How to plan a festive family trip to Lapland

For fans of Christmas festivities, London has some of the best activities and events in the world. The iconic landmarks and streets are lit up with dazzling displays, there’s Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, traditional Christmas markets offering unique gifts and seasonal treats and ice skating at beautiful venues like historic Somerset House. Here are a few suggestions if you’re visiting London this month.

I hold up a glass of rosé the colour of the setting sun. It’s summer in a glass, with fresh strawberries on the nose and ripe fruit in every fizzy sip. Vines roll into the distance, bees hum drowsily, the hills look parched. As I sit on the terrace at White Castle Vineyard in Monmouthshire on a scorching June day, it feels like I could be in the South of France. It seems to me the least Welsh of settings.

Hotelplan UK – the parent company of Explore Worldwide, Inghams, Esprit, Inntravel and Santa’s Lapland - has released its first Planet and People report, to follow on from its Climate and Biodiversity papers published early in 2023. The report, Protecting our Futures, tracks Hotelplan UK’s progress towards sustainability goals and incorporates elements of the group’s People strategy for the first time. It highlights where the group has surpassed targets – increasing investments in the planet and charity donations by more than 16% to £1.25 million, for instance - as well as addressing areas such as carbon reduction where efforts need further acceleration to meet Glasgow Declaration targets.

2023-24 UK Hospitality ‘Quick Take’ report, with its insights into the latest trends and best practices for leveraging feedback data, is here to help hospitality businesses navigate these challenges.

This spa town in the Derbyshire hills – the joint highest market town in England (a title shared with Alston in Cumbria) – has beautiful Georgian and Victorian architecture and is surrounded by the Peak District on three sides.

Served at everything from weddings to funerals, and found in bakeries and supermarkets across Sweden, layered Smörgåstårta ‘cakes’ are a celebration of the savoury. They come in all shapes and sizes and can combine pretty much anything the appetite desires – as long as you include some spreadable elements. Fish pâté, horse radish, crème fraîche and cream cheese are favourites, which are layered with everything from avocado and smoked fish, to cooked prawns and ham — with such classic Scandi garnishes as radish, dill and cucumber as fresh decorative flourishes. Grab your mandolin and get creative.

Airlines owe American travelers billions of dollars in compensation for flight cancellations and delays. And some take months to pay — if they do at all.

Edinburgh is like a scene from a storybook, its spiky turrets, soaring towers, grand squares and cobbled streets every inch the sort of places dragons and princesses would inhabit — not to mention, of course, one particularly famous boy wizard. The city was J K Rowling’s home while she wrote most of the Harry Potter books, and it’s not hard to see the spark of inspiration for her world of magic. Kids’ imaginations have been known to run away with them as they wander the higgledy-piggledy medieval streets of the Old Town up to Edinburgh Castle or march through regal Holyrood Park to the extinct volcano hilltop of Arthur’s Seat, which towers above elegant Georgian streets in the east of the city centre.

Seven travel tech startups have raised more than $171 million over the past two weeks. 

When it comes to journey time from the UK to Portugal, the choice between hopping on a plane or taking the train is a no-brainer.

Guests can experience merry moments as EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays presented by AdventHealth jingles back to Walt Disney World® Resort till Dec. 30, 2023. This celebration of global holidays comes to life with immersive experiences throughout World Showcase and beyond, as guests savor international cuisine, enjoy live entertainment and engage in family-friendly activities, while enjoying the beauty of holiday traditions from around the world.

By far the favourite European ski destination, France consistently welcomes around a third of British skiers who are drawn by the convenience of a winter sports break in our near-neighbour country. Along with offering good no-fly travel options, skiers have a huge choice of wide-open slopes, lifts zigzagging across dramatic mountains and modern accommodation.