Travel Industry news

• ​How a tiny village in a deserted part of Spain became a centre for gay weddings

  18-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A couple of hours’ drive from Madrid, Campillo de Ranas has played a huge role in promoting same-sex marriage – and revived the fortunes of the ‘black villages’ of GuadalajaraDriving north-east out of Madrid on the A2 motorway, the industrial sprawl seemed as never-ending as the roaring river of traffic. The change, when it came, was sudden and complete. After Peñarrubia the heavy traffic vanished, and with it the industrial estates and dull dormitory towns. We wer
  
  Read more

• Tell us about a great camping trip in Europe

  17-03-2025 13:27 via theguardian.com
  Share a tip on a brilliant campsite in Europe – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakSome prefer remote, quiet campsites where they can enjoy birdsong, hiking and natural beauty. Others will only be tempted out into nature by the full bell tents and whistles comfort of glamping with an onsite farm shop to boot. Then there are those who like a daily change of scenery in their campervans. Alternatively, campsites can be great places for making friends and enjoying sociable,
  
  Read more

• ‘We love watching the landscape respond to each season’: why hiking long-distance trails in bite-size chunks is more fun

  17-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Tackling a long-distance walk like the Thames Path or South Downs Way in short sections makes it manageable – and more spontaneous, tooIt is 7.30am. The sky is a pink-and-gold blur, and the breeze is invigorating. It’s a perfect day to walk from my London home to the source of the River Thames. I’m travelling light – phone, sandwich, water bottle – so I need nothing but a pair of capacious pockets. I have been walking the 185-mile Thames Path National Trai
  
  Read more

• Swiss roll: a scenic tour of Switzerland by train

  16-03-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The best way to explore the country’s fabulous valleys and vistas is with a choose-your-own-adventure rail passSwitzerland isn’t expensive, it’s just very exclusive,” joked our tour guide as we walked along the paved path by the shore of Lake Lucerne. The Grand Train Tour of Switzerland – or GTToS for aficionados – certainly has the feel of an epic journey, complete with trains and boats offering panoramic views of its mountains, valleys and lakes.The GTToS ta
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• 20 of the best spring breaks in the UK

  15-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Make the most of longer, warmer days by puffin-spotting in Mull, stargazing in Northumberland, or finding Narnia in the Mourne MountainsRevamped last summer by interior designer Nicola Harding, the Cavendish hotel on Derbyshire’s Chatsworth Estate is a mix of antique flounce (Harding was allowed to raid the “big house”, a 1.5-mile walk away) and contemporary sharpness (jolly stripes, pops of colour). A new exhibition, The Gorgeous Nothings: Flowers at Chatsworth (15 March-5 Oct
  
  Read more

• ‘Spring sings with birdlife and wildflowers’: readers’ favourite UK trips of the season

  14-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From best in bloom on the Lizard Peninsula to perky puffins in the Hebrides, our tipsters revel in the return of springLate spring is the best time to see the cliffs in colour as the bluebells, thrift and gorse battle it out for best in bloom on the Lizard in Cornwall. Walking the couple of easy miles along the coast between Kynance and Lizard Point will offer you a variety of exceptional, eye-catching and, in some cases, rare plants including Erica vagans, a variety of heath only found on the L
  
  Read more

• Rembrandt’s Amsterdam – walking the Amstel River 750 years after the city’s birth

  13-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  To celebrate this significant milestone, our writer follows the flow of the artist’s inspiration, taking in sights that would have been familiar to the Old MasterFor visitors in search of scenic walking routes, the province of North Holland is perhaps not an obvious choice. The landscape is famously as flat as the local pancakes and picturesque mountains, forests and waterfalls are in short supply.Head into the countryside south of Amsterdam, however, and you can find lovely walking routes
  
  Read more

• Where the art of Edvard Munch comes alive: a city break in Oslo

  12-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  As a new exhibition celebrating the portraits of Edvard Munch opens at London’s National Portrait Gallery, we take a trip to the artist’s home city in NorwayI reach Ekeberg Park at sunset and walk along the muddy paths to find the viewpoint. The late winter sky is like a watercolour: soft blue and grey clouds layer together, with a sweeping gradient of yellow verging from tobacco stain to pale lemon above the distant, bruise-coloured hills. At the viewpoint, I look out over Oslo and
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• New scheme to offer campers unprecedented access to wild spaces across Britain

  11-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A new partnership will give campers exclusive access to rewilding sites and a chance to join in with conservation effortsCampers looking for a back-to-nature experience this summer will be able to wild camp on land that was previously off-limits across Britain thanks to an initiative launched by camping booking platform CampWild and the nature recovery charity Rewilding Britain.The partnership will provide outdoor enthusiasts with access to nature restoration projects that have not previously pe
  
  Read more

• Share a tip on your favourite food and drink finds in Europe, including the UK

  10-03-2025 15:39 via theguardian.com
  
  Tell us about a fantastic culinary experience you’ve had in Europe – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakWhether it’s a taste of the sea in an oyster shack on the French coast or a glass of local cider in a sidreria in northern Spain, certain tastes and flavours immediately transport us back to a destination. We’d like to hear about your most memorable food and drink experiences in Europe. It could be a coffee bar in Turin serving an espresso-laced hot c
  
  Read more

• From an Alpine meadow to a Greek island: five of the best spring breaks in Europe

  10-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our writers make the most of warm weather, smaller crowds and off-peak prices to visit their favourite spots, from the Baltic to the Bosphorus‘There’s a magic to sleeping surrounded by Alpine peaks, nestled up against the stars’ Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Wales on a plate: 10 of the best restaurants, hotels, pubs and food hubs

  09-03-2025 07:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From market fare to fine dining – your gastronomic guide to the most delicious destinations around the countryThe Gower peninsula is home to some of Wales’ most beautiful beaches, and the King’s Head makes an ideal base for Gower’s beautiful beaches, with hearty pre-walk breakfasts and evening feasts for refuelling. Dating to the 17th century, bedrooms– housed in adjoining modern buildings – come with all mod cons and are dog-friendly (add £10 per night)
  
  Read more

• Come for the views, stay for the cheese and wine: spring in France’s Massif Central

  08-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  With volcanic peaks, wild flowers and hot springs, the Cantal region is the perfect destination for a springtime road tripGetting away from it all is surely the idea behind every holiday, yet as I drive through undulating countryside towards the village of Salers in France’s Massif Central, I wonder whether I’ve ever felt quite so away from everything.This is the appeal of the Cantal, the rural heartland of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, in which the Massif Cen
  
  Read more

• ‘I cycled through flower fields stretching as far as the eye can see’: readers’ favourite European spring breaks

  07-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  From spring blooms in the Netherlands to early sunshine in Sicily, our tipsters share their favourite seasonal escapesIn the Netherlands the Keukenhof near Lisse is well known for the beauty of its bulb fields in springtime. But if you are looking for a cycling holiday away from the crowds you’re better off heading 40 miles north to the Kop van Noord-Holland. Here you will find the largest contiguous bulb area in the country. April is the best time to cycle among the millions of colourful
  
  Read more

• The devil waits at every crossroads: a walk between darkness and light on Dartmoor

  06-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The new 38-mile Archangel’s Way, a pilgrimage route in a rugged corner of Devon, straddles Christendom and ancient pagan sitesThe story of the church of St Michael de Rupe begins – as all the best Dartmoor stories do – on a dark and stormy night. A sailor, stricken in a wild and furious sea, fell to the deck of his ship to pray for salvation. The almighty unveiled a mountain in the midst of the tempest where the ship duly made landfall: in gratitude the sailor built a church on
  
  Read more

• Castaway in Fife: exploring Robinson Crusoe country in east Scotland

  05-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Fife coastal path connects the firths of Forth and Tay and takes in some of the country’s finest seaside villages, seascapes and the home of a famous literary castawayStanding in a Scottish seaside village, I am confronted by two smart red doors and a curious figure standing in a niche above them: a man, one hand clutching a staff, the other shading his eyes as he gazes out to sea. There’s a flintlock pistol in his belt and he’s dressed in tattered rags. Is it a tribute to
  
  Read more

• No crowds, low prices – and plenty of sunshine: an off-season family surf trip in the Algarve

  04-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A late winter break in Portugal’s Praia da Luz offers warm weather, quiet beaches and solitary hikesStanding on the sun-warmed sand, we watch swell lines rolling towards the shore. Surfers dot the water, eyes trained to the horizon, waiting for their next ride. My eight-year-old daughter glances up at the unrelenting blue sky. “Are you sure this is winter?” she asks.We’ve just arrived in Praia da Luz, a small beach town and surf spot in the western Algarve, where our fami
  
  Read more

• Share a tip on horse riding holidays in Europe, including the UK

  03-03-2025 14:53 via theguardian.com
  
  Tell us about your favourite horse riding trip – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakWhether you’re an expert rider or a complete novice, there are horse riding holidays to suit all needs – and we want to know about your favourite horsey breaks in Europe (including the UK). Perhaps it was a family stay on a farm that offers hacks, a multi-day ride across or a learn-to-ride break in beautiful countryside. Tell us where it was and all about it for the chance to
  
  Read more

• Seven restaurants to sample Spain’s hottest new chefs – without blowing the budget

  03-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The country is home to some of the world’s best modern cuisine, and these trailblazers serve inventive dishes at affordable pricesSince 2002, Spain’s gastronomic year has kicked off at Madrid Fusión, a jamboree where top chefs from all over the world show-cook, share dishes of rarefied ingredients and outline new culinary concepts. Wrapping up the three-day event is the crowning of Spain’s best young chef (often a duo) or “revelation”. This year’s seven
  
  Read more

• 10 of the best Exmoor experiences: day trips, activities and places to stay

  02-03-2025 15:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Treks and tearooms, scones and safaris … It’s hard to beat this corner of England in the springExmoor’s 37-mile stretch of coastline is one of the most undeveloped in England, with steep cliffs (at 1,044ft Great Hangman is the highest sea cliff in England) overlooking quiet fishing villages and long sweeps of beach. Broadsands – not to be confused with the beach of the same name in south Devon – is a hidden gem, lying 239 steps down from the South West Coast Path,
  
  Read more

• 10 reasons to visit Spain in 2025: new holidays, hikes and cultural highlights

  02-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From villas in Galicia and walks in La Gomera, to a new parador near Madrid and a horse fair in JerezIt is easy to avoid big resorts in the Canaries – the smaller islands have a handful of little towns with rural hotels dotted around. Hikers love lush La Gomera, with walks through the laurel forests in the Garajonay national park and along dramatic terraced hillsides overlooking the Atlantic. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• Spring in Ibiza: enjoy a mellow Balearic beat before the crowds arrive

  01-03-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Out of season, the island is more about natural charms than techno, but the sun still shines and the resident community keeps its unique spirit aliveIbiza in the off-season. The big resort hotels are shuttered, the beach bars sealed up, the superclubs powered down until their showy reopening parties get the summer started again in late April. By July, the ratio will be back to 20 visitors to every one resident, but for now the island is as empty as it gets.The sun is shining though, the air brig
  
  Read more

• From wildlife in Andalucía to an alternative camino in Galicia: readers’ travel tips on unsung Spain

  28-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  Our tipsters share their favourite seafood haunts, pristine beaches and under-the-radar citiesThe city and the province of Jaén can be overlooked by tourists heading to nearby Granada or Córdoba. That’s a shame, given that they are filled with Renaissance architecture, including a magnificent cathedral, and renowned as one of the homes of olive oil. Thanks to its historic position between Christian Castilla and Muslim Granada, the city is surrounded by castles. I recommend st
  
  Read more

• Hiking in southern Italy: myths, mountains and wild boar in Cilento

  27-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  South of the Amalfi Coast is a rugged wonderland of quiet paths through chestnut woods and vineyards. It’s all perfect for contemplating ancient yarns, spotting wildlife and enjoying local fareIn the silence of the chestnut woods, rays of sunlight ignite the patches of pink cyclamen and crocus. There are fungi of various kinds dotted around, including one that is a perfect sphere of bright orange pushing its way up out of earth. I sit on a rock and after a while I hear a gentle grunting no
  
  Read more

• Far from the madding crowd: my personal pilgrimage on the quiet paths of Thomas Hardy’s Dorset

  26-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  My mother wrote about the meandering trails from the novelist’s cottage, through countryside loaded with literary references – now I’m following in her footstepsThe banks by the lane are white with snowdrops and a mistle thrush sings in the bare orchard. The writer Thomas Hardy grew up in the thatched cottage at the end of this track. His earliest poem, Domicilium, describes the house as it was in 1800 when his great-grandfather built it. The gardens were wilderness and the lan
  
  Read more

• 12 of the best independent shops in Copenhagen

  25-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From sleek interior stores to modern perfumiers and quirky sex shops, the Danish capital has no shortage of unusual shopping opportunitiesInspired by Keith Haring’s Pop Shop, which the artist saw as a shop, art work and statement of practice in one, David Shrigley has had his little Shrig Shop in the French Quarter of Copenhagen since 2021, run with his longtime Danish gallery partner Nicolai Wallner. It’s a provocative art show, a gallery space, and a shop in one: the words To Hell
  
  Read more

• Share a tip on a great spring break in the UK

  24-02-2025 16:20 via theguardian.com
  
  Tell us about your favourite seasonal trip, from farm stays and walking through meadows of wildflowers to city breaks. The best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays holidayAfter a long, grey winter, it is time to start planning a spring getaway. We’d love to hear about your favourite seasonal adventure in the UK, whether it was glamping in a glade of bluebells or a coastal break that blows away the winter cobwebs.If you have a relevant photo, do send it in – but it’s your wo
  
  Read more

• I got lost in Morocco’s maze of medinas – and loved every minute

  24-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The medinas of Fez and Tétouan offer a welcome chance to ditch the GPS – and a return to random encountersSomewhere between the coppersmiths and the woodcarvers, I achieve my goal. Mustapha, my guide, has stepped aside to buy some sweet pastries from a stall. (“You’ve got to try the kaab el ghazal, the ‘gazelle’s horns’. They’re really special.”) But there are some Gnawa musicians, with long black tassels on their hats rotating in time to th
  
  Read more

• Wet and wild: the magic of Cornwall in winter

  23-02-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The crowds have left and the elements reign supreme on an off-season escape to NewquaySurfers are bobbing in the whitewater shallows off Newquay’s Fistral Beach, poised for that ecstatic moment when a barrelling Atlantic roller will propel them to their feet. Then it arrives – the Big One. Despite the biting cold the surfers rise in unison, carving into the wave’s lip with effortless balletic grace.There’s something quite magical about Cornwall off-season. Gone are the cr
  
  Read more

• Discover hidden Morocco – from forgotten beaches to ancient citadels and soaring desert dunes

  22-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  The writers of the new Wild Guide: Morocco share the best locations for hiking, surfing, swimming and sleeping under the starsExtending from the Atlantic coast to the edge of the Sahara and with a huge variety of terrain – from lush oases and valleys peppered with thyme, rosemary, argan trees and date palms to rocky gorges and arid plains – the Anti-Atlas mountains cater for even the most indecisive traveller. Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• St Pancras and Channel tunnel plan rail routes to Germany and Switzerland

  21-02-2025 12:34 via theguardian.com
  Partnership comes as London station looks at ways to almost triple passenger numbersSt Pancras railway station in London and the Channel tunnel operator have agreed to work together to open up more trains from Britain to France, and routes to Germany and Switzerland.The agreement is the latest sign of growing momentum for new passenger rail links from England across the Channel, after the UK’s only international station announced plans to triple the number of people who can travel through
  
  Read more

• ‘Breathing in the fragrances of the Atlas cedar trees’: readers’ favourite places in Morocco

  21-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From unexpected city charms in Rabat to the dunes of the Sahara and a festival celebrating nomadic life, our tipsters share their best discoveriesThe calm city of Khenifra is well worth a detour from the main tourist routes of Morocco. It enjoys a lovely location on the banks of the Oum Er-Rbia river and is surrounded by the Atlas mountains, which keep the air fresh, clean and invigorating for strolling around. It’s also just a short bus ride away from the Khenifra national park. I spent t
  
  Read more

• Giants, saints and dragons on the Llŷn peninsula in north Wales

  20-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Three walks along the Wales Coast Path offer a fascinating insight into the legends, culture and industry that shaped this stunning outpostThe Llŷn peninsula projects a Tolkienesque mystique as you view it from Cardigan Bay. On a clear day, its jagged, alluring and yet foreboding topography – stretching outward into the Irish Sea – is easily visible from as far south as Aberystwyth. No wonder it was chosen as the location for the recent House of the Dragon Game of Thrones spin-
  
  Read more

• An alpine winter feast: cheese, wine and a side dish of snowshoeing in France

  19-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  A medieval Haute-Savoie village makes a great base for a gourmet break, with delicious comfort food and local wines. And the snowshoeing and skiing aren’t bad either, if you can drag yourself away from the tableThe unmistakable whiff of cow – pungent, but not unpleasant – hit me as soon as I arrived at Ferme Dunoyer above the Haute-Savoie village of Samoëns. Rather than put me off, the scent heightened my appetite for the cheese blowout that was to come.Sat at a wooden com
  
  Read more

• ‘When women get together in the outdoors, the energy is incredible’: an adventure weekend in the Highlands

  18-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Forty women joined the first ‘Hostel Hoolie’ – an exhilarating programme of hillwalking, climbing, running and socialising in Scotland’s Caingorms‘Do you run in the dark?” “How do you stop chafing?” “Does menopause affect your flexibility?” “What snacks do you take on the hill?” It’s the first night of the inaugural “Hostel Hoolie” – a women’s outdoor adventure weekend in Braemer in the Cairngor
  
  Read more

• Share a tip on a spring break in Europe

  17-02-2025 14:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Whether it was a city break or wildflower-strewn hiking trip, tell us about your favourite spring break – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakAs Europe starts to shake off the dark days of winter, it’s time to start planning a spring break. We’d love to hear about your favourite European trip (excluding the UK) – perhaps you discovered a less-known city that’s warming up nicely in spring, or a landscape that’s at its most magical between wint
  
  Read more

• Falling for Alassio – the rebirth of an Italian resort

  17-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The former fishing village on the Ligurian coast was once a favourite with the wealthy British set. Now instead of tennis and tea parties, it offers scenic treks and seafood feasts in glorious spring sunshine‘Why don’t the inglesi come here any more?” The question was asked by a customer at Caffè Roma in the seaside town of Alassio, whose pre-second world war British population could reach 5,000.There are several reasons, I think. From the late 19th century, wealthy Brit
  
  Read more

• 10 reasons to visit Italy in 2025: the best new holidays and cultural events

  16-02-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Walking and cycling tours, family holidays, great places to stay, blockbuster exhibitions and more launching this yearThe Cilento coast in Campania has long attracted Italian holidaymakers, but overseas visitors tend to head further north to the better-known Amalfi coast. That is starting to change – the Natural Adventure Company reports that UK Google searches for the Cilento coast are up 110% over the past 12 months. The company has run a self-guided walking holiday there since 2022 (fro
  
  Read more

• Putting Mumbai on the menu: Dishoom’s founders in the city that inspired them

  16-02-2025 08:30 via theguardian.com
  
  The team behind the much-loved restaurants explore the places that inspired their ‘Bombay comfort food’ dishesWhen Shamil Thakrar talks about Bombay, he has a favourite word: palimpsest, “something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form”. In fact, Shamil has been (fondly) banned from using it by his cousin Kavi, with whom he co-founded Dishoom, the hugely successful group of Bombay-inspired restaurants, 15 years ago.But palimpsest is an apt
  
  Read more

• Exploring Siena, Tuscany’s other artistic masterpiece

  15-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  A major new exhibition at the National Gallery puts the spotlight on the Tuscan town’s artistic heritage. But nothing beats exploring its historic neighbourhoods on footThis warren of narrow streets, some so tight that only the noon sunshine penetrates all the way down to the cobbles, is part gothic, part romanesque, and all beautiful. It’s blessed with an embarrassment of architectural riches and wrapped up in wonderfully preserved medieval walls that hug the city tightly,
  
  Read more

• A ‘gorgeous medieval’ town in Tuscany and other readers’ tips across Italy

  14-02-2025 12:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From a Sicilian city brimming with life to serene Dolomite villages, our tipsters share their Italian highlightsAmong the highlights of the Garfagnana region of northern Tuscany is the Serchio valley, which can be explored using the railway line from Lucca. Barga is the best town with a gorgeous medieval centre and interesting links to Scotland from immigration and emigration that began in the 19th century. Try the local speciality of chestnut flour pasta with local porcini from the forests.Jame
  
  Read more

• The Bulgarian town where love takes a back seat to wine on Valentine’s Day

  14-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  In Melnik, Saint Trifon eclipses Saint Valentine as the town celebrates its long history of winemakingThe sun glows on the otherworldly shapes of the sandstone cliffs that have been sculpted by millennia of rain and left looking like someone tried to make sand castles but was too impatient to fill the bucket to the top. Jagged battlements and conical heaps stretch to the horizon.At the base of these cliffs stands a cluster of large, elegant houses. This is Melnik, Bulgaria’s smallest town,
  
  Read more

• Where tourists seldom tread, part 15: three more UK towns with unsung stories

  13-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our tour of unheralded towns continues with Black Country legends in Dudley, Renaissance-style architecture in Enniskillen and Middlesbrough, birthplace of the Sydney Harbour BridgeWhere tourists seldom tread, parts 1-14Duncan Edwards’s right leg swings back, ready to kick the ball into the rain, down the hill. Paragon of Black Country respectability, a “real-life Roy of the Rovers” (so said Terry Venables), the late Manchester United midfielder’s myth is as surely set as
  
  Read more

• 10 restaurants not to miss in Edinburgh – 2025’s ‘most exciting food destination’

  12-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  The Scottish capital’s new openings and creative chefs have grabbed the attention of the Good Food and Michelin guides. If you’re wondering where to tuck in, try these hot picksEdinburgh is having a foodie moment. Last week it was named the Most Exciting Food Destination for 2025 by The Good Food Guide. This week, the Michelin Guide Ceremony (Great Britain and Ireland) – held in Scotland for the first time – saw new stars awarded to Lyla and Avery, and new Bib Gourmand aw
  
  Read more

• On board the maiden sleeper from Brussels to Venice: we got there in the end

  11-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Affordable couchettes, wonderful scenery and good company make up for the teething problems en routeAt 6.45pm on Wednesday, the Good Night Train trundled out of platform 3 at Brussel-Zuid station. It departed 40 minutes late due to trespassers on the tracks, but the train soon picked up pace, the golden lights of the Belgian capital sweeping through the carriages where groups were stashing skis, families were settling young children and solo travellers stood at the open windows swapping names an
  
  Read more

• Share a tip on a break in Spain

  10-02-2025 14:03 via theguardian.com
  
  Tell us about a lesser known corner of Spain – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakSpain is one of the most enduringly popular tourist destinations in Europe, but sometimes that popularity comes at a price – a fact that has been highlighted by recent protests against overtourism in Barcelona and the Balearic islands. But if you’re willing to go a little off the beaten track, there is still much to discover in this fascinating country. We’d love to hear a
  
  Read more

• Sète: the seaside town with year-round sunshine in the south of France

  10-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Surrounded by canals, a lagoon and the Mediterranean, the port town has fabulous seafood and some quirky cultural traditionsWhile much of southern France closes its shutters for the winter, the fishing port of Sète comes alive. The oyster and truffle seasons are in full swing and bright, sunny weather makes it the perfect place to sip a glass of muscat on the banks of the town’s Canal Royal.The main town on the Thau archipelago, 17 miles (27km) south-west of Montpellier, Sète
  
  Read more

• From world’s ‘roughest wilderness hotel’ to a cosy Cotswolds hideaway: 10 adventure stays in Europe

  09-02-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  These retreats are the perfect base for an active break exploring Europe’s great outdoorsBringing smaller explorers with you? Sonnwies is a family-friendly hotel in the heart of the sun-lit mountainscapes of the Italian Dolomites and near the pretty village of Luson in South Tirol. Here it’s all about adventures – explore the scenic heights on foot or you can ski straight from the hotel during winter months. This gem will make all ages of adventurer happy with mountain bikes, e
  
  Read more

• 25 of the best hotels, B&Bs and chateaux in France

  08-02-2025 09:00 via theguardian.com
  
  From country houses and mountain chalets to seaside chambres d’hôte and cool city pads, our France travel expert picks her favourite boltholes Continue reading...
  
  Read more

• ‘It smells of salt marshes, maritime pines, peace and quiet’: readers’ favourite travel discoveries in France

  07-02-2025 08:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Our tipsters share their French delights, from fresh oysters and mountain trains to surf beaches and pretty harbour townsA world away from the popular resorts and marinas of the central Vendée is L’île de Noirmoutier. The unpretentious and reasonably priced L’Océane stands out among the peninsula’s seafood bars and is always our first port of call. Behind its unprepossessing exterior, the freshest oysters with bread, butter and lemon are a mere €8.90 fo
  
  Read more

Follow @Travel_Newsl on Twitter!