Notes on…
Antwerp: the compact, charming capital of a country that doesn’t quite exist yet
Napoleon didn’t think much of Antwerp. ‘Scarcely a European city at all,’ he scoffed. If only he could see it…
Antwerp
Napoleon didn’t think much of Antwerp. ‘Scarcely a European city at all,’ he scoffed. If only he could see it…
Beauty, tragedy and black pudding: the delights of Normandy
I am compiling a list of the best black puddings. It began in Spain when I encountered my first morcilla…
Normandy
I am compiling a list of the best black puddings. It began in Spain when I encountered my first morcilla…
The swankier the hotel, the sulkier the tourists
Unusually, I didn’t leave the British Isles until I was 35, when I went to the Maldives for a fortnight.…
Barbados
Unusually, I didn’t leave the British Isles until I was 35, when I went to the Maldives for a fortnight.…
The pleasures of getting lost in Marseille
If you haven’t been lost in Marseille then you can’t have been there. As Alexandre Dumas wrote, this is a…
Marseille
If you haven’t been lost in Marseille then you can’t have been there. As Alexandre Dumas wrote, this is a…
A wine pro finds himself out of his depth at the Varsity Blind Wine Tasting Match
One of the great jokes of the wine trade is: ‘Have you ever confused Burgundy with Bordeaux?’ ‘Not since this…
Wine tasting
One of the great jokes of the wine trade is: ‘Have you ever confused Burgundy with Bordeaux?’ ‘Not since this…
‘Was the baby naughty?’: Gory frescoes, spectacular cliffs and herring with a toddler in Denmark
The sky over the island of Møn, which is at the bottom right of Denmark, was cobalt and the whitewashed…
Møn
The sky over the island of Møn, which is at the bottom right of Denmark, was cobalt and the whitewashed…
Introducing the first Spectator readers’ cruise
It’s a complete recipe for disaster of course. By which I mean being trapped at sea with The Spectator’s ‘Low…
The first Spectator cruise
It’s a complete recipe for disaster of course. By which I mean being trapped at sea with The Spectator’s ‘Low…
Tourists are trickling back to Egypt – to beat the crowds, go now
Egypt’s revolution of 2011 didn’t just get rid of President Mubarak: it did a pretty good job of clearing out…
Egypt
Egypt’s revolution of 2011 didn’t just get rid of President Mubarak: it did a pretty good job of clearing out…
Rise early to see the Vatican at its best
The sun has only just risen in Rome and we are standing bleary-eyed in a short queue outside the Vatican.…
The Vatican
The sun has only just risen in Rome and we are standing bleary-eyed in a short queue outside the Vatican.…
Vienna is a crossroads of the world again – but something’s missing
People get the wrong idea about Vienna and I blame Johann Strauss. His plinky-plonky waltzes have become the soundtrack to…
Vienna
People get the wrong idea about Vienna and I blame Johann Strauss. His plinky-plonky waltzes have become the soundtrack to…
Seeing Paris through Impressionist eyes
The spectre of the Charlie Hebdo killings still hangs over Paris. Outside the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, opposite the…
Impressionist Paris
The spectre of the Charlie Hebdo killings still hangs over Paris. Outside the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, opposite the…
Grim, generous, decaying and hip: the paradoxical charms of Athens
My first visit to Athens as a student gave me a set of impressions that the present crisis has only…
Athens
My first visit to Athens as a student gave me a set of impressions that the present crisis has only…
A cruise around Cleopatra's wedding present
Legend has it that Mark Antony considered Turkey’s Turquoise Coast so beautiful that, in about 32 bc, he gave it…
