Where tourists seldom tread, part 7: five more British towns with secret histories

From Slough to Stockton-on-Tees, these provincial towns have been derided, mocked and caricatured. But there are so many reasons to visit places that are snubbed by the guidebooks

‘I didn’t expect to feel so moved’: readers’ favourite cultural trips in Europe

From antiquity in Spain to modern art in Denmark, via three Erics in Morecambe, our tipsters reveal the places that left them feeling inspired

I took my toddler to Algeria – and we were welcomed warmly everywhere

Our writer discovers ‘a young, exciting and proud nation’ – little known to western visitors – amid Roman ruins and remnants of war

A light in the dark – traditions to brighten winter’s darkness, from Greenland to Antarctica

There’s joy to be found in the darkest winter months, and people living in cold places use a variety of rituals to celebrate the lack of light – and its eventual return

Dresden – the city that saved my Christmas

The city’s Christmas markets and baroque architecture will revive even a flagging festive spirit, while its steampunk street art is an edgy pick-me-up

Walking Leicester’s new Richard III trail – 530 years in the making

A walk threading through the city follows in the footsteps of the Yorkist king vanquished in 1485, whose remains were found – beneath a car park – in 2012

Bravo Toulouse, the French city hitting all the right musical and culinary notes

This newly-crowned Unesco City of Music in south-west France has historic and innovative cultural venues, and superb regional cuisine to boot

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