Move over Cannes: 10 of Europe’s best summer film festivals
The star-studded French fest starts today, but the coming months bring plenty more celebrations of the big screen – in stunning settings13-18 JuneThe annual animation festival in France is ideally...
View ArticleDo I need a mask to fly? Check carefully as European rules change
France has relaxed its rules, but holidaymakers heading for Greece, Italy and Spain will need masks for several more weeksRules for wearing face masks while travelling abroad remain complex for British...
View ArticleA local’s guide to Lecce, Italy: baroque beauty and rural cuisine
Puglian winemaker Massimiliano Apollonio shares tips on the best cafes, museums, parks and bike rides in his beautiful southern cityLecce is renowned for its cucina povera– it literally means “poor...
View ArticleI took the train to Trieste – here’s my guide
Next stop in our series marking the rail pass’s 50th birthday is the Italian city of Trieste, where literary past meets cosmopolitan present – and everyone goes to the seasideGrandiose buildings,...
View ArticleA pilgrim’s (rather slow) progress on Sicily’s most recent long-distance trail
The Magna Via Francigena, from Palermo to Agrigento, became a pilgrimage in 2017 and locals are embracing the new visitors“Sola?” “Si, sola.”Wherever I went, I was asked the same question: are you...
View Article‘Nudity on the beach is normal’: how Sardinia is tapping into the naturist...
The island’s plans also include special hotels, hiking trails and a village resort, but not all the locals are in favourSergio Cossu’s nude awakening came in 1972, when, at the age of 16 and needing a...
View ArticleA local’s guide to Naples: pizza, palazzos and dancing under the stars
Restoration architect Mariano Mazzella knows where to find the best pizzerias, palazzos, bars and views of Vesuvius in Italy’s most vibrant cityOur pizza, pastries, pasta and ice-cream are wonderful,...
View ArticleCountry diary 1972: changes on the island of Elba
11 August 1972: The panorama of chestnut groves and vineyards stepping down to the sea seemed a paradise, but traditional hill farming is in declineELBA: With a deft blow of the hoe, the small,...
View Article‘It’s all up, up, up’: sweat, tears and very low gears while cycling Italy’s...
If you can catch your breath, the Maratona in Italy’s Dolomites is the world’s most beautiful bike raceDon’t forget to look up,” says Miguel “Big Mig” Indurain, the great Spanish cycling campeón, to...
View ArticleA local’s guide to Palermo: sardines, spumante and spontaneous dancing
City food guide Marco Romeo on the sardines, spumante and street dancing that give the Sicilian capital its distinctive vibeThere are two parallel culinary worlds in Palermo: traditional home cooking...
View ArticlePiedmont on a plate: Italy’s lush land of food, wine and art
This region of north-west Italy is brimful of brilliant small food producers. Meanwhile, a British-born artist has slapped a wodge of vivid colour onto its bucolic sceneryIt’s brown, muddy-looking and...
View Article‘We’re booked until April 2023’: The White Lotus effect on Sicily’s glitziest...
The second series of HBO’s hit drama has moved from Hawaii to the Italian island. What has filming meant for the town of Taormina?It must have been like manna from heaven when, in October 2020, HBO...
View ArticleLook out for me in The White Lotus | Letter
Peter Mills on his hopes for an appearance as an unintended background extra in the TV seriesI read your variousarticlesonThe White Lotus with interest; I had never heard of the show until we visited...
View Article10 of the best railway journeys in Italy
On train rides from Venice to Sicily, best book a window seat on these spectacular Italian tripsOne of Italy’s loveliest rail routes is the coast-hugging track along the Cinque Terre in Liguria. Called...
View ArticleA local’s guide to Parma, Italy: food markets, vineyards and backstreet bars
Food and wine critic Andrea Grignaffini reveals his favourite haunts in his home city – a gourmand’s delight with wine bars galoreFood in Parma is all about our unique products – parmesan cheese, Parma...
View ArticleLet’s go bogganeering! How I invented a winter sport on my trip to South...
A snowy cross-country walking break is even more beautiful – and fun – when you combine the hiking with tobogganingI have invented a new sport, one that will almost certainly catch on and become a...
View Article10 of the best pizzerias in Naples
The city’s top pizza makers put their name, heart and, most importantly, their hands into what they make, says guidebook author Domenico MazzellaFor the past three years, the best pizza in the world...
View ArticleRail route of the month: through the Alps to the Adriatic – Vienna to Trieste
Our slow travel expert finds the perfect excursion for winter days when daylight hours are short, leaving the Austrian capital just after dawn and reaching the Adriatic port at duskVienna is Europe’s...
View Article‘We’re like an island’: inside Florence’s secret neighbourhood
Only minutes from the centre of one of Italy’s most visited cities, the Sant’Ambrogio district has managed to stay under the tourist radar. Locals in market square tell us what makes it so specialThe...
View ArticleCould two busy homeworkers swap an empty nest for a room in Venice?
We decided to ‘work from home’ in a tiny studio apartment in the heart of the beautiful Italian city. Would we live to tell the tale?One evening, three days after we moved into a studio apartment in...
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