My France: Joanne Harris on Noirmoutier Island
This little island off France's Vendée coast – with its dunes and salt marshes – holds fond memories for the Chocolat author
My France: Richard Davenport-Hines on Largentière, Ardèche
Largentière offers quiet French pleasures, the scent of roses, and a relaxing air to keep the historian and biographer calm
Hidden Hampshire: walking in the South Downs national park
Exploring the South Downs, England's newest national park, reveals a world of unspoilt beauty, especially with a wonderful woodland barn to retreat to
The Maldives on the cheap: paradise unpacked
Is it possible to luxuriate on an Indian Ocean atoll and not break the bank? Ruaridh Nicoll dodges film stars and honeymooning couples in the Maldives in order to find out
Berwick-upon-Tweed travel tips: climb the Tudor walls for jaw-dropping views
With its fortifications offering epic views of the Northumberland coast, Berwick is the last town in England you should visit
A quick travel guide to Manchester
Where to stay, where to eat, where to drink, what to see, what to buy and where to unwind in this football and music-crazy city
Helen Fielding: fair weather friends in Oman
They got on at the school gates, but would their friendship survive a joint holiday to Oman? Bridget Jones author Helen Fielding on a two-family adventure
Billy Connolly: ‘I hate going on holiday’
Pamela Stephenson Connolly hadn't been away with her husband, Billy, for 30 years. Could she convert him to the pleasures of a beach holiday?
Walking Morocco’s beaches, with a yoga retreat thrown in for good measure
Guided by a Tuareg tribe, Rachel Dixon joins a nomadic retreat on Morocco's Atlantic coast, walking from beach to beach, practising yoga and sleeping in a camp set up at a different spot each night
Swap the après-ski bar for an après-ski spa
Is a hard night in the bar the best end to a hard day's skiing or snowboarding? In Scuol, in the Swiss Alps, Frances Booth finds hot springs and a massage in the spa hit the spot much better
Gruel to be kind: a hardcore detox break in Austria
Harriet Green checks into a detox clinic in Austria. A week later, she's lost only half a pound and been really bored – but she's truly sorry to leave
A yoga retreat in the Scottish Highlands
A routine of yoga, outdoor bathing and siestas at a new Scottish eco-lodge leaves Isabel Choat blissfully relaxed – even with a two-year-old in tow
Jolly lodgers: community tourism in Thailand
Community tourism often just means gawping at impoverished locals, but in northern Thailand, Liz Boulter visits two new retreats that make a real difference to the lives of the hill tribes
Go off-grid: places to stay in the UK without Wi-Fi, mobile reception or TV
Feeling overshared and square-eyed? Unplug yourself from the modern world and enjoy a social media detox at these remote retreats without Wi-Fi, mobile phone signal or TV reception, says Dixe Wills
Fazenda Nova – a smash hit hotel in the eastern Algarve
Nick Logan, founder Smash Hits and The Face, has joined his daughter in a stylish new venture on a quiet stretch of Portugal's south coast, writes Audrey Gillan