Travel

Food The giant, open-air market in Piazza delle Erbe is a riotous celebration of food. Scores of colourful stalls sit in the shadow of the medieval Palazzo della Ragione, while two long, covered arcades, called the Salone, are lined with irresistible delicatessens specialising in salami and prosciutto, parmesan cheese, salt …

Conscientious travel choices in a time of global warming are not easy. The ethically driven, non-flying British traveller, you might think, will have to accept a life of self-denial: no snorkelling over coral reefs, no wolf watching or walking on glaciers. And what about other wonders, both natural and human-made? …

Expensive glamping sites and luxury lodge parks in the Yorkshire Dales are pushing out less affluent national park visitors who just want to pitch up in a tent. John Amsden, the chair of Richmondshire district council’s planning committee, said they were popping up all over the Dales and there was …

Start Herne Bay clocktowerDistance 6.9 milesTime 3-3.5 hoursTotal ascent 115 metresDifficulty Easy Google map of the route Allow Google content? This article includes content provided by Google. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click …

Winning tip: Manic drums, Uruguay The Montevideo carnival, which runs from January into early March is a well-kept secret with far fewer tourists than Rio’s more famous event, and has its own unique traditions and history. I stumbled on it when backpacking a few years ago. I had settled downto …

During a brief window between named storms this month, 30 or so people gather in a darkened car park on a hillside east of Snowdonia. Red lights are flashing hither and yon. “Has everyone got warm hats and decent shoes?” asks Dani Robertson, dark skies officer at the North Wales …

I was exhausted. My gloves were wet and the sweat had started to freeze on my skin. No hotels for miles around. No houses. Nothing but a barren, treeless, snowbound landscape. The roof of the igloo had collapsed and it was getting dark. I didn’t know it at the time, …

This year marks the 25th anniversary of World Book Day, a celebration of books and reading celebrated in 100 countries worldwide. It is usually an opportunity for young bibliophiles to become their favourite book character for the day, but it is also a chance for older book lovers to visit …

Spain was a slow starter with trains. Its first tracks, between Mataró and Barcelona, covering about 20 miles, were laid in 1848, 18 years after the world’s first intercity line, between Manchester and Liverpool. And because a different track gauge was selected from the “standard gauge” of most of the …

The remote Cowal peninsula, extending into the Firth of Clyde, is not the sort of place you’d expect to find artisan coffee roasters, outdoor infinity pools and modern outdoor sculpture. Take it from me: my mum was born here, in the faded Victorian resort of Dunoon. Outside shinty circles – …