Remade in Paris: new life for capital’s abandoned buildings Across the French capital, old stations, factories and a university campus are being transformed into artists’ studios, theatres and some of the city’s hottest clubbing venues An enormous art nouveau greenhouse rises from the Meudon forest, its front made entirely of glass. Inside, suspended from the […]

Hikes, hot tubs and proper snow? Our family ski trip in Slovakia is a revelation The protected summits and valleys of the Tatras offer a return to the pleasures of traditional winter holidays – this time with all mod cons The Tatra mountains in Slovakia had been touted as a great destination for a family […]

Music with altitude: France’s Snowboxx festival Not only is Avoriaz part of one of the world’s largest ski areas, it also hosts a banging week-long music festival, so you can ski in and boogie out There’s nothing quite like blinding white, early-morning mountain sun, a blast of crisp, cold air and an Alpine valley stretching […]

Immersed in sea, snow, sand and silence: a winter break in Lithuania A 60-mile sandbar dotted with forests and icy lagoons, the Curonian Spit’s buried villages, elk and elemental beauty attracted Sartre and De Beauvoir Small icebergs bob on the waves. The beach is grey and frozen. To the north are the Dead Dunes, and […]

How to save money when booking a summer holiday Bagging a great-value break is still possible despite rising prices – but it does involve research and planning, says our cheap holiday expert Recent headlines have not been kind to those of us who like a bargain getaway. With the price of hotels, self-catering and package […]

Looking for an affordable beach holiday? Head to eastern Europe The Balkan countries of Croatia, Bulgaria, Albania and Montenegro have warm sunshine and great prices in the shoulder season of June and September When picturing Bulgaria’s 235-mile Black Sea coastline, most people think of the big party resorts such as Sunny Beach and Sozopol. But […]

The best Baltic beach holidays: where to go for summer, sea and sand With culture and beautiful sands aplenty, the coastal towns of Poland, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia make for a break with a difference Gdańsk is one of the most interesting cities in Europe. Birthplace of philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, author Günter Grass (when it […]

Cadaqués, secretive star of Spain’s Costa Brava This hidden cove has drawn artists for generations but the ex-hippy seaside town has maintained its independent character Cadaqués is a bit of a tease. It’s the most inaccessible town on Catalonia’s Costa Brava but also its most seductively beautiful. Put the two together and you can see […]

You see aspects of his paintings wherever you look: on Cézanne’s trail in Aix-en-Provence, France It’s easy to see why the chic town in the south of France made such an impression on the famous artist A slice of Parisian chic in the south of France, Aix-en-Provence is an idyllic place to while away an […]

The most scenic railway in Europe: how an old Welsh mining line became a world beater A Which? survey has found that Wales has the best scenic railway, the Ffestiniog, plus two more in the top 10, which beats Switzerland and Norway The train steams across the Cob embankment: on the right are the peaks […]