Holidays in Devon are simple, wholesome and old-fashioned. A trip here mixes two of life’s loveliest pleasures: delicious food and the great outdoors. Most visitors are drawn to the magnificent beaches on the north and south coasts, but inland has its appeal, too: Dartmoor and Exmoor are vast rocky plateaux offering solitude and big skies,…
CitizenM, an uber-cool showroom of ultra-modern Dutch styling and facilities, contrives to make travellers feel at home with relaxed living and dining spaces. With a futuristic design, enthusiastic staff, good business facilities and excellent value for money, the hotel offers a good balance of work, rest and play. The swirling red staircase, like a fairground…
York surprises first-time visitors by the compact size of its city centre. Most attractions are walkable, and many of its streets are car-free. As a happy result of this close-packed layout, there’s a good range of hotels – in size, style and price – within the centre. For once, it’s not just the swanky places that have…
Hyde park is to London what Central Park is to New York – a giant green space of prime city-centre land bordered by some of the best hotels in London. It’s also a no-brainer to choose to base yourself near here, especially during the warmer months, because what could be more pleasant than a morning…
During my lengthy career in finance, I picked up several market heuristics that have generally proven more useful than not. Every January, for example, I remember the “five-day rule,” which holds that if the S&P 500’s SPX, -0.14% accumulated performance is positive over the first five days of the new year, there is around an…
The United States needs detente with China to deescalate the danger of an armed conflict over Taiwan, losing control of maritime routes through the South China Sea and other potential Pacific region hotspots. This requires looking past China’s rhetoric about achieving broad technological dominance and recent provocations to focus on China’s economic concerns and desire to play a more assertive role in…
It wasn’t until the 1920s that ‘the season’ on the French Riviera, including in Cannes, began to switch from winter to summer. Prior to that, the great, good and wealthy had repaired there from autumn onwards, to escape the dismal climes of northern Europe. They then left in summer, for the sun was deemed too…
From Roman times to the present day, visitors have flocked to Bath to bathe in its natural thermal waters. The city was recently given a second UNESCO World Heritage Site listing for being part of The Great Spa Towns of Europe, a “transnational” inscription covering 11 historic spa towns in seven countries. Most visitors to…
Few thrills match the excitement of waking up in a new city, especially when you’ve only to step out the door to start exploring. And Edinburgh is blessed with an impressive choice of hotels, all within walking distance of the best this beautiful city has to offer. Fancy old-school glamour in a flagship hotel? Or…
More than 60 years ago the International Festival’s founders set out to bring art, culture, colour and prosperity to a gritty and grey post-war Edinburgh. Now there are seven festivals in August, including the Fringe, Book and Comedy Festivals. Every year Edinburghers fall in love with it all over again as Auld Reekie becomes, quite literally,…
A top spa hotel means different things to different people. Some might want a quiet rural retreat with comfort food and gentle woodland walks. Others might prefer a rooftop sauna, cocktails around the pool and a hard-core gym. While others might be tempted by Michelin-starred dining and the very latest high-performance facials. Yorkshire’s best spa…
A Nigerian man has gone off on a rant after not making it since he arrived Europe in 2021. The Nigerian man who showed off the place he and a friend sleep in a forest, stated that nobody has asked about his welfare since he’s yet to make it. He added that those who…
The 13 best things to do in Budapest
Gundel is the place to eat this afternoon. It has an illustrious history and a sumptuous dining room, but for day-time visits there is also a less formal terrace and a good-value set lunch. After that, City Park has more than enough to fill a few hours. You can go boating on its lake, which…
In the early 20th century, this series of linked courtyards in the Jewish District was abuzz with artisan workshops; later, it became part of the Budapest ghetto during World War II. Today, there’s a street market at weekends, but primarily this is a colourful nightlife hub, with an eclectic mix of nearly 30 establishments…
In just a decade, Majorca has fast garnered a reputation for playing host to some of the most luxurious, innovative, and stylish boutique hotels in Europe. Nowadays, visitors are spoilt for choice as small and unique properties to satisfy all tastes and budgets continue to pop up faster than bamboo, island wide. There are converted…
A true Belgian experience: a cone of crispy frites (fries) from a traditional fritkot (chip stand), and a choice of 20 sauces. Friture de la Chapelle is in the Place de la Chapelle, the gateway to the Rue Haute and Rue Blaes, as well as the Marolles district, famous for its antique and bric-a-brac…
Telephone code: 00 356 from the UK, followed by the Maltese number (there are no zeros to remove in Maltese phone numbers) Foreign Office advice: Malta is mostly considered as safe or safer than the UK, except on the roads where standards of driving are described as ‘poor’. Extra reading: There is lots of useful information on visitmalta.com. The…
With dazzling light and bright blue skies for much of the year, Madrid would be an energising city even without the world-class museums and the buzzing nightlife. The centre has smartened itself up, too, with new boutiques, delis, cafés and gastrobars opening every week, but it is the traditional tapas bars and tiny shops that…
The elegant Treasurer’s House, a National Trust property, is only a five-minute walk from York Minster. From the Roman road running through the cellar to the Edwardian servants’ quarters in the attics, its history is perfectly preserved. There are 13 period rooms that tell the story of the house and its most famous owner, the…