The Best Winter Clothes, Accessories, and Gear to Pack in 2024

One of the most appealing parts of giant Texas, the Hill Country offers travelers a break from life’s daily grind with loads of wineries, rivers for floating, endless trails to hike and live music around every corner. 

Swimming coach Emma MacDonald set up Wild Hebridean Swimming in 2022 after moving back to Mull. The company offers holidays for open water swimmers, but also retreats for those who can only tread water or do a bit of doggy paddle. These involve short dips in the clear waters of the Inner Hebrides, where there are seals, underwater kelp forests and waterfalls. Longer swims can be arranged on request. The programme also includes a guided walk on Iona, the burial place of 48 Scottish kings including Macbeth. Guests stay at Achaban House, which has woodburners and a wood-fired hot tub, where there is a choice of activities, including yoga and massage. From £895 including all meals and wine, next retreat 8-11 March, wildhebrideanswimming.com

Maybe it’s the nation’s glut of centuries-old cellars and tunnels. Or perhaps it’s the world-class bar scene, which led the way with speakeasy-style drinking dens when they were trending a few years back. Either way, the UK today is full of quirky places to say ‘cheers’ at a subterranean level. Whether your preferred tipple is wine, beer, whisky or a mixologist-crafted cocktail, these celebrated bars from London to Edinburgh will serve it to you amid atmospheric underground vibes.

A world-class city, Athens is crammed with attractions and entertainment that can fill weeks of any visitor's time.

February half-term is usually a near-guaranteed time for ski lovers to find snow in Europe - but it may be significantly harder this year.

We have two main priorities when it comes to packing: saving space and staying organized. The solution to both? Investing in a set of the best packing cubes. Whether you're headed on a low-key weekend away or a weeklong European adventure, these thoughtfully designed cubes help manage even the most unwieldy of travel wardrobes. The great thing about packing cubes is how versatile they are: Use them to organize your belongings by garment type, to keep complete outfits together, to separate clean clothes from dirty clothes, or to hold your shoes.

There's more to Grand Cayman than beautiful beaches, five-star resorts and financial services.

Life in Maastricht and our province of Limburg is sweet: our local specialities are proof. Two dishes stand out: limburgse vlaai is a delicious pastry with a sweet filling. There are lots of flavours, but the best is rijstevlaai, made with a rich rice-pudding centre. You won’t find that anywhere else in the Netherlands.

Puglia embodies everything that is seductive about southern Italy: rolling countryside blanketed in almond and olive groves, luridly turquoise beaches, snug whitewashed villages, and long, lazy lunches washed down with prized local vino.

If you are an English speaker planning to move to Europe in 2024, you might want to find a country where you’re likely to be understood from the get-go.

Many of the travellers who venture beyond the Arctic Circle to Norway’s northern capital, Tromsø, do so with very realistic hopes of seeing the Northern Lights. But those who come chiefly to be dazzled by the Aurora Borealis will find a city capable of springing plenty of culinary surprises, thanks to a varied dining scene reflecting a population that’s more cosmopolitan than some might assume. At its root, however, is a world-class offering of fresh local fish, from herring to halibut, served on its own, as sushi or in a delicious soups and stews.

In the summer months, Tarr Steps heaves with families and visitors who come to cross the medieval clapper bridge that spans the River Barle. But in winter the woodland is tranquil, with lovely walks to the picturesque village of Dulverton. The Tarr Farm Inn – set right by the Steps – dates back to the 1600s, with nine comfortable rooms that come with fluffy bathrobes and Egyptian cotton, and homemade biscuits and fresh milk on the tea tray. Settle in for hearty dinners of chermoula-spiced scallops and a rack of Somerset lamb, with cream teas available until 5pm each day as a reward for a hearty walk. Doubles from £90 B&B; tarrfarm.co.uk