Limerick: the not-so-gritty city is one of Ireland’s overlooked gems

This handsome city on the west coast has atmospheric waterside pubs, medieval architecture, and a passion for sport and the performing arts

Where tourists seldom tread, part 6: ‘ugly, lovely towns’ with stories to tell

Dungannon, Burnley, Barrow-in-Furness, Harlow and Merthyr Tydfil may not be quaint, but these robust centres have a poetry that’s all their own

‘People dance on tables’: welcome to Belgrade’s kafana pub culture

Serbia’s ‘tavernas’ are fusing traditional food and drink with new cuisines and rousing live music as they evolve to attract a younger crowd

Campaign trail: follow Napoleon’s progress across Europe

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon biopic is released next week, but from birthplace to battlefields you can still follow in Bonaparte’s mighty footsteps

Merseyside’s towpath to the past: a 20-mile walk along the Industrial Revolution’s first canal

Giant relics from previous centuries, a restoration effort and our writer’s childhood memories loom large on this hike along Britain’s first modern canal

‘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