Karpathos, Greece The mountain’s meringue peaks tattooed on a deep blue sky are a dramatic backdrop to Karpathos’s deserted beaches. It’s early July and I’m discovering this Dodecanese island, 27 miles – or four hours’ ferry ride – from Rhodes, for the first time. The island stretches for about 30 …
Read More »‘Epic gigs and a grassroots vibe’: readers’ favourite music venues in UK and Europe
Winning tip: Don’t listen politely, Granada, Spain If you go to a touristy flamenco venue in Granada, the performances will be good quality but the audience, made up of foreign visitors, is likely to be flat. Flamenco should be participatory, and foreign audiences watch too politely and silently. Vimaambi is …
Read More »Five of the best sustainable holidays across Europe
Green Wellness Route, Slovenia This summer the country’s tourist board launched a new Green Wellness cycling route. A looping cycle trail of nearly 200 miles linking natural spas, it starts in Ljubljana and heads north towards the Austrian border and then south-west towards Croatia, winding through mountains, plains and vineyards. …
Read More »Analysis: Europe can’t decide if it wants to punish ordinary Russians for Putin’s war
Currently, 1,000 Russians can apply for Finnish visas each day, but as of September 1 that number will drop to 500. Jussi Tanner, director general for consular services at Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN that a maximum of 20% of those slots will be allocated for tourist visas, …
Read More »Tell us about a music venue in the UK or elsewhere in Europe – you could win a holiday voucher
Since the loosening of Covid guidelines, one of the greatest pleasures we’ve been able to return to is live music. But not all venues are created equal. Britain and Europe are chock-full of great independent venues, from the Deaf Institute in Manchester to Il Folk Club in Turin, and we …
Read More »‘Brilliant and ever-changing’: readers’ favourite street art in Europe
Winning trip: Artistic highs, Esch, Luxembourg The European Capital of Culture 2022 Esch-sur-Alzette (or simply Esch) is full of beautiful urban art. Some of it refers to the city’s industrial past, some of it to its modern cultural development and local heroes. Many of them are as high as the …
Read More »EU under pressure to ban Russian tourists from Europe
The EU has been urged to introduce a travel ban on Russian tourists with some member states saying visiting Europe was “a privilege, not a human right” for holidaymakers. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in an interview with the Washington Post that the “most important sanction” was to “close the borders, …
Read More »Flight disruption in UK was worst in Europe in recent months, says Tui
Flight disruption in the UK was the worst in Europe in recent months, according to Tui, while Manchester was the most-affected airport, as the travel operator reported a €75m (£63m) hit from air traffic chaos. “We had significant challenges and interruptions, especially on the UK side,” said Sebastian Ebel, Tui’s …
Read More »10 of the best sailing holidays in Europe
Yachting, Amalfi coast First-time sailors can explore the Amalfi coast on this four-day yachting trip from Amalfi to Procida via Capri. There are opportunities for swimming and snorkelling, including a dip beside the Blue Grotto on Capri, plus time on land for exploring. Living conditions are fairly cramped – eight …
Read More »Spain reports first monkeypox-related death in Europe
Brazil reported earlier on Friday the first monkeypox-related death outside the African continent in the current wave of the disease. According to a World Health Organization report from July 22, only five deaths had been reported worldwide, all in the African region. The WHO last Saturday declared the rapidly spreading …
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