1. Start your trip to Dublin by getting your hands on a Dublin Bus pass. Not only will it let you access hop-on/hop-off tour buses so you can travel easily around the city and see the sights, it will also give you free or reduced entry into over 30 top Dublin attractions, as well as special offers and discounts at restaurants, bars and gift shops. If you buy it online and get it before you go (by post or on your mobile phone) you can also use it to travel for free on the bus from the airport to the city centre. The pass comes with a mini guidebook packed full of information and there’s also an app where you can access more. It’s available for 1, 2, 3 or 5 consecutive days and prices start from €59 for an adult ticket, €29 for a child.

(And of course, this being Dublin, not only do you get a full tour of the city on the big red buses that run every 15 minutes all day, from 9am to 6pm and then on the half hour until 7pm, you also get the bus driver banter. The stories, the insider info – such as the best place to find a pint of Guinness – and the passenger chats. If you want to be really ‘looked after’ in Dublin, take the tour!)

2. Ireland’s National Museum is a great place to start your Irish visit, exploring the history of this ancient land from prehistoric times through early Celtic, Viking and medieval periods. Current exhibitions include preserved bog bodies from the Iron Age, as well as insights into some of the world’s oldest passage grave monuments at the ancient Irish seat of kings, the Hill of Tara. The museum is located in Kildare street and close to the National Library, National Gallery, Government Buildings and St Stephen’s Green, right in the heart of the city. Free

3. Directly opposite is the National Library, where – among other things – you can explore your Irish ancestry. WB Yeats lovers will be delighted to find an ongoing exhibition devoted to the great writer’s life and works. (Being one, I certainly was). Free

4. Completing the triad of historical art and culture, and located nearby, is Ireland’s National Gallery, showcasing a collection of European paintings with a strong emphasis on Irish artists including Jack B Yeats, Paul Henry, Sir John Lavery and Walter Osbourne. You’ll also find one of the most recent Caravaggio’s to be discovered, The Taking of Christ, found lurking in the dining room of the Dublin Jesuits’ order home in 1990, and on loan to the gallery since. Coming up in July and running until the end of the year is an exhibition devoted to the, often previously hidden, works of Irish women artists. Free

5. Even more so than its artists, Ireland is particularly well known for its writers and, as the Dublin Writers’ Museum on the north-side of the city explains, “though geographically outside the spread of Western culture, Ireland has an undue proportion of the world’s greatest writers”. And this small but perfectly formed museum showcases all of the greats, including Ireland’s four Nobel Literature Prize winners, WB Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Samuel Beckett and Seamus Heaney. Here you’ll also find James Joyce, Bram Stoker – the author of Dracula – Brendan Behan and Oscar Wilde. It’s also a great chance to see inside a Dublin Georgian mansion, with its grand sweeping staircase, ornate ceilings and painted wall decorations. Admission €7

6. Close to the Writers’ Museum is the James Joyce Centre, a museum dedicated to one of Ireland’s great writers, the infamous, formerly-banned, terribly complex James Joyce, author of what is widely believed to be the 20th century’s greatest – and most impenetrable – works of fiction, Ulysses. Housed in yet another grand though faded Georgian mansion at 35 North Great George’s St, this former townhouse of the Earl of Kenmare was turned into a dancing academy by Prof Denis Maginni, who features several times in Ulysses, a very colourful character by all accounts.

The house owes its continued existence to Joycean scholar Senator David Norris, a neighbour on the street who saved it from demolition in the 1980s. And one of the key dates on its calendar of events is Bloomsday – that famous date in literary history, June 16 1904 – the day depicted in Ulysess when the hero Leopold Bloom takes his stroll around the city of Dublin, from 8am through to the early hours of the next day. Celebrations include dressing up in the fashion of the period and visiting all of Bloom’s stops on his journey, as well as readings, performances and the legendary Bloomsday Breakfast, including liver and kidneys alongside the traditional fry. Admission €5

7. Staying with legendary writers, in an exhibition – and cultural space – new to the city of Dubin, the Seamus Heaney Listen Now Again showcase draws on the National Library’s extensive archive of Heaney documents and features the poet’s original manuscripts, letters, unpublished works, diary entries, photographs, note books and multi-media recordings. This will be the first exhibition to be housed in the new Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre in central Dublin.

8. Another writer who features heavily in Dublin’s history, though he wasn’t always delighted to be a part of it, is Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels and Dean of St Patrick’s Cathedral, the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. It is believed to be built on the site of a former church established by St Patrick himself, the much-loved patron saint of Ireland. Today’s beautiful building was re-established by a grandson of Arthur Guinness, Benjamin Lee Guinness. Admission €7

9. Which brings us neatly to one of Dublin’s most famous attractions, the Guinness Storehouse, where, it is said, you will be served the finest glass of the black stuff in the world. Arthur established his brewing premises in 1759 at the St James’s Gate Brewery, signing a 9,000-year lease at £45 per year, making it one of the best-value investment in Dublin’s history. The brewery produces 3 million pints of Guinness every day and also offers 360° views of the city. Our tour bus driver treated us to a rendition of ‘You’re drunk, you’re drunk you silly old fool’ as we drove past. Advance admission from €19.50

10. Also in this area, which was heavily colonised by the Vikings and Normans in medieval times, is Christchurch Cathedral, once a major pilgrimage site which housed relics including a miraculous speaking cross and a piece of the Baby Jesus’ crib. Founded almost 1000 years ago, the building was in ruins by the 17th century when it was rescued and revived by another purveyor of alcoholic beverages – Henry Roe, whiskey distiller. A mummified cat and rat in the crypt are referenced in James Joyce’s other famous – and even more complex – work, Finnegans Wake. Admission €7

11. Henry Roe’s distillery closed down in the 1926, despite producing 2 million gallons of whiskey a year in its heyday, probably the highest output of any distillery in the world at the time, and twice as much as the Jameson Distillery was producing. Jameson’s is still going however and you can visit its Bow St premises in Dublin’s Smithfield where you will be given three shots of whiskey to try – American, Scotch and Irish. No prizes for guessing which you are supposed to favour. Admission from €17

12. Catch traditional Irish music seven days a week at a local Smithfield pub. The Cobblestone in North King St is legendary but there are plenty to choose from, all located easy wandering distance from each other so take it handy and have the craic. (The craic for the uninitiated is a particular blend of fun, enjoyment, conversation and entertainment much loved by the Irish on a night out). Free

13. History buffs will find much to engage them at Kilmainham Jail, scene of imprisonments and executions during the famous Irish rebellions of 1798, 1803, 1848,1867 and 1916, as well as the holding pen for convicts on route to Australia. Closed as a prison in 1924, it’s now a museum offering guided tours through the evocative building and several generations of Irish history. Nearby, the War Memorial Gardens commemorate the 50,000 Irish men who died in the First World War. 120,000 fought for the British Army, while back in Dublin, their countrymen were fighting against the British for control of their own country. The modern monument opposite the gardens, 15 blindfolded statues, represents the 15 leaders of the Easter Rising shot by British in May 1916. All were shot standing except one, James Connolly, who was too injured to stand and was strapped to a chair for his execution. Advance admission from €8

14. For a very contemporary take on Irish history, The Vaults is a new 60-minute actor-led journey through 800 years of Ireland’s past, blending live performance with special effects and lots of audience participation. It is opening soon in the newly-renovated old Augustinian St John’s National School, just off Thomas Street.

15. Shop for Irish gifts and souvenirs in the city centre; fashionable Grafton St on the south side, with the nearby Kilkenny Shop, Powerscourt Centre and Avoca perfect spots to browse the best of Irish design, crafts and gourmet food. Over on the north side, Henry St has lots of traditional high street boutiques and shopping centres, as well as the famous Moore St market.

16. Take coffee and cake in Bewley’s Café on Grafton Street, one of Dublin’s most iconic and celebrated landmarks, which has recently undergone a multi-million- euro refurbishment. Check out Bewley’s Café Gourmand, the Coffee Opera Cake and, an original favourite, the Bewley’s Mary Cake.

17. Stay at the Fitzwilliam Hotel, overlooking St Stephen’s Green in the heart of the city, which is a peaceful place for a relaxing early morning stroll. With top floor balconies overlooking the beautiful gardens, contemporary interiors that still have space for a cosy fire in the foyer and a very stylish afternoon tea option in the fashionable Inn on the Green bar, it’s a great city centre location to base yourself for your trip. Rooms from €289, afternoon tea from €39

18. If you want to splash out on some old-world glamour, head across the Green to the Shelbourne Hotel, where the guest register includes names like Greta Garbo, Laurel and Hardy, Rock Hudson, Princess Grace of Monaco and the Kennedy’s. The hotel’s 265 rooms have undergone a complete refurbishment in the last 18 months and its spa’s ‘drawing room’ relaxation area is one of the most sumptuous you will ever see. Or you could just pop in for a drink to the famous horse-shoe bar, where media stars and local characters rub shoulders. Traditional afternoon tea in the Lord Mayor’s room overlooking the Green €49; rooms from €300, suites from €1800

19. Dublin has another connection with legendary film stars – did you know that the famous MGM lion who roars at the start of each film is from Dublin Zoo? The Zoo is located in the Phoenix Park, the biggest enclosed public park in any capital city in Europe, just a mile and a half from the city centre. It’s a pleasant stroll out there along the River Liffey, which flows through the centre of the city and divides Dublin into north and south sides. Or, if you take the Dublin tour bus, the Zoo is one of the scheduled stops. Admission €17.50

20. And, staying with film stars and cinema, check out the beautifully restored Stella Theatre, an iconic cinema in buzzy Rathmines, a throwback to the glamour and glitz of the 1920’s and just short distance from the centre.

21. For more traditional theatrics, there’s the world-famous Abbey, Gate and Gaiety Theatres with programmes of Irish and international new works and classics. And this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival runs from the end of September to mid-October.

22. Private art donations provide some of the most inspiring collections in the city, including the Hugh Lane Gallery, an impressive array of modern works in the beautiful north-side gallery with its imposing architecture. Here you can also visit the studio of Francis Bacon, painstakingly re-created exactly as the artist left it on his death, namely, in complete chaos. Bacon claimed the mess was like his mind: ‘My life is like that, I needed to create in chaos – chaos suggests images to me’. Free

23. The other private collection bequeathed to the State is the Chester Beatty Library, located in Dublin Castle and a short distance walk from Trinity College and Grafton St. (If you’re in Trinity College, don’t forget to see the Book of Kells, the illuminated gospels dating from around 800). Described by the Lonely Planet as not just the best museum in Dublin, but one of the best in Europe, with exotic artefacts from across Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and Europe. At any one time only one percent of the collection is on display so even with regular changes, it is would not be possible to see all of the collection in a lifetime; quite amazing to think of breath and scope of it. Free

24. Dublin Castle, for many years the base of British rule in Ireland, is itself open to visitors and its current exhibitions include Coming Home: Art and the Great Hunger. This shows 50 acclaimed artworks from the world’s largest collection of famine-related art at Ireland’s Great Hunger Museum in the US, the first time they have been seen in Ireland. Admission from €6.50

25. For the latest finds on the food scene, try Berlin-d2, newly re-opened in Dame Lane, Boeuf in South William Street and Opium in Wexford St.

26. Those of a sporty nature will love the newly re-opened 132-year-old Clontarf Seawater Baths, with an open seawater swimming pool, bar and restaurants, all with panoramic views of Dublin Bay. Clontarf is a coastal suburb, not far from the city centre, most famous for the 1014 Battle of Clontarf where Brian Boru, the High King of Ireland, defeated the Vikings and ended the long-running Viking wars.

27. More for adrenaline junkies: there’s wakeboarding at Dublin docklands, from €25; white water rafting on the River Liffey, from €59; zip-lining at Tibradden, close to the city, from €15 and mountain bike trails at Ticknock, from €35. Meanwhile armchair enthusiasts can catch the GAA football and hurling season throughout the summer, with matches played most weekends.

28. Enjoy green living within the city. The National Botanic Gardens of Ireland are located just 3km from the city centre in Glasnevin. The garden is free to visit or you can take a guided tour for a small fee, enjoying the wonderful plants in gardens and glasshouses, including 300 endangered species and six that are already extinct. Afterwards pay a trip to the nearby Glasnevin Cemetery, which dates from the 19th century and is the final resting places of Irish notables including Daniel O’Connell, Charles Stewart Parnell, Eamon de Valera, Maude Gonne, Constance Markievicz, Kevin Barry and Brendan Behan. One of the most visited graves in the cemetery is that of Michael Collins, the nationalist leader who signed the Anglo-Irish treaty with the British government to create the Irish Free State and was later assassinated for his ‘betrayal’ in the Irish Civil War.

29. Get some sea air. Dublin’s coastal location makes it a great city break with a seaside option, and buses and the local DART train service run regularly to a wide range of beaches and clifftop walks. Check out Howth Head, Skerries, Dun Laoghaire Harbour, Sandymouth Strand or Killiney Beach for starters.

For more information on visiting Dublin and Ireland, go to www.VisitDublin.com and  www.Ireland.com. Aer Lingus operates daily flights from London Gatwick and Heathrow to Dublin with fares from £32.99 one-way including taxes and charges. For more information or to book visit aerlingus.com

I’m watching the photos emerging from several days of protest in Beirut with some dismay. Just last week I walked around the streets of the city and stood in the square close to the mosque and Christian church where fires now blaze.
This weekend also, the President of Ireland was evacuated from the hotel I stayed in, the glamorous Phoenicia overlooking the waterfront. Hardly surprising. In a city as small as Beirut, a fire anywhere is not going to be too far away from the hotel – not close enough to put him in any danger but close enough to make minders uneasy.
Last Sunday I stood looking into the parliament square where a protest was underway, a peaceful protest where hundreds of people stood with placards, calling for fairness in their government. It was made up of all ages, the young and the old, people, it seemed to me, from all walks of life.
It was just like the protest I took part in on Saturday in London, where hundreds of thousands of us, young and old, from all walks of life, marched with placards and called for fairness in our own government.

But the Beirut protests erupted in flames after the government introduced even more crippling taxes for its already financially stretched population – and flames make headlines. Beirut is only putting itself back together after the nightmare of its 15-year civil war, from 1975 to 1990, when the very name of the city became a catch word for destruction and mayhem and violence. It began as a religious war as East fought against West and Israeli and Syrian forces entered the country, but alliances shifted rapidly and unpredictably. 120,000 people were killed during the fighting, one million left, 76,000 still remain displaced within the country.
Going there last weekend, I hadn’t expected to find a city that was so beautiful, so calm and so welcoming. There are still streets of war-torn houses and bullet-marked walls but there are many more streets of preserved 18th and 19th century buildings and attractive Art Deco and 1930s architecture.

Entire areas of the city have been completely rebuilt, using a modern take on classical design, here you’ll find the designer shops, the posh restaurants, the stylish cafes and bars. In more run-down streets are the businesses that survived the war, the oldest Armenian bakery in the city, the traditional spice shops and coffee houses.
Around another corner there are contemporary glass buildings with their penthouse apartments – some built over the city’s ancient Roman ruins, preserved in the glass enclosed foundations. These sit alongside streets of 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60s architecture, Brutalist blocks of concrete, the ancient sitting beside the new.
The old sits beside the new in the culture and lifestyle as well, here you will see Muslim women in traditional dress as well as in Western clothes. On a day trip from Beirut to the coastal city of Tyre, I watched a group of Lebanese teenagers party on the beach, a few swimming in the sea, where a girl in full hijab floated alongside her friend in a swimsuit.

There are businesses with a conscience here in Beirut, proving that progress is not all about blind capitalism. Sarah’s Bag and Bajoka both work with underprivileged communities to produce their products – Sarah’s Bag employing female prisoners to make designer handbags for which they are paid a wage, Bajoka keeping the skills of the refugee community alive in their high-end homewares.
With all that was destroyed in the Lebanese war, it’s amazing so much remains. There are growing numbers of tourists and facilities for them – as well as the luxury hotels like the Phoenicia, lower cost guesthouses are opening up as well as hostels.
Today, the UK government confirm that protests have been generally peaceful, but there has been sporadic violence, including clashes between protestors and security forces, vandalism and looting. Banks remain closed, and there are reports of some ATMs being low on cash.

Beirut was described as the ‘Paris of the Middle East’ in its 1960s heyday and the Phoenicia was the jewel in its crown with its majestic entrance staircase, marble lounges and chandeliers.

It’s clear those days can come back if the unrest settles, if the problems of high prices and the country’s political elite, perceived as out of touch and insensitive to the problem of its citizens, are resolved. National debt is high – more than 150% of the country’s GDP. The militia leaders of the war, who came to political power afterwards in a system based on power sharing between religious groups, have been criticised for plundering the state to hand out privileges, jobs and lucrative contacts to supporters. The country’s premier, Saad al-Hariri, gave his partners in government an ultimatum to agree a package of reform to ward off economic collapse.
There’s something of an irony in all of this. Divided in war time into religious factions, last week’s protests united the people of Lebanon as Christians, Sunni and Shia Muslims gathered together to call for the corrupt political elite to stand down.
Unity and inclusive leadership are what the country needs. I hope it achieves its aims and continues to welcome travellers to experience its wonderful charms.

From ice skating, light trails and spending the night in the home of the Christmas card, see our round-up for festive inspiration in 2018

Go ice skating

Some of the London ice rinks are open already – you can get your skates on at the National History Museum, on its wonderful rink in front of the historical building, surround by light-bedecked trees. There’s a café bar overlooking the rink if you’re not a skater – treat yourself to a hot chocolate and mulled wine.
Until 6 January, tickets from £12 adults, £8.80 children, £39.60 families; Nhm.ac.uk
Once the outdoor fun is over, pop inside to check out the stunning images in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition (tickets £15/£9)

One of the most beautiful rinks in London, Skate at Somerset House (pictured above) takes place in the iconic building’s courtyard, under a 40ft Christmas tree. Hosted in association with Fortnum & Mason, after the skating visit alpine inspired restaurant Fortnum’s Lodge or shop at Fortnum’s Christmas Arcade.
There’s a skate school where you can learn to skate or brush up your skills; alternatively book a Skate Mate to provide assistance for novice skaters – available for 3 to 15 people, (cost £35 in addition to the price of your skating ticket). Special Skate Lates will feature leading DJs and artists on rink-side decks.
The rink is also open to wheelchair users and there are special dedicated wheelchair sessions.
From November 14 to January 13; £11 adults, £8.50 children; Somersethouse.org.uk

The ice rink at the Tower of London gives visitors a chance to skate in the moat surrounding one of London’s most famous landmarks, with stunning views of the Tower and the river Thames.
From November 23 to January 6; £14.50; Toweroflondonicerink.co.uk

Visit Hyde Park’s Winter Wonderland for a chance to skate on the biggest outdoor rink in the UK, surrounding the park’s Victorian bandstand, and illuminated with over 100,000 lights. Afterwards, check out the park’s Christmas markets, Magical Ice Kingdom, Enchanted Forest, Santa Land and fairground rides.Read more about the Winter Wonderland Christmas market here.
From November 22 to January 6; £9.50 adults, £7.50 children, £30 family: Hydeparkwinterwonderland.com

Skate around Henry VIII’s sixteenth-century pad at the Hampton Court Palace ice rink, a very picturesque backdrop, especially when lit up after dark.
From November 23 to Jan 6, £14.50; Hamptoncourtpalaceicerink.co.uk

Christmas days and nights out

London Zoo is celebrating Christmas with a fabulous magical light trail and is also giving visitors a chance to upgrade to a VIP sleepover experience and spend the night in the zoo as well! From 4.45pm, the zoo will be transformed into a magical wonderland of twinkling decorations, illuminated animal sculptures, singing trees, light tunnels, festive food treats and surprises. Meanwhile, overnight guests will be staying in one of the zoo’s cosy lodges – nestled in the heart of the Land of the Lions! Are you brave enough…
Select dates from 22 November to 1 January; £16.50 adults, £10.50 children, £52 family, under-3’s and carers free
Overnight stay includes lodge accommodation, tour of Land of the Lions guided by ZSL’s experienced hosts, access to Christmas light trail, 2-course buffet dinner, behind-the-scenes tour, early morning zoo tours, full English breakfast, 2-day access to the zoo and exclusive discounts; from £378
Zsl.org

Winter at Southbank Centre is a packed programme of festive fun and entertainment. It includes two new family shows: Circus 1903 (from the award-winning War Horse puppeteers), running from 19 December to 5 January at the Royal Festival Hall, and Rumpelstiltskin at the Queen Elizabeth Hall from 13 December to 6 January.
The roofs of the Hayward Gallery, Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall will be illuminated by David Batchelor’s Sixty Minute Spectrum project, featuring a variety of coloured flashing lights in every colour of the rainbow.
Handel’s Messiah will be performed by Philharmonia Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall on 16 December, with an afternoon of timeless classics earlier that day in the Hall, with Christmas at the Movies.
Free events include a traditional festive Caribbean music concert, Argentinian tango performances and lessons, Strictly Winter Ballroom and swing classes, and 30-minute performances by a variety of choirs in the foyer of the Queen Elizabeth Hall from December 11 to 23.
And if all of that wasn’t enough, the traditional Southbank winter market will be taking place outside, with a range of alpine lodge stalls, pop-up bars and festive food and drink. Read more about London’s Christmas markets here.
From 9 November to 6 January (Christmas market until 27 December); Southbankcentre.co.uk

In Greenwich, the Royal Observatory’s festive programme includes Christmas Stars, an investigation of what the night sky has to offer in December as we head toward Christmas in this festive-themed show. Presented live by a Royal Observatory astronomer, the show will look at the moon, constellations and planets.
Runs throughout December; £8 adults, £5.35 children; Rmg.co.uk

A Christmas concert under the hull of Greenwich’s Cutty Sark features Merry Opera performing Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, Gilbert and Sullivan, as well as sea shanties and a reading of Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem, Christmas at Sea, which is 150 years old this year.
16 December; £25, includes a mulled cider and mince pie slice; Rmg.co.uk

Take a tour of the Queen’s House in Greenwich to discover the fascinating royal history and iconic architecture of this ‘house of delight.
Throughout December 2018 and January 2019; £10 adults
On 6 December Christmas in the Queen’s House offers candlelit tours of the house, carol singers, a lecture on pageantry, wreath workshop, mulled wine and mince pies (£8). Rmg.co.uk

Festive Family Fun at London Transport Museum features a magical forest, with twinkling lights and trees, Santa’s Secret Christmas Cabin, storytelling sessions, craft workshops and a musical Christmas vintage bus tour around the lights and sights of London.
From 1 December to 6 January; £16 adults, free for children; Ltmuseum.co.uk

Escape the capital
Spend the night in the home of the creator of the first Christmas card, Sir John Calcott Horsley, who established Orestone Manor in south Devon. The 19th century Georgian Manor is now a family-run, luxurious country house hotel, set in landscaped gardens overlooking Lyme bay. It’s run by husband and wife chefs, Neil and Catherine D’Allen, who have scooped double AA Rosettes for their restaurant and double gold-wins in the Taste of the West hotel and restaurant awards.

Pictured above, the very first Christmas card was commissioned by Sir Henry Cole and drawn by John Horsley at Orestone in 1843. 1,000 cards were printed and sold, but today just under 20 are in existence – you can see one at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. But you can send your own ‘original’ card (in reproduction) from Orestone in the run up to Christmas this year, with special packages available for stays at the Manor until 23 December.
Orestone Manor was also the scene of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s National Portrait Gallery painting, created by Sir Horsley (his brother-in-law) on the Manor’s lawn.
Overnight stays from £110; Orestonemanor.com

More festive frolics

Our favourite Christmas markets in the UK and Europe for 2018

Visit a cathedral: see our top picks in London and South East England

Twinkling lights, carol singers, mulled wine – and lots of beautiful Christmas goodies. Christmas markets at home and abroad are about so much more than the shopping. Whether you’re keeping it local or treating yourself to trip abroad, we’ve got the low-down on the very best markets across the UK and Europe. And, once you’ve packed your bags with handmade decorations and festive foods, check out our list of top British shopping destinations to bag even more Christmas bargains.

Frankfurt
26 November to 22 December
The Frankfurt Christmas Market is one of the largest and oldest in Germany and has been running since the 14th century in the scenic surrounds of the Römerberg. Fill your bags with its traditional wooden toys, giant sugar-coated biscuits, German sausages and the miniature candy figures called Brenten, Bethmaennchen and Quetschemaennchen. And don’t forget to take time to admire the huge Christmas tree outside the town hall, one of the largest in the country.

Cologne
26 November to 23 December
Cologne has no less than seven Christmas markets – but not only that. One of its biggest takes place beside the city’s magnificent cathedral, where the bodies of the three wise men are said to be buried, pictured above. You’ll find arts and crafts and lots of delicious food across the city and, down in front of the medieval gate, a whole village dedicated to St Nicholas. There’s a maritime themed Harbour market, a romantic Christmas village, an LGBT celebration market and, at the oldest market of all in Neumarkt, a flock of wandering angels.

Nuremberg
30 November to 24 December
Christkindlemarkt in this medieval Bavarian city has a long tradition, running in the central square since the 17th century. No mass-produced tat here, only fine handicrafts and designs. Pick up a traditional ‘prune man’ to take home – but don’t eat him, he is purely for decoration and believed to bring good fortune to the home that displays him. There’s a ‘Kinderweihnacht’ children’s market with merry-go-round and steam railway and the ‘Christkind’, the young child that takes the place of Santa to bestow gifts in this region.

Salzburg
22 November to 26 December
One of the oldest Christmas markets in the world, the Salzburg Christkindlmarkt is held in the heart of Salzburg’s World Heritage-listed Old City, with its backdrop of snow-covered mountains. After you’ve shopped for traditional Christmas decorations and gifts, check out the carol concerts, readings and parades taking place around the squares. Sample a spicy Bosna sandwich and wash down with some gluhwein – pay a few euros extra to keep the mug it is served in for a festive memento of your visit.

Paris
November to January
Enjoy three Christmas markets in this atmospheric city this year. Over 70 chalets make up the Christmas Village in Les Halles, selling traditional gifts, decorations and food, as well as an Enchanted Forest and Santa’s House for the kids (27 November to 31 December). Over at Champ de Mars you’ll find festive stalls and a skating rink underneath the Eiffel Tower from December until January, while the traditional Christmas market at Notre Dame Cathedral runs from December 15 until Christmas Eve.

Lille
17 November to 27 December
An easy trip from London – just an hour and a half on Eurostar – Lille’s Christmas market is located in the centre of town, just 10 minutes’ walk from the station. There are 80 stalls on the Place Rihour and a huge Christmas tree and Ferris wheel on nearby Grand Place.

Dubrovnik
2 December to 6 January
Unlike the centuries-old festive celebrations in Germany and Austria, the Winter Festival in this atmospheric medieval walled city is just four years old, but none the less beautiful for it. The main street, Stradun, is transformed into a twinkling marketplace selling gifts and festive foods, there’s snow at the bell tower and regular carol concerts in front of the magnificent St Blaise’s Church.

Our favourite Christmas markets in the UK

London
November to January
From festive chalets at the Southbank to Winter Wonderland at Hyde and Christmas By the River close to Tower Bridge, the capital city will be fully festived up this Christmas. And if that wasn’t enough, Leicester Square is also joining the fun – decking itself out in full seasonal marketplace splendour from November 9 to January 5. See more magical things to do in London for Christmas.

Winter Wonderland Hyde Park
November 22 to January 6
The Hyde Park extravaganza returns for its 12^th year and its huge Christmas market features over 200 Bavarian style wooden chalets, packed with festive gifts, designer arts and crafts and traditional Christmas food and drink. Afterwards you could go skating on the UK’s biggest ice rink, visit the Magical Ice Kingdom, the Enchanted Forest and Santa Land, sample not one but two circuses or hang out in one of the themed bars, including a fabulously freezing Ice Bar.

Southbank Centre’s Winter Market
November 9 to December 27
With Alpine-style huts by the river, brightly lit up with fairy lights and showcasing the wares of 29 traders from around the world, the Southbank Winter Market is one of the most popular in the capital. This year it’s featuring two new pop-up bars, Bar Under the Bridge and The Circus Bar, offering tastebud-tingling cocktails and festive food in cosy hideaways by the river.

Christmas by the River
November 29 to January 2
With stunning views of the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and the iconic City of London skyline, this is one of most scenic Christmas market under the stars. Browse fabulously festive finds, as well as traditional food and drink and try one of the free workshops running in December.

Bath
22 November 22 to 9 December
A magical market in one of the UK’s most beautiful cities, it’s not hard to see why Bath remains one of the best loved Christmas destinations in the country. Over 200 twinkling chalets line the atmospheric Georgian streets around the picturesque Roman Baths and the Abbey. Snap up handmade and locally-produced buys, including festive food, gifts and decorations.

York
15 November to 23 December
Equally atmospheric, the medieval laneways and cobbled streets of York make a wonderful backdrop to the city’s annual Christmas market. You’ll find chalet market stalls at St Nicholas Fair and local food and drink finds at Yorkshire Barn.

Birmingham
15 November to 23 December
If you can’t make it to Frankfurt, head for Birmingham instead. The city’s Frankfurt Christmas Market is the UK’s largest German market, featuring over 200 stalls. It’s also the largest German market held outside Germany and Austria and attracts over 3 million visitors to the city every year. From German food and drink to traditional decorations and gifts in Victoria Square, local craftspeople and artists sell their festive wares in the Christmas Craft Fair next door.

Edinburgh
16 November to 5 January
The Scottish capital is sporting two festive markets this year, with the traditional East Princes Street Gardens market offering Christmas shopping in the heart of the city, as well as a big wheel and fairground rides. It runs until January 5. Meanwhile the George St Christmas market runs until Christmas Eve, with festive stalls, Santa’s grotto and ice skating.

Winchester
17 November to 20 December
One of the largest Christmas markets in the south of England, Winchester also enjoys one of the most spectacular backdrops, with its 100 wooden chalets ranged around its stunning medieval cathedral. As well as arts, crafts, decorations and food, visitors to the festive celebration can also enjoy an open-air ice rink in Cathedral Close.
Other cathedral city Christmas markets this year include Salisbury, from November 29 to December 23 in Guildhall Square, Canterbury market at Whitefriars Square and the wonderfully original Dickens Christmas Festival in Rochester on December 1 and 2, featuring festive street entertainment, famous literary characters and a 2-day Christmas market.

Leeds
9 November to 22 December
Promising a continental-style festive shopping experience and offering German festive delicacies, Millennium Square in Leeds will play host to over 40 traditional wooden chalets as it transforms into a winter village for Christmas this year. Other attractions include the popular Christmas carousel, the indoor Frankfurter Scheune meeting hall and Alp Chalet Bavarian eatery.

Cardiff
15 November to 23 December
Taking place across the pedestrianised shopping area in the city centre, the Cardiff Christmas market this year promises an eclectic mix of new stalls and old favourites offering original and handmade buys and festive food and drink.

Getting there: travel to Europe
Interrail One Country Passes let you start your journey from your local station and get in to the heart of the country you’re travelling to from just £47; visit MyInterrail.co.uk for more information.

Getting there: fly from UK
Flybmi is offering special deal ‘Christmas market flights’ from Bristol, East Midlands, Aberdeen and Newcastle to 10 European cities including Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Paris, with prices starting from £75 and including 23kg checked baggage (to bring all your goodies home!), complimentary in-flight drinks and snacks and allocated leather seating. For more information visit Flybmi

Getting there: travelling in the UK
Invest in a railcard to help you save one third off most rail fares and 60% off kids’ fares when using a Family & Friends railcard. Railcards can save you an average of £152 per year and cost just £30 – a cost which you can make back in just one trip! Visit Railcard.co.uk to find out more.

Christmas packages
For travel and accommodation in the UK and abroad, SuperBreak has a variety of packages to choose from for destinations including Edinburgh, York, Liverpool, Paris, Bruges and more, from £110 per person. Visit the website for more information.

Christmas shopping: bag a bargain

Where the savvy shoppers go for great Christmas bargains right across the UK

Bicester Village, Oxfordshire
Over 160 outlets offering savings up to 60% on standard retail prices, from brands including Prada, Gucci, Armani and Versace, Superdry, The White Company and the Cosmetics Company Store. Just one hour away from London with regular bus and train services.

Cheshire Oaks, Chester
Close to both Manchester and Liverpool, over 145 designer outlets include Burberry, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren, Cath Kidston, All Saints and Hobbs to name just a few, with play areas for kids, a leisure park and regular entertainment.

Birmingham
The Bullring is the city’s biggest shopping centre and there’s also the canalside Mailbox with its mix of designer shops, restaurants and bars.

Bluewater, Kent
The third largest shopping centre in the UK has over 330 stores and over 167,000 square metres of retail space centrally located close to London.

Looking for more festive fun? See our round-up of magical things to do in London for Christmas

More great shopping ideas

Boston: shop, eat, enjoy history

5 ways to ‘do’ Dublin (one of them is shopping)

History, shopping, award-winning doughnuts and the sea! Boston is a fantastic destination for a short trip or longer family holiday, being that most fantastic – and unusual – of urban spaces, a city with access to beaches where skyscrapers and scenic coasts merge. Extend your stay to include a few days in Cape Cod, an easy train journey from the city to sand dunes, the place Bostonians get their seaside kicks

Take the Freedom Trail
Acquaint yourself with the city’s fascinating history – this is the place where the American Revolution really began. You’ll meet some of the key names of that auspicious period in US history on the Freedom Trail, a walking tour of 15 historic city landmarks that you can follow by yourself or with a guide. ($14/$8). Learn about Paul Revere’s famous ride on that fateful night when the British troops were dispensed to stem the rebellion. Meet John Hancock, who gave his name to Boston’s highest building. Visit the grave of Samuel Adams, a signatory of the Declaration of Independence and one of Boston’s great revolutionaries.

We signed up for the guided tour and gathered on Boston Common outside the Information Centre to find our guide in full revolutionary-era costume – no joke in temperatures of over 30-degrees. He was playing the part of John Singleton Copley, whose father-in-law was the unfortunate owner of the tea which ended up in Boston harbour, during the infamous ‘tea party’ that was the instigator of the whole revolution. Copley escaped the revolutionary unrest by moving to the UK and wound up his days in Croydon, South London, where he is now buried. Less than two miles away from my own flat it turns out.

Visit the Boston Tea Party Museum
You can learn more about the events of that famous tea party in a re-enactment of the entire event at the Boston Tea Party Museum ($29.95/$18) – you even get to walk out on the re-created vessel itself, moored on the Charles river in its original position, where you can throw some tea overboard! Afterwards you can drink a selection of that fateful tea in the tea room and pick up a tea party souvenir mug.

Eat in America’s oldest restaurant

As well as visiting his grave, you can also drink Samuel Adams beer in every bar, including Boston’s oldest restaurant, Union Oyster House. In fact, not only is it the oldest restaurant in Boston, it’s also the oldest restaurant in continuous service in the USA – serving drinkers and diners since 1826. Located in a prime location near Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall, it’s a friendly buzzy place and very popular. You might have to wait for a while for a table or you could squeeze in to eat at the bar. Great for lobster rolls and crab cakes.

Go to the top of the city’s second-highest building
While you can admire the soaring glass frontage of the aforementioned 60-storey Hancock Tower, Boston and New England’s tallest building, its observation deck has been closed since the attack on the Twin Towers. Opt for the city’s second tallest tower instead, the 52-floor Prudential Building ($20/$14). Zipping quickly to the top in a high-speed lift, we enjoyed amazing views of a beautiful city sunset and also the history of its immigrants in an exhibition that tells us, here, all are welcome. It’s a poignant admission in the middle of very public rages about walls and Mexicans, Muslims and travel bans and reminder of the people throughout history who travelled from all over the world to make America great.

Visit the John F Kennedy Library
It’s hard to walk around Boston and not be reminded of its immigrants. We get a detailed look into the lives of one of them when we take the Paul Revere transportation company shuttle bus from the JFK/UMass T subway station to the JFK Library on the edge of the bay at Columbia Point ($14/$10). The story told here through live footage, newspaper clippings, and photographs of the political rise of the 35th President of the United States is both powerful and moving. And his story started back in Ireland, when both his maternal and paternal great-grandparents left the famine-stricken country in the early 1800s.

Go to Harvard
Not all immigrants who came to Boston were penniless. You may not realise when you go to Cambridge – a great place to spend a leisurely day around the green squares and red-bricked buildings of Harvard university – that John Harvard was a Puritan from London. He came to the US in 1637 and willed his both his extensive book collection and his fortune to the university, which thoughtfully named the prestigious college after him. Interesting to note then that the fortune was made by selling his mother’s alehouse in London’s notorious Southwark area. Making it a rather unlikely beginning for the Puritan foundation of one of the most famous centres of learning in the world.

Eat all-American
But no matter how many reminders we see of England and Ireland in Boston, once we hit the restaurants, bars and diners of New England, we are big time all American. You know you’re in the US when you find yourself eating a very large burger served with fried banana, peanut butter, cinnamon and bacon. (Boston Burger Company, Cambridge). We eat breakfast in diners that are happily serving cocktails before 10am, making our tasty (food!) choices from a menu that is veering towards the length of War and Peace and includes bacon sandwich doughnuts and spicy Mexican beans (The Friendly Toast, Back Bay, pictured).

Discover seafood
Don’t leave Boston without trying the seafood, particularly its famous lobster roll. The Barking Crab, overlooking the Charles River, is one of the best spots to indulge – a local seafood institution, loud, raucous and partly open to the elements, with timber benches and bar stools overlooking the glittering lights of the skyscrapers of the financial district just opposite.

Sample the best doughnuts in the country
Early one morning we joined a queue snaking around the outside of Kane’s on Oliver St and found, when we got to the counter, that its doughnuts have been ranked in the Top 10 Doughnuts of America. Get there early if you want to try them as they regularly sell out by lunchtime. I chose a glazed swirled cinnamon creation as big as my head and we took our sweet treasures to the nearby Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy Greenway, the pretty park near the river that was formerly a highway. It’s another nod to Boston’s famous ‘immigrants’, the Kennedy matriarch, who gave birth to nine children, including one US president and two senators, and lived to be 105.

Do Italian
Another must-eat while in the city is the tasty and very authentic Italian food in the North End – Regina Pizzeria is one of the best. For dessert, try the Sicilian cannoli pastries from arch rivals Mike’s and Modern Pastry on Hanover St to see if you can pick a favourite. For upmarket Italian – starched tablecloths, gleaming silverware, amazingly affordable prices – try Venezia in its stunning location along Boston Harbour, looking out over the water to the city skyscrapers.

Lunch at a food market
Quincy Market is where all the tourists head but we followed the locals’ tip to lunch at the Boston Public Market with its rows of fresh food stalls – great for seafood and organic salads.

Go 5-star

For accommodation go central and treat yourself to 5-star. The Boston Park Plaza has a fashionable city centre location in the buzzy Back Bay area, reclaimed from the sea in the 19th century. Right in the heart of the city, it’s a historic building brought bang up to date with a recent $100 million makeover (rooms from $229). A swish marbled lobby leads to an elegant lounge and dining area, with a glamorous Art Deco bar to the rear – or you can chill out in the library. Rooms are spacious, comfortable and well fitted out. And what a location – the brownstone-lined Newbury and Boylston shopping streets are just a short five-minute walk.
Another great option is the Langham Hotel, right in the middle of Boston’s business streets and a throwback to its financial history – it’s the former Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, given a very plush makeover (rooms with 2 double beds from $359). Providing a very stylish welcome for guests since the mid 1800s, the interiors are rich and opulent, with the open plan lobby bar the perfect place to sit and relax with a glass of Champagne. While the area is quiet in the evening and at weekends when the banker go home, it’s just a short walk from here to Boston Common, Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market.

Shop
If you’re staying in the Plaza, you’re right on the edge of stylish shopping away from the downtown crowds at nearby Newbury and Boylston streets with their beautiful Victorian brownstone buildings. Downtown city malls are located at the Prudential Centre and Copley Place; just outside on Copley Square, you’ll find a farmers’ market on Fridays. Here also you’ll find Boston Public Library, with its tucked-away courtyard café, a hidden gem in the city. And, a plus for UK visitors, tax-free shopping is available on clothes and shoes under $175 made in a single purchase.

Bag a bargain
Bargain hunters should head for Nordstrom Rack on Boylston St for knock-down designer finds, while bargain outlets at Assembly Row are located just 10 minutes on the T from downtown Boston. Or you could travel further out to Wrentham Premium Outlets, a 50-minute drive from the city – take the bus or hire a car. Great for families and children’s shops, Natick Mall is just 30 minutes from Boston and has over 250 stores.

Keep it in mind for Christmas
Boston is a great place to go Christmas shopping, less crowded than its busier New York neighbour and easy to get around on foot in the compact city centre or on the city’s fast and efficient T subway system.
America As You Like It is offering a 3-night Boston Christmas shopping package from £535 per person including direct return flights from London Heathrow to Boston on Delta Airlines, 3 nights at the Omni Parker House in a double room and 1-day car hire, valid for travel 7-10 December 2018. For more information contact 020 8742 8299 or visit Americaasyoulikeit.com. Keep up to date with the latest offers for Christmas in Boston at Massholiday.co.uk.

Take in a game

Go native at Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox baseball team and enjoy the entertainment in the crowd – dancing, waving, performing to the cameras that beam pictures of the crowd onto a huge on-pitch screen – as well as what’s happening on the field.

Breathe the sea air

Castle Island is a wonderful amenity on the edge of the city, with its walks by the bay overlooking Boston Harbour. Once an island, it was connected to the mainland by a narrow strip of land in the 1920s. It is now a 22-acre recreation site and has also been the site of a fortification since 1634 – Fort Independence.

Share your stories with the locals
Boston is that sort of place, a city that is smaller, cosier and more intimate than you might have expected, where people chat to you on the subway and in restaurants. Everywhere we went we were met with great welcome. While the US’s perception abroad is going through a difficult time, the people there are friendly, open, curious, delighted to talk, to learn about our lives and to swap stories about their own. Americans have faced tough times on their journey to independence and I’m sure there are tough times ahead. But I really hope that despite all of their difficulties, the people can manage to retain the welcoming openness and friendliness that we experienced everywhere on our trip.

Read more about Boston in Why we should all visit America right now

Add a trip to Cape Cod to your holiday: see 10 things to do in Cape Cod

Read my travel feature on Boston and Cape Cod published in The Scotsman

Photos: Boston main shot and Boston Tea Party Museum by Kyle Klein

It feels strange to be writing about the US from here as Donald Trump touches down across the sea in the UK to protests, howls of rage and ridicule. (In the interests of fairness I must add that there are presumably people in the UK who think his visit is a good thing and support it. Farage and Johnson come to mind. Enough said.)

The image of that Trump balloon baby floating over Westminster will surely become one of the most surreal iconic images of our times. And what strange times they are.

America once took in the poor, the hungry and the downtrodden of the world. It gave them shelter, allowed them to work and to feed and clothe themselves, it gave them the chance to live. Some built roads and skyscrapers, some built empires, all built livelihoods that not only gave them better lives but often the only chance they had at life itself. From the famine fields of Ireland and the ghettos of Europe they came, and they made their contribution to America.

Now the poor, the hungry and the downtrodden are being housed in cages and subjected to genocide. (The UN’s definition of genocide under the statutes of the International Criminal Court includes the measure ‘forcibly transferring the children of the group to another group’).

I’m writing this on a bus from Falmouth to Hyannis in Cape Cod. The bus is like what I imagine a bus in 1950’s Ireland to be like – full of characters, banter and good humour. The driver knows most of the passengers, most of whom also know each other, and stories are being swapped as each one boards.

It’s exact fares only on this bus and, rather than take our big notes for which he couldn’t give us any change, the driver just took what dollars we could scrabble together. He wouldn’t even take my quarter coins which would have made up an extra dollar – telling me to give them to my friends as souvenirs when I went home instead.

The openness, friendliness and interest in other people is what have struck me the most about all of the Americans I have met as I’ve travelled around this little part of New England. From Boston to Cape Cod to Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve met the same reaction. People here want to know where you’re from and are interested to hear your story. And whether they’re familiar with your culture or not, they are always complimentary.

Americans are living under one of the most divisive, unstable and – seen through the eyes of the world – unpopular regimes in history. Despite this they remain friendly, open and welcoming. It’s a good time to visit. To support their tourist economy that puts money in the pockets of ordinary people, to see their monuments, to understand their history.

Boston is a great place to start, to explore the events that led up to the American Revolution and the push for independence. From the city’s great Freedom Trail – which you can follow by yourself or take a guided tour – to the Boston Tea Party Museum – where you’ll get a chance to heave a tea crate over the edge of a ship – the city’s history is written in every twist and turn of its streets. Follow the tales of the founding fathers of independence, including Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, to the stories of more recent ‘immigrants’, such as John F Kennedy. His great-grandparents emigrated from Ireland in the 1800s to found this American dynasty and give the US one of its most charismatic presidents; a man who believed in equal rights for all Americans, whatever their race, colour or creed.

A Nation of Immigrants by John F Kennedy was published after his assassination in 1963. In it he writes about the 42 million people who have immigrated to the US since the arrival of the British in 1607 – the largest migration of people in all recorded history.

He says that ‘Immigration policy should be generous; it should be fair; it should be flexible. With such a policy we can turn to the world, and to our own past, with clean hands and a clear conscience’. And he quotes George Washington who said ‘The bosom of America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all nations and religions’.

We visited the JFK Library in Boston and the smaller, more intimate JFK Museum in Hyannis on Cape Cod, with its collection of rare, archival family photos. Afterwards we made our way along the beach to where the Kennedy Compound can be seen looking out to sea, the sea that so many immigrants crossed on their way to find a better life.

Colonisation and immigration are two very different sides of the same story and America has had its fair share of both. While much is said of the British settlers who came in the 1600s and who finally gained independence from their rulers back at home, the stories of the native Americans their arrival displaced are not as widely told. Down the road from the statue of JFK in Hyannis, there’s a statue of the native American Iyannough, who gave Hyannis his name.

Americans have faced tough times on their journey to independence and I’m sure there are tough times ahead. But I really hope that despite all of their difficulties, the people can manage to retain the welcoming openness and friendliness that I’ve experienced everywhere this week.

Visit the US: 18 top things to do in Boston

Where to do and what to do in Cape Cod

Day 1: 7.31am London St Pancras International to Gard du Nord Paris and a short metro hop to Montparnasse station for the south-bound train to Toulouse

Montparnasse station is clearly undergoing a major renovation, there are bare concrete walls and temporary wooden hoardings everywhere. It’s also currently undergoing an evacuation, with several policeman gesturing at me to leave the area where I’m currently having my first French coffee of the trip.

I have been brushing up on my French language skills using the Duolingo app but since I haven’t yet progressed much past identifying apples and greeting people, I’m not really sure what they are saying to me. I catch the word ‘baggage’ and so I bundle up my bags and follow along with everybody else.

Around the corner, people stop walking so quickly, here everything seems business as usual and people are buying baguettes and pastries from stalls in the vast station concourse, under the large lit-up boards with their lists of destinations. It’s not until half an hour later, when I’m hurrying along to platform 8 to catch the 13.47 to Toulouse that I see someone’s replied to my evacuation Tweet with the word ‘explosion’ and hitting Google Translate – very quickly – I discover that the station was closed when the authorities found a piece of unidentified baggage and carried out a controlled explosion to destroy it.

Had they found an disposed-of-incorrectly used-coffee-cup, they couldn’t have acted with any more calmness, efficiently or ease. It’s been a lesson in how to not panic a large group of people – the fact that one of that group had no idea at all what was happening is beside the point – and also a lesson to all of us travellers, not to stupidly leave our bags unattended. Because not only will we cause a major incident – we will also find ourselves suddenly without any luggage.

I like the trains in France. The Eurostar from London to Paris has been comfortable but with Eurostar you expect that, zipping easily through 50.45 km of underground tunnel under 75m of seawater. Now I’m boarding a double-decker train for a 4-hour journey to Toulouse and my seating area is kitted out like a multi-functional work-station – I have plug sockets and phone charger connectors, a large and small size folding desk, a pull-out coat hanger and a pull-down footrest, integrated lighting, a cupholder and – love this – an in-seat mirror.

We travel through the vineyards of Bordeaux and Agen on the river Garonne, the sun is warm when we reach Toulouse and my hotel is just a 4-minute walk from the station. I’m going budget when it comes to accommodation for this Interrail trip; just 65 euros tonight in my beside-the-station-hotel that is rated as basic on TripAdvisor but with great staff.

And that’s the truth, the staff go out of their way to be helpful at The Occitania – the man on the desk going up to my room to see if he can manage to shove my misbehaving UK adaptor plug into an unyielding French socket. And he can.

There are plenty of neighbourhood bars and brasseries around here and I have a beer sitting on the pavement opposite a boulangerie, so I can watch the customers leaving with their French bread. It’s the equivalent of sitting outside a vegetable shop in Ireland watching the Irish haul home sacks of potatoes.

Then, tired after having spent a large part of the day on a train, I lie in my very comfortable, crisp-linened bed, still feeling like I’m being gently rocked as I drift off to sleep.

Day 2: Toulouse to Carcassonne: scheduled journey time 40 minutes; actual journey time following thunderstorm, slightly different…

Toulouse is a cool city. It’s got plenty to see and a nice laid-back vibe, lots of big squares kitted out with umbrellas and outdoor tables and small winding streets. Not only does it have a scenic river running through it, it also has a canal and the area in-between is where most of the action takes place with shopping streets, historic sights, hotels, restaurants and bars.

The city made its money from the colour blue. In the 15^th and 16^th centuries, Toulouse grew rich from the pastel trade with its isatis tinctorial plant the only means of dyeing textiles blue, the colour of nobility and royalty. Fortunes were made and mansions were built and today, while the pastel merchants are long gone, you can still visit some of their houses. The Dumay Mansion and the Hôtel de Bagis are both beautiful buildings, dating from the 16th century, and you can even go inside the Hôtel d’Assézat to see the Bemberg Foundation art gallery.

There is, of course, a cathedral; the Cathedral of St Etienne, with its magnificent organ hanging aloft over the nave, its music soaring majestically to the heavens. It’s not ornate however as its nearby neighbour, the Basilica of Saint Sermin, which was built between the 11^th and 14^th centuries and is one of the largest preserved Romanesque buildings in Europe. Its elegant apse and peaceful side chapels almost magical in their beauty.

Saint Sernin was a key stopping-off points for pilgrims following the Way of St James and the Santiago de Compostela, as was the city’s other great historic building, the Hotel-Dieu Saint Jacques hospital. Both today are UNESCO World Heritage Sites. And so is the famous Canal du Midi, with its boat trips and cycle paths

There are a staggering 160 parks and gardens in Toulouse and down near at the Grand Rond and Jardin des Plantes, in quiet gardens between the city traffic, you will catch the locals engaging in games of boules while enjoying a couple of beers in the sun.

There’s an aerospace museum, as well as a chance to visit the A380 and A350 aircraft assembly lines. Toulouse is home to Airbus, as well as the Dewoitine and Aerospatiale aircraft manufacturers, and many of the world’s most famous aircraft make their maiden voyages from here.

You won’t squeeze it all into a day but I fit in as much as I can and am on the train to Carcassone at 6.50pm. It’s a nice short journey and we’re due to arrive just 40 minutes later. But an hour later the train is still sitting in the station, the deluge of rain we had earlier in the evening appears to have flooded the tracks.

So, we’re all given large boxes containing salads, snacks, treats, juice, water and – get this – a colouring book and pencils. Workers are pumping water from the tracks further down the line we’re told, as we sit here eating our dinner and doing colouring-in. We don’t move until 9.30pm, are on a bit of a go-slow due to the wet tracks and so I don’t see Carcassonne until 10.30pm.

But, just like yesterday, it’s all managed calmly and efficiently by the staff. I meet some lovely people on the train including French Edith who is surprised to find an Irish woman with a French name while hers is so very English. And Marie Do, in whose AirBnB studio I am staying for my two nights in Carcassonne, not only drives to the station to pick me up, she also gives me a big hug when she gets there.

And so I get my first view of the stunningly beautiful Cite de Carcassonne, high on its ramparts with towers floodlight against the night sky and Marie Do stops in the middle of the road so I can take a photo. Then I’m taken to a cosy studio apartment filled with books, dressed in fairy lights and sporting its own private outdoor terrace. I sleep the sleep of the very-tired-but-happy.

Day 3: Carcassonne, medieval monuments and a day without trains

800 years after the overthrow of the Cathars by the Crusaders, there is another ‘big row’ brewing in Carcassonne. It’s to do with concentric circles. Large yellow ones, specifically.

The stunning Cite de Carcassonne is a tiny fortified city enclosed by two outer walls and 53 towers, following a concentric design. It was first fortified by the Romans around 100BC, ceded to the Visgoths in the 5^th century and passed through various rulers until it became a stronghold of the Occitan Cathars in the Middle Ages. Persecuted and driven out by the Catholic Church’s Crusaders, the city surrendered and passed into the hands of the King of France in 1247. He also founded the ‘new town’ across the river, today a thriving city centre, overlooked by the mighty fortress.

The fortifications date from a number of different periods, from Roman to medieval to modern, and were given a complete restoration in the 19^th century by the famous French architect Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. He was criticised heavily for his use of some non-authentic materials in his renovation and now, here in the 21^st century, the howls of criticism over another contemporary update can be heard again.

This time it’s Swiss artist Felice Varini suffering the tide of abuse. His crime? He’s covered the outside walls of the fortress around the Porte d’Aude with huge yellow concentric circles, a project commissioned by France’s Centre of National Monuments (CMN) and scheduled to run until September 2018.

He’s certainly brightened up the view on that side of the city – and also divided the locals. The city has aligned itself into camps of ‘Oui’ and ‘Non’ on this one. I was only 10-minutes inside the walls when I had met two vigorous advocates of both. My tour guide – ‘Oui’ – and a knight – ‘Non’.

The knight is Jean-Francois Vassal, who can trace his family in the area back to the 15^th century and is one of only 50 people allowed to live within the ancient city walls. He’s a knight by design, rather than by honour, running the Centre d’Histoire Vivante Medievale offering guided tours and battle re-enactments, demonstrations of knightly lifestyles and insights into everyday existence in medieval times, as well as language courses and historical perspectives.

He holds an MA in Medieval History and one of his recent publications includes a chapter in the academic study From Carrickfergus to Carcassonne. Carrickfergus, as anyone who is familiar with the song ‘I wish I was in Carrickfergus’ will know, is an Irish town in Co Antrim, one of the oldest in the country. It’s not a place I expected to come across in Carcassone, much less find a scholarly book linking the two, but I’m liking the synchronicity.

I’ve wanted to see Carcassonne for a very long time, yes, even before the Germans invented the board game or Kate Mosse wrote Labyrinth . The ancient city itself is tiny and, as expected, quite busy with tourists. The best time to visit is morning, before most of them are up, and the best months to come are April, May, September and October, when the weather is still fine but the tiny ancient cobbled streets are quieter.

As well as the castle, there’s the Basilica of Saint-Nazaire to visit, currently being staked out by a quartet of Russian tenors who sing arias inside the beautiful building throughout the day, in the hope of selling CDs. There are shops stocking everything from local liqueurs and gourmet snacks to plastic swords and medieval princess costumes.

And there’s cassoulet. The quintessential dish from this part of the country that combines duck and sausage with flavoured white beans and is so famous it has two organisations dedicated to its support – the Academie Universelle de Cassoulet and the Route des Cassoulets.

There’s also the Carcassonne treasure. Stolen by the Visgoths from the Romans in the early Middle Ages, it reportedly languishes deep in one of the old city’s 22 medieval wells, though apparently the Germans had a good rummage around for it during the Second World War occupation.

But the beautiful sunshine common to this part of the world has eluded it so far today; by early evening the sky is dark and brooding and the towers are throwing mighty shadows across the Porte Narbonnaise and its drawbridge. There’s a light wind blowing and if you listen carefully you can almost hear the horses’ hooves clattering up the cobblestones to the gate, the knights of the Cathars back once more to claim their birthright.

For a great up-to-date guide on the best of Carcassonne to see and do, as well as history and culture, eating and drinking and even advice on moving there, check out this information page, maintained by @CarcassonneAude – you’ll find him on Twitter – yet another Irish-connection I made on the trip. There are two official tourist offices in the city, in the old town close to the castle and in the new town’s Rue Verdun, close to the Place Carnot. Visit the website here.

Day 4: Carcassone to Montpellier: scheduled journey time, an hour and a half; chaos caused to schedule due to a train strike, huge

The man at the information desk in the train station is pointing to a screen that says the train to Montpellier leaves at 19.33, I am pointing to the information I have written down from the website that says it leaves at 13.27, with subsequent trains due to leave at 15.00 and 17.00. ‘Non’, says the man. ‘Pourquoi?’ I ask, thinking that Duolingo language app has really come in handy on this trip. He shrugs his shoulders. ‘La greve’.

Duolingo didn’t cover that one so I Google it. A strike. There’s a train strike and so, rather than getting to Montpellier to spend the afternoon wandering its old town, it looks like I’ll be staying in Carcassone and checking out its new one. While it’s pretty annoying having to wait 7 hours to get on a train I thought I was getting on right now, I’m glad that at least there is a train today and, as I didn’t have time to visit the main centre of Carcassone yesterday, I head for there now.

The ‘new’ city of Carcassonne is actually 800 years old and very atmospheric with lovely old architecture – the obligatory massive double doors and trellis-work balconies trailing hanging plants – and narrow pedestrianised streets that break out suddenly into a big sunny square with a fountain. And after paying a visit to the cathedral of Saint-Michel where I ‘find myself’ – St Bernadette deep in prayer in front of Mary,Queen of Lourdes – I take up residence for the afternoon in a red-cushioned wicker chair in the square, the Place Carnot.

Unlike the dark and somewhat brooding Carcassonne of yesterday, today is bright and sunny and although I should probably be feeling frustrated at not being in Montpellier by now, I’m not. I’m just sitting watching people and taking it all in. Not reading, not writing, not listening to music, not posting on social media, not even looking at my phone. Just sitting looking around me and enjoying it all. And I drank a beer and nobody came to hassle me when it was finished about buying another.

If I had gone to Montpellier on the train like I planned to, I would have been out now with my guidebook and my maps, pounding the pavement and seeing how many sights I could cram into an afternoon. But because I had no plans for Carcassonne I just sat and enjoyed it. It was a wonderful afternoon, snatched free from days of activity and travelling, one of the most enjoyable of my whole week. All because of a train strike. It reminded me that while we constantly ‘do’, sometimes it’s great to just ‘be’.

Day 5: Montpellier to Paris: scheduled time 3 and a half hours; Paris to London: scheduled time 2 and a half hours. Actual time: all of the above

I wake to intense bright sunshine and deep blue skies. Mainly because I hadn’t worked out how to close the shutters on the windows of my Montpellier AirBnB bedroom last night before I went to sleep.

I arrived at twilight in a street paved with shiny paving stones and lined with palm trees, into a mansion building with marble floors and a glass-covered courtyard. My bedroom is in a beautiful eclectic city apartment two floors up, with high ceilings and tall French windows looking out into the street. I have a whole little section to myself, with bedroom, bathroom and small foyer space, decked out with a microwave, kettle, utensils and a box of red wine. There are little madeleines in a bowl in the bedroom, a box of instant soups on the shelf by the kettle.

This interrail trip has been my first experience of using AirBnB and it’s been quite a revelation to stay with real people in the middle of areas where real people live, rather than holed up in a hotel in the tourist spots. Being nosey by nature – why else did I become a journalist – heaven is the inside of other people’s homes and AirBnB has given me legal access. From my cosy studio in Carcassonne to my mansion bedroom in Montpellier, the wonders of AirBnB have been a revelation.

I met my hostess Marvena briefly last night when I turned up 8 hours later than scheduled – the beauty of the AirBnB app makes it easy to communicate with your hosts and keep them updated on any changes – there’s even a ‘translate’ button for communicating in any language. Turns out on the AirBnB app, I speak French seamlessly.

This morning I meet Marvena’s brother who recommends that I visit the city’s Jardin des Plantes – dating from 1593, one of the oldest Botanical Gardens in Europe and the first to be created in France – and also mentions the cathedral. And so that’s what I do for the few hours admiring fountains and pretty squares as I wander the winding streets of the old town, climbing the cobblestone hill to the Saint-Pierre Cathedral and buying Hermione Lee’s biography of Virginia Woolf in a second-hand shop in the Place des Martyrs de la Resistance.

Then it’s time to catch the train from Montpellier to Paris Gare du Lyon, get myself by metro back to Gard du Nord, sit outside in the sun for a while eating a baguette – honestly, if I eat any more bread on this trip I will bleed yeast – and finally, get back on the Eurostar to London.

It’s been quite a journey – from explosions and floods to train strikes and meeting knights – but I’ve had a blast. I’ve been delighted, frustrated, excited and bemused in pretty much equal measures. I’d do it all again in a heartbeat and very much plan to. From just £220 to travel for six days in one country, what could be better than that?

I’ll tell you what. Buying a multi-country pass to travel in several countries. And that’s what I plan to do next.

An adult Interrail pass to travel in France for 6 days within 1 month is £220, travelling on any trains in the country. The pass does not have to be used within 6 days but allows for 6 days of travel over a month so you can stay for as long as you want at each destination. Simply record all of your journeys in the ‘journey details’ section of the travel report, printed on the ticket cover of your Interrail pass. You will need to show a valid passport/identify document together with your Interrail pass to train staff when requested.

All trains do not require reservations; however, reservations are required for all European night trains and most high-speed trains. Eurostar reservations, allowing you to travel from London to France to start your journey, usually cost about £30. The Interrail rail planner app provides information on the validity or your pass and additional benefits, and also allows you to make e-reservations.

You can buy an Interrail pass up to 11 months before you plan to leave.

For more information on interrailing in Europe and to book, visit www.myinterrail.co.uk

Images: Bernadette Fallon, Paul Palau

Even if you have only a short time to spend in Dublin, you’ll find it easy to pack in a lot in this compact and exciting capital city where the Guinness and the craic flow freely. So, whether you’re a first-timer, culture vulture, foodie, shopper or determined tourist on search for as many leprechauns as you can fit into your wheelie bag, my suggestions for the best things to do in Dublin has something to suit everyone.

Dublin for first-timers

If it’s your first trip to Dublin – or even if you’ve visited before but are keen to get an insider’s view – sign up online for City of a Thousand Welcomes before you leave home. You’ll be paired up with a Dubliner who will take you off for a chat and drink at one of three brilliant local venues – the über-chic five-star Merrion Hotel, the ‘old Dublin’ institution Bewley’s Café or the vibrant Porterhouse bar and micro-brewery. The service is free, the Dubliners have volunteered their time and the cost of the drinks is covered by the nice people at the Little Dublin Museum who run the service.

Allow some time to have a look around the museum (admission free) when you call in to hook up with your Dubliner – the city’s newest museum is devoted to recent social, political and cultural history covering everything from U2 and James Joyce to the Easter 1916 Rising and Queen Victoria’s visit. Have a chat with Godfrey, the chatty tour guide who’s full of ‘behind the scenes stories’ – see if you can tempt him out for a drink with your volunteer.

Brush up on your ancient Irish history with a trip to the National Museum of Ireland (admission free), or pop into the crypt at Christ Church cathedral– above; dating from the 11th century, it’s the oldest building in Dublin and one of the largest medieval crypts in Ireland and the UK. Here you’ll find an exhibition of the cathedral’s treasures (they survived because they were in no one’s way, according to the guide), a really interesting video presentation of the church’s history, and the mummified remains of a cat and rat who got stuck in the organ pipes in the 1860s. They also turned up over 60 years later in James Joyce’s ‘Finnegans Wake’. The crypt’s coffee shop is a great place to stop off for a cuppa – it’s one of the most atmospheric coffee shops in Europe.

Dublin for culture vultures

For a small city, Dublin packs a big cultural punch. Former home to Nobel prizewinning writers WB Yeats, George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett (who now has a bridge named after him), as well as Oscar Wilde, James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Jonathan Swift and Bram Stoker; contemporary authors in residence include Roddy Doyle, Sebastian Barry, John Banville and Marian Keyes. So, as you can imagine, the Dublin Writers’ Museum in Parnell Square has a lot to talk about!

The James Joyce Centre is at 35 North Great George’s St, close to the city centre, and you’ll find Shaw’s birthplace at 33 Synge St, Dublin 8, a 10-minute walk from central St Stephen’s Green.

There’s a small but perfectly formed exhibition of exotic artefacts including illuminated manuscripts, rare books and paintings at the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle (admission free); its Silk Road restaurant and coffee shop is one of the best in the city. The Irish Museum of Modern Art in the former Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, on the outskirts of the city, has a permanent collection with an emphasis on works from the 1940s onwards, as well as visiting exhibitions.

Take in a theatre production at The Abbey, which Yeats helped set up as a home for nationalist Irish writing in the early 20th century – the scene of riots during first productions of The Playboy of the Western World where the nationalist Irish community took great exception to talk about women’s undergarments (a slip!) as being very ‘un-nationalist’. You’ll find theatre with a more international slant at The Gate.

Speaking of the Yeats family, you’ll find several works by Jack B Yeats, including his iconic Dublin masterpiece The Liffey Swim, below, as well as many of his sketchbooks, at the National Gallery of Ireland, which recently went through a major refurbishment. It’s the perfect way to kick off a browse around the gallery’s main collection and familiarise yourself with other Irish artists such as John Lavery, Paul Henry, Louis Le Brocquy and Walter Osbourne.

Dublin for foodies

If you’re in need of refreshment after your turn around the National Gallery, pop across the road for The Merrion hotel’s afternoon Art Tea. Drink tea and eat cakes inspired by the hotel’s very impressive Irish art collection and stroll around the beautiful Georgian rooms afterwards to admire the paintings.

If words, not pictures, are your thing head down the road to The Westin hotel, opposite Trinity College, for its Most Peculiar Afternoon Tea. Inspired by James Joyce, it features ‘Joycean nibbles’ from his works, like pork cheek, roast beef and smoked salmon savouries, banana bread with honey butter, and clever sweet treats that include popping marshmallows, pannacotta with popcorn and a super good chocolate and caramel sea salted brownie. It all kicks off with a ‘Victorian Mojito’ – served in a teapot!

For blow-the-budget fine dining try the multi-starred Patrick Guilbaud restaurant at The Merrion; for chips after a few pints of Guinness on your way home from the pub head for Leo Burdock’s in the shadow of Dublin Castle (if you don’t fancy the walk up the hill, Rick’s Burgers on Dame St near Trinity does a mean bag of chips too). For sweet treats and possibly the best hot chocolate you will ever taste, stop off at one of Butler’s Chocolate Cafés around the city.

The buzzing Temple Bar area has plenty of bars and restaurants for lunch and evening dinner; other well-priced options for eating out at night are Crunch Café, Aungier St, The Larder, Parliament St and – for an affordable treat – The Winding Stair on Lower Ormond Quay overlooking the Ha’penny Bridge.

Dublin for tourists

For a real – and literal – taste of the Irish social scene in action, don’t bother with a fancy wine bar or gourmet pub, head for ‘old Dublin’ haunts like Neary’s in Chatham St (just off main shopping drag Grafton St and known to tourists as ‘The Chatham’ – well, that is the name over the door!), and the Stag’s Head. Both are lively spots to strike up a conversation and, yes, the locals are very friendly.

But the city is not all about drinking. And while missing out on the pub experience would be missing a key part of what the city has to offer, there are plenty of things to do in Dublin for every interest.

You just have to do it if you’re a tourist – visit ‘the home of Guinness’, the Guinness Storehouse at St James’ Gate, with its historical tour, 360º views of the city and – of course – one of the tastiest glasses of Guinness you will ever sample, right where it’s made.

The National Leprechaun Museum on Jervis St reveals the ‘truth’ about the Irish version of ‘little green men’, with the story starting back at the first ever leprechaun sighting in the eighth century.

You’ll be able to access both on the Dublin Bus Tour, a hop-on, hop-off service that takes you round all of the city’s main attractions – the best way to familiarise yourself quickly with Dublin’s history and landmarks, and perfect if you are on a short trip.

Dublin for shoppers

Pedestrianised Grafton St is the heart of shopping in the city, with high-street brands and chic department store Brown Thomas (Dublin’s answer to Harvey Nichols). Nearby, the George’s St Arcade is great for quirky one-off pieces and vintage finds; while Avoca on Suffolk St is a bit of a treasure trove of great Irish designers, high-end fashion and stylish home buys. Jervis Centre, across the Liffey – around a 15-minute walk from Grafton St – is one of the best city-centre shopping centres, you’ll be able to see Dublin traders on the lively Moore Street market in action nearby.

Dublin hotels

You may fall in love with The Merrion hotel after your afternoon tea, most people do. So treat yourself to a room upstairs in the art-hung corridors, with views over Merrion Square and Government buildings, a bit like staying in Whitehall in London, just with more trees and a quirky statue of Oscar Wilde in the square outside. There’s a bronze James Joyce in the hotel garden off the terrace, you’ll pass it on your way down the glass corridor to the stylish spa. As well as the grand, but cosy, drawing rooms with ornate fireplaces and real fires, there’s a discreet bar with the feel of a gentleman’s club, perfect for an early G&T or a post-dinner brandy. The actor Gabriel Byrne was in one of the leather armchairs the evening we visited. (All of us being Irish nobody got too excited about being in close proximity to Irish-Hollywood celebrity.)

Housed in four Grade 1 listed Georgian townhouses, the hotel is all tall windows and high ceilings. That makes for very spacious bedrooms; ours had couches in front of the huge fireplace and could easily have fitted in that writing desk, which occupies its own room next door to the bathroom (gleaming white marble tiles and mirrors). If you’re feeling like Ireland, with its writers, poetry and Guinness-fuelled evenings, might just inspire that novel you’ve been meaning to write, this is the place you might even start it…

For more information and to book visit www.merrionhotel.com, call 00 353 1 603 0600 or email info@merrionhotel.com

It’s an exciting 24-hour destination – but you need to plan carefully to make the most of a short trip here.

You might not fly here for just one night, but New York is an exciting stop-over on a trip to the States and if you plan carefully you can easily fit in several of this city’s must-see landmarks in a one night/ two-day trip. Also, with cruise lines like NCL operating from the Hudson dock, it’s the perfect one night destination before heading for the high seas.

Manhattan magic
Stick to Manhattan if you’re strapped for time, it’s perfectly sized for walking and walking is the best way to get a sense of the city; from the views across the harbour at the tip of the island – take the free ferry to Staten Island for the best views of Manhattan skyline – right up to the 800 acres of Central Park.

Plan your walk to cover some of the city’s key areas:

Wall St and the commercial district at the tip of Manhattan – queue for a ticket for the Stock Exchange visitors’ gallery
Stylish SoHo (an abbreviation for SOuth of HOuston street – pronounced House-ton, expect looks of distain if you mispronounce) and Greenwich village, with quirky boutiques, hip hotels, happening bars and the uber-swish loft apartment of wealthy Manhattanites
The edgier Meatpacking district, the latest up and coming area since Greenwich and Soho up and came
Fifth Avenue for shopping, Broadway and Times Square for street-life and bustle

New York is a song that unfolds in your head as you walk, a simulated Woody Allen film set that feels hyper-real because it’s all so familiar.

One night in New York: What to do

Stay
The Sheraton on Seventh Avenue is within sight of the bright lights of Times Square and Broadway, well placed for MoMA, the Rockefeller Centre and Fifth Avenue shops, and an easy walk to Central Park. Expect to pay about $200 a night, but ask about deals and discounts
The alternative: W in Times Square is a hip midtown hotel, great for the theatre district. Or take your copy of The Collected Dorothy Parker and sit in the Algonquin Hotel (59 West 44th Street), home to the Algonquin Round Table most famously associated with the writer, though in later years she said she didn’t actually spend much time there as it was so expensive.

Eat
Butter, downtown on Lafayette St has a stylish arched interior that manages to be intimate and spacious at the same time – ask for a cosy banquette along the wall.
The alternative: It’s easy to eat on the go, pick up a breakfast ‘caw-fee’ and a doughnut from a street stall as you go; put together a posh picnic at upmarket deli Dean & Deluca or, for a classic New York experience, pick a diner at random and enjoy the staff repartee.
Note: You may want to read Anthony Bourdain’s behind-the-scenes account of the New York restaurant scene in Kitchen Confidential before venturing out to eat – you may never eat mussels again.

Drink
Enjoy the world-famous Bloody Marys and martinis at the posh King Cole Bar at the glamorous St Regis bar on 55th street, just off Fifth Avenue.
The alternative: The Ear Inn has been popular with its Soho locals since the early 1800s and the dark wood décor and retro feel has changed very little in the meantime.

Shop
Fifth Avenue for designer names, department stores, American favourites like Gap and, for European tastes, H&M. And, of course, Tiffany’s. Stand outside with takeaway coffee and a pastry – evening gloves optional.
The alternative: Greenwich Village is packed full of quirky boutiques but can be pricey.

See
The hottest shows on Broadway right now are – still – The Book of Mormon, Dear Evan Hansen and Hello Dolly!; queue up at the Times Square ticket booth to get on-the-day deals.
The alternative: The iconic Blue Man Group has shows running all over the world, see them at their original home in the Astor Place Theatre on Lafayette St. Combining multi-media theatrics, music, lighting, mime and comedy, it’s an amazing experience that should not be missed.

View
The Empire State building is the classic destination, once the tallest building in the world and the site of romantic meetings from Sleepless in Seattle to An Affair to Remember.
The alternative: ‘The Rock’ at the top of the Rockefeller Centre, close to Times Square, has uninterrupted views of the city and a great view of the Empire State! Back at ground level, skate on the famous ice rink in winter; take a tour of neighbouring NBC studios or Radio City Music Hall.

Art
The ‘big three’ are MoMA, the Guggenheim and The Met, with impressive international collections.
The alternative: Skip the European treasures and head for the Whitney Museum of American Art at 945 Madison Ave.

Two more to do
Crafty New York: Visit Purl Patchwork on Sullivan in Soho for gorgeous fabrics and sewing classes, and Purl next door for wool
Take the Sex and the City bus tour

What’s everyone in Manhattan talking about right now?
Bars: 10 Downing, Scarpetta, Monkey Bar
Hotels: Ace, Standard, Cooper Square
Shops: The entire Christopher St area, Dossier in Fort Greene, Partners and Spade in Noho (North of Houston – remember, House-ton!)

Don’t go without
The Luxe City Guide to New York, insider info on the best places to eat, drink, shop, spa, see and stay packed onto a slimline compact fold-out card; the ready-made half-day shopping shopping and activity itineraries will save you weeks of research.

And finally, if you’re nostalgic for home – though why you would be overnight I’m not sure – the New York outpost of Soho House is at 29 9th Ave