‘A delirious deco dream’: former TB sanatorium is now Finland’s most unusual holiday let

For a limited period, architecture lovers can spend the night in a modernist masterpiece designed by Alvar Aalto

Chieftains, saints and sinners: eight of the best unsung castles and abbeys of Ireland

In a country where historic buildings appear around almost every corner, these lesser-known treasures offer brilliant visits without the crowds

Keeping it surreal: my Dalí-inspired art trip to Catalonia

Portlligat, Cadaqués and Cap de Creus provide the ‘hallucinatory’ backdrop to an emotive journey into the natural world that helped create the artist

My cultural day out on the Sussex Art Shuttle

With next week’s Turner prize opening in Eastbourne, we try a hop-on, hop-off bus service that takes art lovers around the area’s cultural hotspots

The London look: 10 fashion exhibitions in the capital

Autumn shows covering everything from the Georgians to the Kardashians, and from East End sweatshops to Chanel’s Paris

Ferret racing and giant marrows: how UK country shows keep rural traditions alive

Agricultural shows are a highlight of the British summer, combining farming heritage with the village fete to bring an eccentric joyfulness

Of Thomas Hardy and PJ Harvey: on the trail of Dorset’s inspirational powers

The county’s people, landscapes and villages have provided material for generations of writers, prompting not only great literature but social reform

Keep the kids in the picture: art breaks around the UK

Get arty with the children this summer at these top 10 inspiring destinations

Parisian panache: six of the most spectacular Paris Métro stations

Grand designs will feature in a major expansion of the Paris Métro, but there is plenty of theatricality, beauty and swagger on show at existing stations

Bergamo and Brescia: an active trip to Italy’s joint capitals of culture

Football feuds and pandemic pain have been replaced with walks, hilltop feasts and culture in these cities, making them superb places to enjoy an active Lombardy holiday

Salmon, saunas and sopranos: Finland’s opera festival with a difference

Each July Savonlinna’s 15th-century fortress rings with song as music fans descend on this beautiful, lake-filled corner of south-east Finland

Young at heart: Poland’s party city of Lublin

This year’s European youth capital is having a ball, with great food and nightlife part of the vibrant, multicultural scene – plus a stunning old town

Smoke on the water, and music in the air: the magic of Montreux, Switzerland

The town’s fabled music festival is just one side of a place that is framed by natural beauty to hike through – and wine heritage you can savour

‘My favourite place in Europe’: 17 travel writers on the country that feels like home

Grand old Viennese coffee houses, blazing Algarve sunsets, steamboats in Stockholm, schnapps in Slovenia … and a dozen more reasons why we love Europe

I’ve come to love Chișinău: my home city in Moldova deserves the spotlight

European leaders visiting the Moldovan capital for a political summit will see a city rich in cultural influences and wine-making history