Travel Industry news

• Empty beaches guaranteed: a wintry weekend break in north Devon

  26-11-2025 07:00
  With stunning beaches, cosy cafes and a lot fewer people, the unspoilt surfing village of Croyde has just as much to offer out of seasonIt’s been a while since I’ve struggled into damp neoprene of a morning. It’s the second day of a wintry weekend in Croyde, north-west Devon; I’m stiff from an hour in the sea the previous afternoon, and the upper part of the super-thick wetsuit won’t budge past my elbows. Together, my husband, Mark, and I jiggle and pull and yank it
  
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• ‘Swim, soak, switch off’: an off-grid cabin stay in the Scottish Borders

  17-02-2026 08:00
  A cabin on a farm near Hawick, known for its whisky and woollens, offers wild seclusion – and a great base for exploring an overlooked regionThe tiny, off-grid cabin looked almost unreal: made of repurposed oak it stood by a private lochan, with separate cedar sauna, cold outdoor shower, sunken hot tub, and a jetty with two hammocks and a pair of paddleboards. It screamed Finland or Sweden, not a sheep and deer farm in the Scottish Borders. It was the sort of isolated location that would s
  
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• Share a tip on a favourite family adventure in Europe

  16-02-2026 13:51
  Tell us about a memorable trip where you tried something new as a family – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakHave you had a memorable family adventure? A trip where you stepped outside your comfort zone and tried something new together? Whether it’s a family backpacking trip, completing a long-distance hike, bike or canoe trail, wild camping, youth hostelling or trying out a new activity, we’d love to hear from you.The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hal
  
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• Provence in bloom – exploring its flower festivals and the ‘perfume capital of the world’

  16-02-2026 08:00
  Mimosas and violets are already out in the south of France, making it the perfect time for a pre-spring road tripAs I take my seat in Galimard’s Studio des Fragrances, in the Provençal town of Grasse, I limber up my nostrils for the task ahead: to create my own scent from the 126 bottles in front of me. Together they represent a world of exotic aromas, from amber and musk to ginger and saffron. But given that I have left the grey British winter behind to come her
  
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• ‘The most quietly romantic town we have ever visited’ – the enduring charm of Chiavenna, Italy

  15-02-2026 08:00
  Writers from George Eliot to Goethe put this Lombardy town on the map, then it fell out of fashion. Today it makes a picture-perfect alternative to the Italian lakesThe ancient settlement of Chiavenna, in Lombardy, near Italy’s border with Switzerland, was once well known among travellers. “Lovely Chiavenna … mountain peaks, huge boulders, with rippling miniature torrents and lovely young flowers … and grassy heights with rich Spanish chestnuts,” wrote George 
  
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• 10 of the most romantic hotels, pubs, cabins and cottages for a cosy UK getaway

  14-02-2026 08:00
  It’s an ideal time of year for snuggling up on a countryside break. We pick accommodation from shepherds’ huts in Somerset to a chateau in WalesSix vintage-style “luxury huts” spaced out around a lake make up The Shepherds Hut Retreat in south Somerset. They have modern kitchens and bathrooms, private areas with hot tubs, and fancy features such as telescopes, gin bars, pizza ovens, fire pits and hammocks. There is also a woodland sauna on site. The newest
  
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• ‘It feels as if I’m in a Richard Curtis film’: readers’ favourite romantic trips in Europe

  13-02-2026 08:00
  Romance is in the air on a roof terrace in Venice, rowing across Lake Bled and a fairytale garden in Stuttgart
  • Tell us about your memorable breaks in Wales – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherWe had our wedding reception at the Grand Hotel Royal in Sorrento, south of Naples. We danced to two guitarists playing Justin Bieber’s Despacito with our 50 guests singing and dancing along with us. We watched as the sun began to melt into the Mediterranean Sea from this time
  
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• ‘The intimate and the epic’: the best way to understand India is to travel by train

  12-02-2026 08:00
  Being a passenger in this vast country is ‘a full-blooded immersion in the local’, says the novelist whose latest protagonist is lured by the romance of the railsI carry my train journeys in my bones, the juddering song of the Indian rail. Our first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, famously likened India to a palimpsest, no layer quite effacing the one that went before. That’s how I think of Indian railway journeys. They inscribe on the mind our fellow travellers, our ways, ou
  
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• Saunas, safaris and silence in Norfolk: a winter weekend on a rewilded retreat

  11-02-2026 08:00
  A transformative conservation project encompassing East Anglia’s large but secluded Fritton Lake has high-end hospitality and nature-rich experiences at its heartThe scene is entirely black, white, grey and silver. It is cold, unusually dark and a film of ice is forming on the lake. I’m sitting in an unlit wooden sauna, alone, in immense silence. The only noise is the soft ticking of the stove as the heat rises. Across the water are ghostly silver birches and dark pines. Above them,
  
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• Say no to fake snow: the Austrian ski resort that likes to keep it real

  10-02-2026 08:00
  Like many Alpine areas faced with declining snowfall, Villach had to make a difficult choice: bring in the snow cannons or reinvent itselfWalking up a winding trail in the Dobratsch nature park in Carinthia, surrounded by picturesque snowy slopes dotted with pines, we hear shrieks coming from round the corner. The path is as wide as a one-way street but Birgit Pichorner, the park ranger I’m taking a tour with, motions for me to move to the side, where we watch a couple with wide grins glid
  
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• Share a tip on your favourite under-the-radar places and things to do in Wales

  09-02-2026 16:12
  Tell us about your favourite trip in Wales – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakFrom the vast sandy surf beaches of the Gower to the peaks of Eryri national park (Snowdonia), Wales has no shortage of world-class natural attractions. But we’d love to hear about some of your favourite under-the-radar discoveries, whether it be a perfect hiking or biking trail, an intriguing small museum or attraction, or just an unexpected diversion which turned into the highlight of
  
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• Cool design and wild art on a city break in Metz, north-east France

  09-02-2026 08:00
  The small city in the Lorraine region has been put on the map with the aid of two Parisian heavyweights – a loan from the Pompidou Centre and designer Philippe Starck’s quirky new hotelAs I stand and look at a six-metre skeleton of a domestic cat named Felix, the words of Alice in Wonderland spring to mind: “Curiouser and curiouser.” The sculpture is part of a thought-provoking and enchanting exhibition at the Centre Pompidou-Metz, and this isn’t the first time
  
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• Why western Sicily is Italy’s emerging arts hub

  08-02-2026 08:00
  Art is helping to revitalise Sicily’s ghost towns and deserted urban spaces, with the earthquake-hit town of Gibellina becoming Italy’s first Capital of Contemporary ArtFrom the ostentatious baroque square of Quattro Canti all the way up to the Teatro Massimo, Palermo’s Via Maqueda is thick with tourists. Pomegranate juice sellers are setting up pyramids of fruit on their carts at gaps in the crowd and waiters are trying to reel in passersby with happy hour prices for Aper
  
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• ‘We’re used to crowds’: latest Wuthering Heights hype doesn’t faze Yorkshire residents

  07-02-2026 16:00
  As Emerald Fennell’s adaptation hits cinemas, a slew of visitors are expected at the sites that inspired Emily Brontë’s novel. People living close by, however, are taking it in their strideThe four-mile trail from the village of Haworth to Top Withens in West Yorkshire is well trodden; numerous footprints squelched into the boggy ground by those seeking the view said to have inspired the setting for Emily Brontë’s 1847 novel Wuthering Heights. The landscape rolls in d
  
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• How the ‘Lowry effect’ is rejuvenating Salford and Manchester: a tour of the artist’s old haunts and new shrines

  07-02-2026 08:00
  There’s a lot more to LS Lowry than his matchstick men. A visit to the artist’s hometown reveals how his legacy helped turn a derelict dockland into the thriving creative hub of Salford QuaysMy nan had one in her downstairs loo. An LS Lowry print, that is. It showed a street scene: 100-odd people, a few dogs, some mills in the background. I remember liking the work mostly because I could see myself in it, in a way that I couldn’t when faced with paintings of fruit or&
  
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• ‘It’s dedicated exclusively to female artists, from Frida Kahlo to Tracey Emin’: readers’ favourite unsung museums in Europe

  06-02-2026 07:00
  From ancient Greek bronzes to an unusual take on Donald Trump, readers recommend galleries and collections they’ve discovered on their travels
  • Tell us about a sunny break in Europe – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherWe visited the Female Artists of the Mougins Museum, in Mougins, a small village on a hill near Cannes. Full of exclusively female artists – from Berthe Morisot in the 19th century and Frida Kahlo in the early 20th to contemporary figures such as
  
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• A local’s guide to Milan: the city’s best restaurants, culture and green spaces

  05-02-2026 08:00
  In celebration of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, which starts this week, paralympic swimming champion Simone Barlaam shares his favourite places in his hometownBorn in Milan in 2000, Paralympic swimmer Simone Barlaam, is a 13-time world champion who won three golds and a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He’s a torchbearer and ambassador for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, which run from 6-22 February (the Paralympic Games run from 6-15 March) at sites across Lombardy
  
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• A different kind of girls’ weekend: adventure and creativity in Carmarthenshire

  04-02-2026 08:00
  Curated getaways in south-west Wales offer wellbeing and crafty fun for groups of women amid beautiful sceneryThe scent of hand-poured candles filled the air in the Little Welsh Dresser, one of Llandeilo’s clutch of arts and crafts shops. This vibrant Welsh market town is a creative spot – it’s where the famous Dinefwr wool blankets are woven and boasts many galleries and antique stores – and is a pretty place to wander. Our eyes land on the rows of handmade cards and mug
  
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• Slow train to Turin: a winter journey through the Swiss Alps to Italy

  03-02-2026 08:00
  By travelling during the day on scenic routes, travellers can soak up spectacular landscapes before taking in Turin’s cultural heritageIs there a better sensation for a traveller than when a train speeds out of a tunnel? The sudden flood of light, that howling rush of air. Clearly, it’s not just me who thinks trains are the new (old) planes, with 2025 having seen a 7% rise in UK train travel, and more Europeans than ever looking to hit the rails.It’s late December, and I’
  
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• Share a tip on a sunny spring break in Europe

  02-02-2026 17:04
  Tell us about your favourite early spring discoveries that offer sunshine without flying – the best tip wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakIt’s time to think about shaking off winter and looking forward to spring. Whether it was a coastal Mediterranean town without the crowds or a southern European city that comes to life at this time of year, we’d love to hear about places you’ve discovered on your travels that can be reached by rail. Tell us what you got up to and
  
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• My search for the perfect Danish pastry in Copenhagen

  02-02-2026 08:00
  In a city packed with bakeries, how do you find the best? I risked tooth decay to track down the quintessential blend of crisp pastry, an oozy centre and sugary cinnamonOpen sandwiches (smørrebrød), meatballs (frikadeller), crispy pork belly (stegt flæsk) … There are many must-eat dishes for food lovers visiting Denmark, though perhaps nothing springs to mind as readily as the Danish pastry. But how are you supposed to choose from the countless bakeries on offer? And o
  
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• Island-hopping in Sweden: an enchanted maze of tiny isles – only a bus ride from Gothenburg

  01-02-2026 08:00
  From a bioluminescent nightime sea to rare wildlife, natural wonders are on tap in the Gothenburg archipelagoOut on the water, paddling across the straits between two small rocky islands, the dusk fades and the stars appear. Jennie has done her best to coach me in local geography before darkness, showing me the map with its patchwork of islands and bays, and describing the shape of each landmark. All to no avail. I’m more than happy to be lost at sea, leaning back in my kayak to gaze
  
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• What makes Finland the happiest place on Earth?

  31-01-2026 08:00
  For the last eight years, Finland has topped the list of the world’s happiest countries. Our writer embarks on a tour to discover their secretI’ve been visiting the happiest country on Earth every year since I was a baby. At first glance, Finland doesn’t seem like an obvious breeding ground for happiness. In midwinter the sun only appears for two to five hours a day and temperatures can plummet to below -20C. (It would seem a warm-year-round, sunny climate is not a pr
  
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• ‘We had Norway’s glacial lakes to ourselves’: readers’ favourite breaks in Scandinavia and Finland

  30-01-2026 08:00
  Saunas, island-hopping, mountain hikes, great design and cosy cafes abound in our readers’ treasured memories of the Nordic countries
  • Tell us about a romantic break in Europe – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucherA week’s hiking in Jotunheimen national park (230 miles north of Oslo) last summer brought me tranquillity and peace. During four days of challenging hiking and wild camping through the area we saw hardly anyone else, having entire lush green valleys a
  
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• Sledges, bears and a hotel with Wes Anderson vibes: Switzerland’s quirkiest family ski resort

  29-01-2026 08:00
  Forget flashy St Moritz or Zermatt, the unsung village of Arosa has childlike charm, with animal sanctuaries, cool accommodation and kid-friendly tobogganingOn the approach to Arosa in the Graubünden Alps, the road is lined with mountain chapels, their stark spires soaring heavenwards; a portent, perhaps, of the ominous route ahead. The sheer-sided valley is skirted with rugged farmhouses and the road twists, over ravines and round hairpin curves, to a holiday destination that feels like a
  
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• Protecting one of the Europe’s last wild rivers: a volunteering trip to the Vjosa in Albania

  28-01-2026 08:00
  Now a ‘wild river national park’, the Vjosa needs more trees to be planted to preserve its fragile ecosystem. And visitors are being asked to help …Our induction into tree-planting comes from Pietro, an Italian hydromorphologist charged with overseeing our group of 20 or so volunteers for the week. We’re standing in a makeshift nursery full of spindly willow and poplar saplings just above the Vjosa River, a graceful, meandering waterway that cuts east to west across sout
  
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• Protecting one of Europe’s last wild rivers: a volunteering trip to the Vjosa in Albania

  28-01-2026 08:00
  Now a ‘wild river national park’, the Vjosa needs more trees to be planted to preserve its fragile ecosystem. And visitors are being asked to help …Our induction into tree-planting comes from Pietro, an Italian hydromorphologist charged with overseeing our group of 20 or so volunteers for the week. We’re standing in a makeshift nursery full of spindly willow and poplar saplings just above the Vjosa River, a graceful, meandering waterway that cuts east to west across sout
  
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• Zoning in on Leith, Edinburgh – ‘It’s been a joy to watch the area reinvent itself’

  27-01-2026 08:00
  The historic port district – and setting for Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting – has evolved into a cultural and culinary hub. In the first of a new series, a local resident visits the venues powering the resurgenceLeith is Edinburgh’s port district, where people, goods and new ideas have flowed into the city for centuries. Here, the Water of Leith river meets the sea, and on bright days, when pubs and restaurants spill out to the Shore area, there’s nowhere quite like i
  
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• Tell us about your favourite romantic place in Europe

  26-01-2026 15:09
  Share a tip on a romantic spot – whether city, hotel or mountain top – the best wins £200 towards a Coolstays breakValentine’s Day may be coming up, but we think romance should be year round! We want to hear about a favourite romantic place you’ve discovered on your travels in Europe (including the UK), whether it was a fairytale city, a remote mountain refuge, a beautiful hotel or a romantic restaurant.The best tip of the week, chosen by Tom Hall of Lonely Planet w
  
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• Do writing retreats actually work? Reader, I finished my novel in style …

  26-01-2026 08:00
  The distractions of daily life can make writing a book a frustrating task, so I sought boltholes offering creative support and solitude in inspiring landscapesThe idea for my novel came in a rush: as I walked over the Thames on the Golden Jubilee Bridge in central London, the scene at the heart of it leapt out of the deep blue dusk and clung on to me until I committed to writing it into existence.A few months later, it became depressingly clear that the half-hour snatches of writing at the
  
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