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Travel stories & guides

Facts, history and inspiration for your next trip.

Europe's best Christmas markets: where to find the magic

Wooden chalets, the smell of mulled wine and cinnamon, a giant tree glowing over a medieval square. Here are the most beautiful Christmas markets in Europe — from Nuremberg and Strasbourg to Vienna and Prague — what makes each one special, what to eat and drink, and how to plan the trip.

Why there is a black rooster on Chianti bottles — and where to taste the wine

A starving rooster, a midnight horse race and a border that decided the shape of Chianti. Here is the legend behind the Gallo Nero seal, what Chianti actually tastes like, and the most beautiful wineries between Florence and Siena where you can pour a glass yourself.

20 fascinating facts about Malta

Temples older than the pyramids, a capital built by knights, a Caravaggio masterpiece, the most bombed place of WWII, and a starring role in Hollywood — Malta packs more into 316 km² than countries ten times its size.

Italy's northern lakes: Garda and Como — facts, history and film locations

One is Italy's largest lake, breezy and full of castles; the other is a deep glacial fjord ringed with grand villas and movie sets. A guide to Lake Garda and Lake Como — the poets, the battery that changed the world, the longevity gene, and the films shot on their shores.

Dubrovnik: the Pearl of the Adriatic — history, city walls and Game of Thrones

A tiny republic that bought its freedom, abolished slavery in 1416, and invented one of Europe's first quarantines — then became King's Landing on screen. Meet Dubrovnik, the walled city on the Croatian coast.

Santorini: the volcano that may have sunk Atlantis

The blue lagoon you sail across is a flooded volcanic crater. Beneath the ash lies a Bronze Age town, and in the legend, perhaps Atlantis itself. Fascinating facts about Greece's most photographed island.

Seville: flamenco, orange trees and a galaxy far, far away

A cathedral built to look 'mad', a royal palace that became Dorne, and a plaza that stood in for Naboo — Seville is one of Europe's most cinematic cities. Facts, history and film locations from Andalusia's capital.

Italy's Motor Valley: the Ferrari museums, Imola and the Temple of Speed at Monza

The prancing horse, the trident and the raging bull are all born within a few kilometres of each other in Emilia-Romagna. A petrolhead's guide to the Ferrari museums, the beauty and heartbreak of Imola, and Monza — the fastest, oldest track in Formula 1.

The corrida in Seville: La Maestranza and a tradition in the balance

Seville's Real Maestranza is one of the oldest and most revered bullrings in Spain — a working monument to a ritual that inspired Goya, Picasso and Hemingway, and that today divides the country like nothing else. A traveller's guide to understanding the corrida.

Jesolo Air Show: the Frecce Tricolori paint the sky over the Adriatic

Once a year a long golden beach near Venice becomes the grandstand for one of Europe's great aerial spectacles — the Frecce Tricolori, the world's largest aerobatic team, trailing green, white and red across the sea. A guide to the Jesolo Air Show.

Paris in surprising facts: the Eiffel Tower's secrets, the Catacombs and Montmartre

A tower that was meant to be torn down, a museum that was once a fortress, six million skeletons under the streets and a lipstick-covered grave — the City of Light is stranger than the postcards let on.

Amsterdam: a city on 11 million poles — canals, bikes and quirky facts

Built on a swamp, held up by wooden stilts, threaded with more bridges than Venice and ridden by more bikes than people — Amsterdam is one of Europe's most characterful capitals. Here's what makes it tick.

Norwegian fjords from Bergen: the gateway to Sognefjord, Nærøyfjord and beyond

Sea inlets a thousand metres deep, carved by Ice-Age glaciers and reached from one colourful Hanseatic city. Bergen is the classic launch point for Norway's fjords — here's how to see the best of them.

Driving in Croatia: tolls, the ENC tag and what a road trip really costs

No time-based vignette here — Croatia charges its motorways by the kilometre. Here's how the tolls work, why the Pelješac Bridge changed the drive to Dubrovnik, and what to budget for a coastal road trip.

How to plan a Croatia road trip: the perfect Adriatic route

Waterfalls, Roman palaces, a thousand islands and one very scenic motorway. Here's a week-long north-to-south route down the Croatian coast — and how to lay it out, day by day, in a few minutes.

Vlora and Albania's resort coast: the Riviera, Saranda, Ksamil and more

Where the Adriatic meets the Ionian — a guide to Vlora and the best beach towns along Albania's fast-rising coast.

Bavaria: fairytale castles, Alpine lakes and Munich's beer gardens

Neuschwanstein, the Zugspitze, Königssee and Munich — a guide to the highlights of Germany's storied south.

Top tourist attractions in Italy: Rome, Florence, Venice and beyond

From the Colosseum to the canals of Venice — a tour of Italy's most unmissable sights, region by region.

Do you need a visa to travel to Europe? Schengen, ETIAS and the 90/180 rule

Who needs a Schengen visa, who travels visa-free, what ETIAS and EES mean, and how the 90/180-day rule works.