Long Weekend: Keeping up with the super-fit locals while cycling around Malmo’s Western Harbour January 20, 2017 Getting there: The journey into Malmö itself is one of the most fascinating things about this Swedish city. First you must fly into entirely the wrong country, landing in Copenhagen, before boarding a speedy train that whizzes you out of Denmark and over the border in about 20 minutes. On the way you’ll travel along [...]
Cycling firm Velusso offers premium biking trips in the Balearics. We geared up to take them for a spin January 20, 2017 Cycling holiday firm Velusso has grand designs on satisfying the needs of City cycling enthusiasts. Its aim: to combine a luxurious break with a darn good workout while providing snippets of what it’s like to be a member of the Olympic cycling team. The post-London Olympic cycling boom led to increasing numbers of cycling holiday [...]
From Michelin-starred restaurants to an exciting calendar of events, Macao has it all January 18, 2017 Travelling on business or for pleasure, Macao makes a perfect addition to a trip to Asia. Just 40 miles from Hong Kong, Macao’s potent mixture of Portuguese and Chinese heritage, refined over more than 500 years – it’s been a Special Administrative region of China since 1999 – makes for an exceptional getaway, where the [...]
How to dance with the devils in Peru at the carnival that will score you more kudos than Rio January 18, 2017 Everybody has heard of Rio’s Carnaval; score extra points at your next dinner party by shaking your thing at Peru’s Virgin of Candelaria festival. Taking place in the mountainous city of Puno – 12,770ft above sea level – in the two weeks beginning 31 January, this Catholic celebration involves lots of traditional Peruvian masks, huge [...]
The best new hotel suites in Europe, from the reopened Ritz, Paris, to the spectacular Westin in Hamburg January 18, 2017 There are certain things one can expect from hotels at the top end of the market: flawless, personalised service; rooms with minibars, rainshowers and designer bath products; a supremely comfortable bed; free wifi and fine-dining. Most of us will have a favourite hotel in the cities we frequent – perhaps it’s The Connaught in London, [...]
Hidden on Sri Lanka’s south coast is architect Geoffrey Bawa’s ultimate project, now a boutique hotel called The Last House January 17, 2017 Geoffrey Bawa is Sri Lanka’s most renowned architect, the creative force behind what’s known as “tropical modernism” and among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. But while his works include such notable sites as the Sri Lankan Parliament Building, his style is best appreciated in the subtle details of his smaller, more rural [...]
If you dream of hurtling down deserted mountains, slaloming trees and ducking overhanging branches, the Canadian Rockies may be for you January 17, 2017 Sunshine Village sounds like a misnomer for a ski resort deep in the Canadian Rockies. A Caribbean beach complex, maybe, but a ski arena that straddles the Continental divide of the Americas? But when you’re at the peak of Mount Standish, an impossibly blue sky hanging over a seemingly endless white expanse, it starts to [...]
FiSahara takes place under the baking heat of the African sun. Alex Dudok de Wit finds an event unlike any other January 16, 2017 There’s a territory sandwiched between Morocco and Mauritania, divided from the former in atlases by a dotted line, that carries the opaque name of Western Sahara. You might occasionally spot footage of it on the news, grainy shots of a sand wall lined with landmines and Moroccan soldiers, although most will struggle to place it [...]
My Holiday: An amazing trip from Mumbai to Delhi on the Maharajas’ Express January 16, 2017 My most memorable holiday was taking the Maharajas’ Express from Mumbai to Delhi back in 2010. I was born in India but on the other side of the country in a coal mining town called Asansol, about 200km west of Kolkata. I hadn’t really seen the western part of the country, certainly as a tourist, [...]
How to get into the world’s top airport lounges, from Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong to Qatar Airways’s Al Safwa lounge in Doha January 16, 2017 When flying long-haul, I tend to get to the airport early. Not because I’m one of those anxious flyers who likes to sit around in departures for three hours staring at the flight status screens, but because some airlines have upped their lounge game to such a point that it’s essential to allow enough time [...]