This small Moravian city boasts high elegance, deep history and architectural treasures to match Prague’s (two hours by road and rail), but without the crowds. It has palaces, fine old churches and townhouses. There is a pungent local cheese and a very political clock. This week I came across Olomouc, unexpectedly. The Czech Republic city,… Continue reading
Browsing Category Travel
From the Beatles to le Carré – the lure of lively Hamburg
Hamburg, the green-blue gem of North Germany, spangled with parks, lakes and canals, was chosen as one of the New York Times’ 52 places to go in 2017. Introducing the city, writer David Farley listed the latest things – Zaha Hadid’s meandering promenade along the Elbe, the 19th-century Warehouse District, given Unesco World Heritage status in 2015. The… Continue reading →
Linz shines after European Capital of Culture spotlight moves on
The Austrian city of Linz, midway between Vienna and Salzburg, refuses to be overawed by its two bigger neighbours. It was European Capital of Culture in 2009, and has a fine legacy, in a state of the art opera house. It has also a sparkling museum of the future. The famous Danube runs through it…. Continue reading →
In praise of low season Florence – galaxy-class treasures in Renaissance city
Florence provides one of the most rewarding of European city breaks, It has the universal and eternal appeal of great art and architecture. I hope that erecting barriers will not make it harder for us to see and appreciate such places. This article is based on an article I wrote for the Mail on Sunday, following… Continue reading →
Riding the Heart of Wales Line – one of Britain’s most scenic rail journeys
Riding the epic railway from Shrewsbury to Swansea The whole of the Heart of Wales Line should have been consigned to the history books, along with milk churns, Bernard Cribbins look-alike porters from the Railway Children, and racing pigeons in baskets waiting to be released. But it survived, to become one of Britain’s most… Continue reading →
Festivals in fields – how WOMAD catches the spirit of Woodstock
As final preparations proceed for the 2019 music, books and ideas festival season, I’m republishing an account I wrote earlier on one of the most international, cheerful and animated jamborees that break out in random, rural corners of Britain, regardless of the weather, throughout the summer. 50 years on, Woodstock cannot be matched. But WOMAD, with or without the mud,… Continue reading →