I look forward to returning to Valletta one day. And perhaps then it will be finished… Because our trip coincided with a huge building and restoration programme, being carried out in preparation for the city’s role as European Capital of Culture in 2018. Quite a few of its popular tourist destinations, such as St John’s…
Category: Europe
Malta: The ancient splendour of Mdina
The glorious fortified city of Mdina in the heart of Malta is a must-see and full of atmosphere. Once the island’s capital, it’s been shaped over the centuries by Phonecians, Romans and Arabs. But we nearly didn’t make it there at all. Our mistake was to rely on the country’s public transport. Despite Mdina being…
Valletta’s Notte Bianca festival
A mounting sense of dread gripped me as we approached the gates of Valletta on our first night in Malta. It looked as if the entire population of the small Mediterranean island was making its way from the bus station and taxi ranks just outside the city gates into the pint-sized capital. We were carried…
A date at the Grand Ducal Palace in Luxembourg
Our final day in Luxembourg was a bank holiday back in Britain but the city that had been our home for the weekend was going back to work as we packed for the flight back to London. However, before leaving we’d got a tour of the Grand Ducal Palace lined up. After checking out of…
A visit to the abbey town of Echternach
Plans to visit the picturesque castle that stands on a bluff overlooking the village of Vianden in rural Luxembourg were scuppered by that old favourite of a British weekend, railway engineering works. So we found ourselves in the city’s central station trying to work out what to do with our Sunday. I didn’t want to…
Exploring Luxembourg old town
Small but perfectly formed, Luxembourg is one of the Low Countries, a founding member of the EU and our choice for a hot and sunny August bank holiday weekend. Its capital, Luxembourg City, is equally modest but turned out to be a real charmer, easily walkable and attractive. Our first day in town was spent…
Italy: A day out in the Tuscan city of Siena
Famous for its architecture and the terrifying horse race the Palio on the broad Piazza del Campo, Siena heaves with visitors doing the grand tour of Tuscany. I was as keen to visit the city as a recent James Bond movie location as for its history. It’s in the otherwise disappointing Quantum of Solace that Bond, in…
Copenhagen’s crown jewels
There’s much to see and do in Copenhagen, but somehow we managed to go overboard on the royal attractions during our long weekend. Take our last day in town. We chose to spend much of it enjoying the treasures of Rosenborg Palace, including the state’s Crown Jewels, before tearing ourselves away for something rather more egalitarian at the Botanical Gardens. With…
Copenhagen: From a palace to a commune
Copenhagen has much in common with London – drunks, litter, too much homelessness, and old men who don’t think twice about peeing up against a wall in front of passers-by. But it’s also relaxed, vibrant and welcoming. It’s easily walkable, is packed with history and has some fine modern architecture as a contrast to the old….
Danish design and royal knick-knacks in Copenhagen
We couldn’t go all the way to Copenhagen and not indulge our love of Scandinavian design. So with rain falling on our first full day in the city, the Designmuseum Denmark was an obvious destination. Despite getting on the wrong bus and having to walk further than we expected in the showers, we eventually found it in…
Copenhagen: Red lights and hearty food in Vesterbro
Much is written about hygge, the Danish word that translates into something like comfort, cosiness or warmth in English. It’s said to be one of the reasons why the Danes are among the happiest people in the world. But are they? Is hygge a myth? Is their happiness more to do with their work-life balance? Their welfare state? Their…
Skiing in Champagny en Vanoise
A few years back I thought my skiing days were over when Graham announced halfway through a week in Ischgl that flying down mountains strapped to thin bits of metal was not something he considered a particularly safe, let alone enjoyable, way to pass the time. But then family came to my rescue and gave me…
King Ludwig’s Linderhof
King Ludwig II of Bavaria lived a strange life. Forced to surrender the independence of his kingdom to the all-consuming Prussia, reclusive and sexually confused, he sought consolation in the theatrical scores of Wagner and fantastical architectural projects. The palaces he built are among Bavaria’s most popular tourist attractions but for the king they sustained…
Dusseldorf: The architecture of MedienHafen
Contemporary architecture has given a new lease of life to Dusseldorf’s old harbour. The district known as MedienHafen features striking buildings by such world famous architects as Frank Gehry, David Chipperfield, Joe Coenen, Steven Holl and Claude Vasconi. On a day blessed with beautiful blue skies, it would be the conclusion to our walk through the…
Dusseldorf: A visit to Schloss Benrath
Dusseldorf isn’t blessed with palaces and historic houses but it does have Schloss Benrath, a summer retreat built for royalty in the late 18th century. It was our principal destination on a cold and misty December Saturday. Near our city centre hotel, the Hofgarten park looked fresh and inviting, its leaf-less trees throwing long shadows…