Spain
From a gadget-lover's playground to a theatrical hideaway, Antonia Windsor discovers three stylish places to stay in Madrid
France
Antonia Windsor hits the newly hip 13th arrondissement for exciting culinary and cultural developments in the eternal city
Despite designer hotels and chic boutiques, Madrid is still a city steeped in tradition, from loyal crowds at bullfights to backstreet bars with unexpected rituals
Italy
Cheese and balls in Reggio Emilia
It’s not often on holiday that you start the day at 7.30am with plastic coverings on your boots at a Parmesan cheese factory and end it by dancing in at a castle at midnight at a ducal ball ...
Hotel Il Salviatino - A room with a view in Florence
Not all of us are lucky enough to live like royalty all of the time, but most of us manage to find a few occasions when we can treat ourselves to the very best, be that a honeymoon, 40th birthday celebration or, for those who can afford it, an annual treat ...
The Grand Hotel Baglioni in Bologna is a luxury hotel in the classic style. Don't expect gadgets and gizmos – this isn't the place for your rainfall showers and your flat-screen TV – but do expect discreet service, elegant furnishings and fine dining in an old Italian Palazzo slap-bang in the city centre ...
Flicking through the guest book as I was checking out of the glamorous luxury hotel Relais Santa Croce in Florence, I came across a page with some child's scrawl - I could make out the name Zahara and I realised it was the page signed by the family of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt who took over the entire hotel during the filming of the Tourist in March ...
Portugal
Facts and statistics on Portugal including history, population, politics, geography, economy, religion and climate
Luxury hotel in Saint Paul de Provence, an artist’s haven in Provence
I'd heard a little about this village before I arrived. But nothing had prepared me for the sheer idyllic Frenchness of the place. This is the France of imagination; of books and films and advertising posters. I didn't realise it actually existed in such perfection.
On the ball in the Western Algarve
Football, fresh seafood and fabulous beaches are waiting to be discovered in the often overlooked region of Western Algarve
The Pyrenees provide a dramatic backdrop for some of Europe's most extraordinary thermal baths, which offer a variety of traditional and new age treatments
This flat sandy island is just 18 miles long, but has 60 miles of cycle lanes and a beautiful lighthouse, the Phare des Baleines, all waiting to be discovered variety of traditional and new age treatments
Atlantic coast: go west for watersports
Stretching from Brittany to the Spanish border, the Atlantic coast of France is notable for unspoilt beaches, castles, fishing and glorious sunsets
Languedoc, for Blue Flag beaches
Beaches here are sandier than in pebbly Provence and loved by swimmers, watersports enthusiasts and families
Giants on land and sea in northern France
The northern town of Douai is home to one of the most extraordinary summer festivals in France, while on the coast Dunkirk is making the most of its year as the region's capital of culture
