CAPITAL CRUISES

This month ...

…and not for the first time, we’ve been considering the

BEHIND THE SCENES

What Team Lonely Planet has been up to this month

Postcards

WHERE YOU’VE BEEN AND WHAT YOU’VE SEEN

Globetrotter

A WORLD OF TRAVEL NEWS AND DISCOVERIES

Easy Trips

THIS MONTH... go horse-riding on Menorca, tuck into spring produce in Worcestershire, spend the weekend in Rome and find an island retreat in France

Roman holiday

The Eternal City is also the capital of outdoors urban life, with grand views from its seven hills and dining tables on innumerable piazzas – visit now to see la dolce vita in full swing

Wake up to the Alps

Quote the magazine when booking three or more nights at

Seasonal tips

St George’s Day marks the start of the asparagus season

GIANTS OF THE DEEP

Enter the code LPT50 when booking online by 1 March,

Not too hot to trot

The centuries-old Camí de Cavalls (Horse Road) runs in a

The Grove of Narberth

Pembrokeshire is at its loveliest in early summer. Parasols pop

Great Escape: SOUTH DEVON

Begin your trip by sampling outstanding local produce on Lyme Bay, then head west to explore the creeks and waterways of the River Dart. Follow the river to the coast for some beachcombing between Start Bay and Bigbury-on-Sea, then finish with a hike among the imposing granite tors of Dartmoor

BACKSTAGE HAVANA

Havana’s heartbeat is the pounding of drums. Infectious rumba and salsa music are ever-present, along with the everyday sounds: cries of peanut hawkers – ‘Mani, mani!’ – and the rattle of handcarts over cobbles. Ladies shout to their neighbours as they hang out washing in colourful lines like bunting, dogs yip from balconies, and the tinny noise of a televised baseball game spills from a window where a man stands shaving his chin with a cut-throat razor. It often seems that all the drama of life here is lived out on the street. After all, Havana appears as a city-sized film set, with its crumbling colonial buildings and its classic cars belching bluish exhaust fumes into the air. But behind the city’s pastel-painted façades and ornate wrought-iron grilles, there is a whole world to be discovered – all it takes is to pull back the curtain…

WORLD’S MOST EXCITING CITIES

New openings and urban reinventions are bringing these cities to the world’s attention

TSARS V SOVIETS

One hundred years after the Russian Revolution, seek out the best ways to experience the two sides of St Petersburg: those forged by both imperial and communist Russia

JAPAN from the source

The islands of Japan extend over 2,000 miles – discover them with these authentic dishes to try there or at home

The old JERSEY SHORE

I’ve spent the last two years documenting the Mid-century Modern

Outdoors in North Wales

The myth-rich mountains and valleys of North Wales were once a hive of mines and industry; now, this landscape is a playground for hikers, bikers and thrill-seekers

Culture in Amsterdam

Few cities meld history with modern urban flair like Amsterdam. You won’t get far without discovering a masterpiece of art, traditional pub, buzzing market or waterway

Weekend in Valencia

Happy to let Madrid and Barcelona steal the limelight, Valencia charms as a sophisticated cultural centre with quality museums, great restaurants and an understated beach life

Budget Athens

Ancient and modern, grungy and graceful, Athens’ historic centre is a legendary open-air museum, but it’s also sophisticated, cosmopolitan and budget-friendly

Food and drink in Boston

Backed by Massachusetts farmland and with bountiful lobster on its doorstep, Boston is America’s seafood capital, but international and organic dishes are also high on its menu

Stopover in Seoul

The South Korean capital is a dynamic 24-hour city, both deeply traditional and cutting-edge, mashing up temples, palaces, contemporary design and mountain trails

What on Earth?

1 Which mountain range is the native habitat of the