Amsterdam is easy to visit and easy to get wrong. The centre looks compact, but the busiest areas can feel crowded fast. The museums need booking, cycling rules matter, and where you stay can...

Most visitors see Amsterdam and stop there, but the country is small and flat, the trains are fast and frequent, and you can be in a different city in half an hour, so a...

Verona is one of the easiest Italian cities to enjoy in a short trip. The centre is compact, the food is good, the river views are strong, and the main sights sit close enough...

Milan is often treated as a short stop before Venice, Florence, Rome or Lake Como. That can work, but it undersells the city. Milan has the Duomo, Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, strong museums,...

We use Cernobbio as our base on Lake Como, close to Como city but quieter and a lot grander. Cernobbio Lake Como is a small lakeside town about 10 minutes north-west of Como, best...

Lake Como is not one destination in the way many people imagine. It is a long, narrow lake with different shores, different towns and very different travel experiences depending on where you sleep. Stay...

Genoa is not a polished Italian showpiece. That is why it is interesting. It has grand palaces, steep lanes, working port views, old churches, seafood, pesto, narrow caruggi, hill lifts, gritty corners and some...

Italy looks simple on a map, but planning a good trip takes a few clear choices. Do you want Rome and Florence, the Amalfi Coast, Venice, Lake Como, Sicily, Puglia, the Dolomites or a...

Twenty restaurants in Rome hold a Michelin star in the 2026 guide, one with three stars, three with two and sixteen with one. That is a serious haul for a city better known for...

Perpignan is not the first French city most people think of, and that is part of why it works. It sits close to the Spanish border, between the Pyrenees and the Mediterranean, with a...