Europe
Warsaw looks just as it did in Chopin's day. Well, almost
On the eve of the great composer's 200th birthday, Adrian Mourby sees how the city where he grew up has emerged from centuries of war and ruin
Inside Europe
WIN! A weekend for two in Lisbon
Sunday, 7 February 2010
Enter our prize draw and you could be the lucky winner of two nights' B&B at the four-star Fontana Park Hotel in Lisbon.
Best for the high life: Barcelona
Saturday, 6 February 2010
I knew nothing about the Gran Hotel La Florida in Barcelona other than I once met a man who stayed there and said it had "seriously the best bedrooms – EVER". He repeated this whilst looking up at the sky. "Ever. Ever. Ever." And it has stayed with me ever since. So when we had four days free over the Christmas holidays I booked it. I know. Crazy.
Best for literature lovers: Cévennes
Saturday, 6 February 2010
You wouldn't have picked her out as the ideal holiday companion. Yes, she was pretty and petite, with soulful eyes and beguiling eyelashes. But Salomé was also narrow-minded, with a strident voice, crooked teeth, a curious body odour and a broad, hairy backside.
Best for island escapes: Cyprus
Saturday, 6 February 2010
From up there, you can see everything," said the speedboat's grizzled captain, pointing skywards with a grin and a wink. And with that, he snapped me into my parachute, leant on the boat's throttle – and lifted me gently from the deck and into the air, attached only by the slenderest of ropes to the back of his craft as it bounced through the waves beneath me.
Best for splashing the cash: Moscow
Saturday, 6 February 2010
Russia is in the throes of the coldest winter in a long while, and that, by any standard, is cold. Across Moscow, locals scuttle from A to B avoiding the huge phallic icicles which jut into the street from the spouts of drainpipes. At the doors to the metro, babushkas in headcarves and battered furs hunch against the bitter wind, begging for pennies. And, all the while, just a few paces away, Russia's super-rich are proving their impunity to these testing conditions.
Best for family breaks: Portugal
Saturday, 6 February 2010
So there we were, shades on, hair bleached by the sun, kicking back with a few cold ones in the beach-front bar, swapping gnarly surfer tales with the gnarly surfer dudes, as the waves crashed against the sand below and a vast blood-orange sun began its spectacular slow-dive into the wild Atlantic beyond.
Where to sample Winter Olympic sports
Saturday, 6 February 2010
The Vancouver Winter Olympics start on Friday, with a vast array of sports you’ll never try yourself. Or will you?
It's no wonder that Vincent couldn't paint straight
Sunday, 31 January 2010
Sankha Guha: A major exhibition of Van Gogh's work and letters has just opened at the Royal Academy in London. But a trip to Amsterdam might offer another clue as to what inspired the artist's familiar wonky lines.
WIN! A weekend for two in Iceland
Sunday, 31 January 2010
We've teamed up with Hotels.com – the world's leading hotel booking website – to offer a weekend break for two in Reykjavik, Iceland.
The Traveller's Guide To: Chopin
Saturday, 30 January 2010
The 200th anniversary of the composer's birth sees celebrations across Europe.
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