Travel
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…
Why plane crashes are getting weirder – and if we’re lucky, other problems will too
In the late 1980s, the parks service in the United States were concerned about the deterioration of the stonework on…
Airport wars: why I'm betting on Gatwick
Easter is a good time to talk about airports — or perhaps a bad time, if you bought your Spectator…
Letter from Cuba: The tourists are coming – but don’t expect Walmart just yet
Sloppy Joe’s — which starred in the film of Graham Greene’s Our Man in Havana — was always likely to…
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…
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.…
Jeffrey Archer’s diary: a pirate at the traffic lights, and other Indian wonders
This last week, in India, I visited six cities in seven days: Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Calcutta and New Delhi.…
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…
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…
Five more MPs making Malcolm Rifkind’s day rate
Golden league Some MPs who earn Sir Malcolm Rifkind’s rate of £5,000 a day: — Sir Tony Baldry (Banbury): £3,333…
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…
An earthquake with a Baroque legacy in Sicily
Syracuse is a handsome place, steeped in a rich historical broth. At the tip sits Ortygia, an island offshoot, which…
A walk through Fez is the closest thing to visiting ancient Rome
Fez is one of the seven medieval wonders of the world. An intact Islamic city defined by its circuit of…
How to walk along canals in Venice without feeling like a tourist
I arrived in Venice believing it would reek of sewage. It didn’t. The walk into the centre went through cobbled…
On the Yeats trail in Galway
The Go Galway bus from Dublin sounds an unlikely pleasure, but it is both comfortable and punctual. There is free…
Dear Mary: How can I stop friends staying after a 21st?
Q. A neighbour is hosting a party for his daughter’s 21st birthday. Adequate provision has been made for anyone who…
The eurozone is strong enough to kick out Greece if Syriza wins
Ever since European Central Bank president Mario Draghi declared himself ready, in July 2012, ‘to do whatever it takes to…
The charming little airport that ruins thousands of holidays
The charming little airport that ruins thousands of skiing holidays
A museum of dirty postcards and Britain’s coolest bulldog: visit the strange side of the Isle of Wight
Every day the Isle of Wight becomes England’s smallest county: when-ever the tide comes in, the island steals the crown…
Onsen: dive into another side of Japan
Kate Crockett wallows happily in the natural hot baths of Kyushu
The beautiful Balkans on horseback
There’s no better way to see Bulgaria’s mountains
My perfect island – and the posher one next door
Jeremy Clarke found his perfect island – and had to leave it
Dallas, city of culture
Dallas has reinvented itself as a major arts destination, says Hugh Graham
Low life’s Limpopo legend
Not everything is forgotten in the new Johannesburg, finds Lara Prendergast
If you want a real safari, head to Botswana
As a boy camping with my father on safaris deep in the African bush, there were no tents involved; we…
