Tag Archives: discoveries

Standout moments from nearly 20 years of writing about travelling and eating around France include meals in legendary restaurants and the joy of a shared dinner at a chambre d’hôtes. That said, there’s a venue that can’t be underestimated as an opportunity to enjoy France’s culinary delights: the car boot picnic. Standing …

Secret alleys and courtyards in Lyon Climbing towards the basilica from the river, we explored a zigzag of secret staircases and hidden courtyards in Lyon. These traboules are hard to follow, and so we had to look out for the metal plates that mark some of the entrances. There’s almost …

There’s a special place near where I live. To get there, you head down the road with all the fly-tipping, go through the motorway underpass, then turn left by the second-hand car garage and the greasy spoon cafe with a spelling mistake in its name. When you reach the factory …

A hotel from another planet lands in rural Brittany There are many places where you expect to see jaw-dropping architecture, but the quiet Brittany countryside isn’t one of them. As we walked toward Hotel l’Essenciel (not a typo, ciel means sky) with its 36 rooms, or “nests” suspended around its …

Tove Jansson’s island life, Finland Fans of Finnish author Tove Jansson will love the idyllic Pellinki archipelago, where she spent her summers on a tiny island, Klovharun, described in several of her novels. About 50 miles east of Helsinki, Pellinki forms part of a group of islands, linked by bridges …

With so much to explore, every trip to France brings new pleasures. There are so many ancient towns and cities to enjoy as well as countryside ranging from stunning peaks to great beaches – a fresh discovery lies around every corner for the inquisitive traveller. Please share details of your …

From the wilds of the Tatra Mountains in the south to the 500-mile sandy coastline in the north, Poland has an impressive natural landscape. Its cities have been rejuvenated by a buzzing cultural scene – cities as diverse as Kraków, with its fine medieval old town (pictured), and Łódź, home …

Curated weekly, the playlist highlights ten new songs from artists from Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, and other countries to help music consumers and industry stakeholders discover new artists. These are the top ten artists discovered this year, thanks to the Pulse Future Sounds Playlist 2022: El Prince, a Nigerian …

‘Irish Lake District’, County Fermanagh We’d come for a family wedding in County Cavan, and spent a few days exploring the “Irish Lake District” in neighbouring County Fermanagh. It was July, but the wood-burner was going ding-dust, crackling and hissing as it threw heat into the kitchen of the cottage …

We wrapped up well, Iceland We visited the low-rise, one-village island of Hrísey during our round-Iceland tour. It sits in the Arctic-facing inlet of Eyjafjördur, 20 minutes by ferry from Árskógssandur, north of Akureyri – the fourth largest town in Iceland. We wrapped up well for the crossing, before following …