Art tips

No longer the grey city of Eastern European stereotype, the Polish capital Warsaw is a forward-looking, ebullient and multi-layered kind of place, where gleaming corporate skyscrapers rub up against time-capsule neighbourhoods that have remained unchanged for decades.

Known for its lavish balls and even more lavish cakes, Vienna is overflowing with art. If there’s one image that encapsulates the city, it’s of an elegant, gold-clad muse staring out at the viewer with an unsettling beauty.

Once one of Japan’s largest cities, in recent decades Kanazawa has languished in the shadow of its better-known rivals. But all that’s changing now, with the west coast city surging on a new wave of optimism boosted by the arrival of the Shinkansen’s high-speed rail links. Kanazawa is well and truly on the up – and with good reason. It’s a city that’s abundant in traditional charm, from its magnificently sculpted Kenroku-en garden – rated among the best in Japan – to its history-steeped geisha and samurai districts. Yet it’s also a city that’s very much still alive and kicking too, with an enviously cutting-edge art scene and a fast-growing cohort of contemporary restaurants.

It’s fair to say that Bucharest is usually given a wide berth by most travellers eager to reach the country’s more obvious sights, such as Transylvania, but this is a shame. Romania’s invigorating capital has much to commend it.

How well do you know this green and pleasant land we call home? In part two of our Exploring England series we're revealing three more cities perfect for exploring along with their countryside charms – so you can experience the best of both town and country on a microgap escape. What is microgapping? It's taking a break from the norm, changing your perspective and maximising your enjoyment of this country we call home, without needing weeks to do it. Part one covered the south, east and west — and now it’s time to head north.

As China reopens, the world is beginning to glimpse the first signs of life resuming in Wuhan, the city of eleven million where the coronavirus was first documented. It might be forever linked in our minds with Covid-19, but what about the city behind the headlines? Spanish photographer Ik Aldama was there before the outbreak – his vivid photography helps paint a picture of a living, breathing city, with much to offer.

From ancient plazas to the futuristic City of Arts and Sciences complex, to 20 kilometres of Blue Flag beaches, Valencia boasts bags of charm and variety. It’s also gloriously green, with two million square metres of gardens, 150 kilometres of cycle paths and 40 ciclocalles (cycle-priority streets). What’s more, through implementing its ground-breaking 2030 Sustainable Tourism Strategy, Valencia has become the first city in the world to verify and certify its carbon footprint from tourist activity.

Kanazawa City, the capital of Ishikawa Prefecture in Japan, is an attractive centre with a plethora of fantastic cultural attractions. Travellers will be treated to everything from well-preserved historic districts to modern museums and the natural charms of Kenrokuen Garden, among Japan’s most beloved landscaped gardens.

Kanazawa City has an array of cultural sights, but there’s a thriving folk-craft scene to get excited about, too. Recognized by UNESCO as a City of Crafts and Folk Art, you’ll find a range of exquisite traditional arts and crafts represented in Kanazawa. From Kanazawa gold leaf to delicate embroidery, local porcelain to colourful washi umbrellas, there’s good reason as to why the UNESCO Creative Cities Network has registered Kanazawa as a ‘City of Handicrafts’, with 22 kinds of traditional crafts among the city’s treasures.

Timbuktu? Forget it. A far more intriguing mystery lies hidden on the far side of Niger’s Ténéré Desert; here, among vast plains, abandoned villages and intriguing cave art, the mud-brick citadel of Djado rises from palm-fringed pools crammed with bright-green reeds, like some unworldly goblin’s castle. Explore the honeycomb of sand-chocked passages inside; there’s no one around. Eventually, you’ll emerge atop the crumbling ramparts and comprehend the isolation: a barren plateau to the east; infinite sand sheets unrolling westwards. When was Djado built? Why was it abandoned? The hot wind stirs the palms but keeps its secrets.

Vancouver sometimes gets knocked for being a bit dull – and while it’s true that its residents can be earlier to bed than in the rest of North America, this is the city that brought us Flickr, Greenpeace and, according to some, the California sushi roll. Rough Guides writer Rachel Mills is coming to Vancouver’s defence. Here are her top reasons to visit this gleaming waterfront city.

Johannesburg is a much-misunderstood city but despite misconceptions it’s one well worth visiting too, with a wealth of museums and galleries, world-class jazz and – as it turns out – a thriving street art scene. With Past Experiences guide and founder Jo Buitendach, Rebecca Hallett takes a walking tour of Maboneng Precinct to discover a lesser-known side to the city.

Polluted, rainy and business-orientated. Let’s face it, a trip to Bogotá hardly sounds appealing. And many travellers don’t bother to probe much further than this bleak reputation, seeing Bogotá either as somewhere to be skipped out altogether, or as merely a logistical blot on a more exciting itinerary.

Unsure where you’re going with your creative projects? Suffering from writer’s block? Travel is a wonderful way of picking up new ideas – but where do you go to kick-start your creative imagination?

Chichester is best known for its rolling hills, Roman history and nearby beaches, less so for its growing arts and crafts scene. We talk to five local artisans, each with a different story to tell about this district and cathedral city in southeast England. 

Whether you are keen to learn more about their art and customs, such as the many dances of the corroboree ceremony or the songs of The Dreaming, or simply want an authentic trip to Uluru, there are no better guides to Australia's outback than the many Aboriginal peoples who have lived her for millennia. All the following experiences are run by indigenous Australians and are committed to preserving and sharing one of the world's oldest cultures.

Straddling the cultural crossroads between Europe and Asia, Kazakhstan is an intriguingly cosmopolitan place. This vast country, which stretches from the Caspian Sea to China, is one of Asia’s most diverse, where ethnic Kazakhs and Russians rub shoulders with Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Tatars, Germans and many more in an enviably harmonious mix.

Prague is one of Europe’s most visited cities. Millions of tourists come to the Czech capital each year for its romantic hilltop castle, its intricate astronomical clock and its statue-lined medieval bridge.

Welcome to the Rough Guide to 2020! From up-and-coming destinations to old favourites with a new reason to visit, this guide has our pick of the best places to travel in 2020.

This beguiling country in Southeast Asia has captured the hearts and imaginations of travellers from all over the world. Travel photographer Fiona Campbell is one of many entranced by its magic; here she shares 11 of her favourite photos.

Born in California, the Summer of Love movement aimed at nothing less than transforming American society. And for a window of time, San Francisco was the centre of that hedonistic universe. Fifty years on, here’s where to go and what to do to relive the kaleidoscopic dreams and big ideas of the flower power generation.