The Jardin de Turia in Valencia: Celebrating the Past and the Future
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The Jardin de Turia in Valencia: Celebrating the Past and the Future

Valencia is the third biggest city in Spain, but it is fair to say, I believe, that it struggles at times to be seen in the shadow that is cast by its two larger rivals. Valencia may lead the peloton, but in almost every field from football to film and fashion, Madrid and Barcelona are…

Paillon: Modern Landscaping and Forgotten History in Nice
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Paillon: Modern Landscaping and Forgotten History in Nice

Nice and Paris – the two most visited cities in France – make up an odd couple. In almost every way you look at them, they are the antithesis of each other. Above all, the two are distinguished by the weather, of course: unpredictable and often grim in the capital, sweet and gentle on the…

Holiday Like An Italian in Sestri Levante
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Holiday Like An Italian in Sestri Levante

Most people would classify Sestri Levante as a “tourist town”, but you should not think that this is a good reason for bypassing Sestri on your tour of Northern Italy. First of all, because the tag “tourist town”, although commonly used with more than a hint of contempt, is not, if you think about it,…

The Thames Path: Madness, Modernism and an Unruly Princess
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The Thames Path: Madness, Modernism and an Unruly Princess

There cannot be many major rivers in the world that have a proper hiking trail attached to them all the way through, from the source to the spot where they join the sea. The Thames, Britain’s most famous river, is lined by such as a “source-to-sea” footpath – which, with a total length of well…

Aveiro – Venetian Canals and the Vastness of the Atlantic Ocean
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Aveiro – Venetian Canals and the Vastness of the Atlantic Ocean

The town of Aveiro, roughly an hour away from Porto by train, is a favourite daytrip destination for visitors of Portugal’s second city. Aveiro has become a busy tourist town mainly on the strength of two attractions – firstly, a network of urban canals, which is also the reason why the town is frequently called…

Serependity with a One-Day Travel Pass in Porto
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Serependity with a One-Day Travel Pass in Porto

Happy accidents are the gold standard of tourist experiences. You walk somewhere in the town centre of your destination, take a turn off the main street, then another turn and yet another, and before you know what is happening, you find yourself in a part of the city that looks dramatically different from the pictures…

A Journey Of Discovery Through The Streets Of Porto
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A Journey Of Discovery Through The Streets Of Porto

Porto, Portugal’s second city, is a relatively recent arrival on the list of Favoured European Travel Destinations. Over the past 20 years, it has made the leap from amateur status to the Premier League of tourist destinations, powered by double-digit annual growth rates of visitor numbers for over a decade. It now counts over 2.5…