Where tourists seldom tread, part 18: three seaside towns that defy the tides of fashion

Ayr, Bangor and Millom routinely bring up the rear in coastal town polls, but they offer a calmer alternative to the brash traditional seaside resorts

Explore Portugal’s historic hilltop hamlets in a free electric hire car

A project offering free car rental is revitalising the medieval villages north-east of Lisbon by finally making them easily accessible to visitors

‘Women are the guardians of our culture’: why Kihnu is Estonia’s island of true equality

They wear traditional dress, play ancient melodies on violins and accordions, but the women of this island outpost ensure that it is more than just a living museum

‘Dawn paints the statues gold’: readers’ favourite places in Turkey

Travellers share their holiday finds, from ancient ruins to thermal pools, blissful waterside restaurants – and taxi driver diners

‘A town built on fishing and fun’: why Great Yarmouth will always be my first resort

From family-run fairgrounds to a spectacular circus, traditional seaside fun is alive and kicking in the Norfolk coastal town where I grew up

Where tourists seldom tread, part 17: three port towns freighted with history

From Ipswich’s medieval treasures to Ramsey’s seaside charm and Lancaster’s chilling legacy of witches and slavery

Forget the stereotypes, Benidorm is the complete package

The resort was ahead of its time – built to handle industrial numbers of tourists while not displacing residents. And beyond the full English breakfasts and pub crawls, there’s an authentic Spanish side to it

Travels in Moominland: summer in Tove Jansson’s Finland

The children’s book author spent the precious long Nordic days in simple, off-grid cabins on small dreamy islands – a tradition many Finns still follow

From Joyce’s death mask to Bono’s sunglasses: a look around the Little Museum of Dublin’s grand curiosities

This people’s museum is crammed with curios donated by Dublin residents. A major facelift has added a library, archive and exhibition on ‘fearless women’

‘The railway that got the world on track’: a walk through 200 years of history in County Durham

A new trail follows the 26-mile route of the world’s first passenger train journey on the Stockton and Darlington Railway

The reinvention of Catania – Sicily’s once crime-ridden second city

A decades-long crackdown on organised crime is opening up Catania, with previous no-go areas now welcoming tourists and new businesses. Discover its restaurants and bars before the prices catch up

A brush with Cezanne in Aix-en-Provence, France: a blockbuster retrospective comes to town

The city once neglected its most famous son. But this summer visitors can immerse themselves in a major new exhibition and see the artist’s restored studio, home and the landscapes that inspired him

‘The soul of Irish traditional music’: a musical journey through County Clare

Ireland’s west coast is home to a flourishing live music scene, with the pubs and music festivals attracting world-class players

Look east: an exhilarating weekend in London’s new cultural quarter

The opening of the V&A Storehouse and Sadler’s Wells East mark the transformation of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into an exciting new creative hub for the capital

‘One bunker is now a surf school’: a tour of Jersey’s wartime coastal defences

This week, the Channel Islands celebrate 80 years since liberation from Nazi occupation, but the fascinating bunkers, tunnels and towers that remain have found a new lease of life