It’s like plunging under the North Pole: my mind-stretching ice dive in the French Alps
Move over wild swimming … ice diving in a frozen mountain lake and camping under the Milky Way connects you with nature at its most raw and magical
My winter campervan adventure in the Cairngorms, Scotland
A slow jaunt around the mountainous national park, on some of the highest roads in Britain, delivers dramatic scenery, frosty walks and ziplining after dark
Merchants of Venice: 10 of the city’s most beautiful historic shops
From an elegant apothercary to a jewellers in a baroque salon, these stores all have atmospheric interiors and a history of exquisite craftsmanship
Share a tip on less-known Italy
Tell us about brilliant breaks in Italy away from tourist hotspots – whether to a city, the coast or the countryside – the best tip wins a £200 holiday voucher
Even the black slopes are green: my eco-friendly skiing break in Austria
The carbon footprint of a skiing holiday can be as deep as a crevasse, but one Austrian resort with sustainability at its heart is mitigating its impact
Away with Anthony Burke: ‘We did yoga twice a day and listened to the monkeys and elephants at night’
In Guardian Australia’s weekly interview about travel, the Grand Designs Australia host reveals why he always packs a sketchbook, and welcomes things ‘not working out’
Three generations, one Tudor manor and some light trauma: a multi-generational break in Somerset
When an extended family go on holiday together in Portishead, it’s games, laughter – and tears for one
Mardi Gras the Balkan way – alternatives to Venice carnival
In Croatia, Montenegro and Albania, the legacy of Venetian occupation lives on in a series of spectacular carnivals that these days have a local twist
When in Rome … go where the Romans go, not the tourist crowds
The Eternal City’s monuments and museums are busy at the best of times, but there remain myriad treasures to explore that are well off the beaten track
Alternative wonders: why Yemen’s ancient terraces are a supreme human creation
The soil, treasured for centuries, turns steep Yemini slopes into fertile and productive land. Coffee grown here was served at London’s first coffee house in 1652
‘Don’t even think about not going in fancy dress:’ Readers’ favourite carnivals around Europe
Nothing brightens up the depths of winter better than a local festival – and Europe is awash with ancient and brilliant carnivals
Alternative wonders: why the stone citadel of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka is my rock of ages
The landscape is not the dead relic of a foregone age. It is a living reminder of how knowledge tailored to the local ecology is essential
Alternative wonders: why Egypt’s Colossi of Memnon are my giants of history
Emerging from the heat shimmer, these two enormous statues in Luxor appear completely otherwordly – like giants in a wheat field
‘This is where it all begins!’ What’s it like to start your holiday in the airport bar?
Ryanair’s Michael O’Leary wants European airports to clamp down on pre-flight drinking. But is it really such a problem? There’s only one way to find out …
Alternative wonders: why Tibet’s Samye monastery is my spiritual inspiration
The region’s first Buddhist monastery is a complex of chapels and stupa towers from a vast mandala – a symbolic and spiritual representation of the whole universe