Alternative city breaks

Editor's note

I recently enjoyed being a guest on the podcast The

Signature dune

Autumn on Gran Canaria is hard to distinguish from summer,

Motel moments

The final season of Nashville may have aired last year,

Everything you need to know about… house-swapping

No swap is free. You’ll pay membership fees for websites

Break away

With overtourism rarely out of the headlines and cities such

iFull

If estimates are to be believed, the world’s mobile-phone users

The stars of leaf-peeping

There’s never a better time to visit the Loire Valley

The Methuen Arms, Cotswolds

This pub with rooms is housed in the former coaching

Cliff hanger

With sport climbing coming to the Olympics next year for

More reasons to get out there

Due to launch as we go to press, new travel

Photo challenge: Symmetry

We reveal the winning images from our latest Instagram challenge, this month on the theme of ‘symmetry’

Ethical flying in the age of flygskam

As flygskam, the Swedish for ‘flight-shaming’, and the environmental movement associated with it gathers force, aviation journalist John Walton tells us how to reduce the impact of flying

Snapshot from New York

New York was my last stop on a trip around

Ely rider

Park up your road bikes: a folding commuter version is perfect for a mini-expedition into the unknown, as Oliver Smith discovers on an East Anglian ride, in the second of our new series

Life changer

Each month, a travel writer shares their most remarkable experiences from the road, reflecting on the trips that made them think a little differently about the world. In this issue, Matt Phillips on Varanasi

What I've learned... on the road in East Africa

Becky Kieha fought discrimination to become one of the region’s first female long-distance safari truck drivers, earning her the nickname of ‘Mama Overland’

NORWAY’S MOST BEAUTIFUL VALLEY

Photographer Daniel Alford reflects on the week he spent exploring the Norwegian valley of Innerdalen

ONLY IN TOKYO

If you can think of it, you can probably do it in Tokyo, so join us in seeking out the bizarre in the Japanese capital, a city like no other on Earth

A FINE VINTAGE

From a medieval champagne bar to a Soviet-style pub, embark on a time-traveller’s tour of Kraków’s historic drinking-holes

Coastal Maine

Ease into the slow pace of sea-swept Maine, at the USA’s northeastern tip: begin with Portland’s food scene, head north to Rockland, with its world-class museums, and sail around Penobscot Bay. Finally, lace your boots for walks in Acadia National Park

The winds of change

Once called ‘the capital of nowhere’, the Northeast Italian city of Trieste has switched between nations as often as any in Europe. Wander its windswept harbours and hillside streets to hear echoes from the furthest corners of the continent

Run this town

There are few better ways to see what makes Havana tick than jogging its seafront promenade. Writer of our Cuba guidebook Brendan Sainsbury pulls on his trainers and takes us running

Pick’n’ mix UTRECHT

The canals and cafés of this unsung Dutch city make for a cultured short break. Tailor your trip according to taste with medieval and Modernist sights, cuisines both far-flung and locally sourced, and ample choice of beer

Historic Edinburgh

Scotland’s splendidly situated capital is a place of centuriesold tenements,

Eating in Bangkok

Nowhere else is the Thai reverence for food more evident

Venice on a budget

Venice is a city of almost hallucinatory beauty. Built on

Culture in Munich

Regularly voted by Germans as their most desirable place to

Bouquinistes in Paris

It is said that the Seine is the only river

Istanbul

Istanbul is the biggest by far of the world's few

Oxford’s storytellers

A breeding ground for greatness, Oxford is an otherworldly kind

Wafeltjes van ons Bomma, Antwerp Lemon waffles

Wes Meurrens used to work in advertising. Tired of the

Urban walks

Best known to cyclists, the Berlin Wall Trail (pictured right)

Mind the gaps

We’ve delved into our archives and pulled out this photo, from a story that first appeared in the January 2010 issue. You’ll find a few gaps in the description: read to the end and then see how many of the blanks you can fill in