so naturally, on the pretext of looking to store much needed energy for the next day’s trek, the majority of my nibbles were gratefully received . After all, you don’t go on a walking holiday in Le Marche trekking the mighty Sibillini national park with hunger pains, that would be foolish wouldn’t it?

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