The summer of 2021 presents a rare opportunity to persuade people to leave their cars at home and take day trips by train. As we wait for the government to explain exactly what it means by our transformed railway system ‘Great British Railways’, some train companies have decided not to wait to see how that… Continue reading
Browsing Category Things to do – various destinations
City of the high thrills – take the train to Lincoln
Lincoln is one of England’s finest old cities, dominated by its glorious cathedral, sitting high on a hill. But it has many smaller-scale marvels too, as I discovered. My don’t-miss list includes one very steep street, an original tank, an all-cheese restaurant, and the room where Tom Hanks stayed when he starred in the Da Vinci code.
Continue reading →Vienna – city of the New Year and all the grand days beyond
Vienna steals the show for televised glamour on the first day of the year with the New Year’s Day Concert, and it’s hard to see how it can be matched by any other world city, at least in terms of classic grandeur in magnificent old buildings, through the rest of the year. I was in the Austrian capital… Continue reading →
Clean, green city – with monster cinnamon buns
This clean, green city on Sweden’s western shore (Goteborg in Swedish) is a comfortable introduction to Scandinavia. I took a short break. There are canals not so unlike Amsterdam’s, monster cinnamon buns, another of the world’s most exciting young orchestra conductors (the last was Dudamel), bags of Swedish style, and taxi drivers who… Continue reading →
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 →
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 →