Why Italy Is The Perfect Solo Trip Destination

The area around Hardcastle in West Yorkshire springs into life in mid-March. The woodland floor transforms as if by magic into a soft carpet of wildflowers with bluebells appearing later in the season. The area was once called Little Switzerland because of its steep lush valleys bisected by rushing rivers, silver streams and footpaths. We found it to be the perfect antidote to winter, with shafts of golden sunlight casting their magic rays on all the lovely foliage. Head for a nice pub lunch at the Old Gate in Hebden after a morning walk.Nigel

Experience the warmth of the Mediterranean sun and the richness of Spanish culture with your own car, and discover why this is one of the fastest growing cities in Europe.

In the coming years a further 54 hotels will join the Kimpton brand, seeing it surpass it’s 100 hotels milestone and reach 20 countries by 2025.

The airline has also relaunched its route from Newcastle to Amsterdam for next summer.

From its historical significance and architectural marvels to its status as a premier wedding destination and its vibrant cultural life, Venice offers a unique experience that is both deeply rooted in its past and vibrantly alive in the present.

When I was 32, I immigrated to the US by myself. I had no family, friends, or job prospects here, but I packed whatever fit from my life in one bag and came here.

Running from Sorrento southwards to Salerno, the Amalfi Coast is a jagged rollercoaster of citrus groves edged by cobalt-blue sea.

Grapes have been associated with pleasure since ancient times, a symbol of Bacchus, the god of wine and revelry. These days, clusters of plummy Concords, oval autumn royals and dusky kyohos are decorating dinner tables, doubling as cornucopian decorations and low-effort snacks. “You can get a beautiful, imperfect drip and drape from grapes,” says the interior stylist Colin King, 35, who overflowed a marble urn with abundant mounds of them for the launch of his furniture collection, a collaboration with the Future Perfect, in New York this past fall. Although he uses green grapes for daytime parties, for evening events he prefers the “moody, sensual vibe” of dark varieties — like the attenuated, oblong moon drops that the artist Laila Gohar, 35, mixed with red globes and flames to form an edible monolith for the recent opening of the Essentiel Antwerp clothing store in New York. The chef Mina Stone, 42 — who runs Mina’s, the cafe at MoMA PS1 in Queens, and is a go-to caterer for art gallery dinners — favors Thomcords, a sweet, seedless hybrid she often serves with dessert to “provide heft and a colorful backdrop” for daintier confections. She also likes to roast grapes alongside seared duck breast. In London, the pastry chef Claire Ptak, the owner of Violet bakery, offers what she calls fragolina cupcakes, named for the fragola (Italian for “strawberry”) grapes that she cooks down, then purées and adds to the buttercream frosting. The fragolas “taste like a berryish Concord,” says Ptak, 49, who tops each cake with a small cluster of fruit. The frosted treats “transport you back to childhood when you take the first bite,” she says, “and then you realize they’re also very grown-up.” —

Rome will be celebrating its legendary birthday on the 21st of April. According to legend, Rome was founded on April 21, 753 BCE. So, on this date, there is a holiday to celebrate, the Natale di Roma. Pesaro as The Italian Capital of Culture 2024 in the Marche region has been announced as the Italian capital of culture for 2024.

Travel experienced a boom in 2023, with visitor numbers in many hotspot destinations returning to pre-pandemic levels.

The Swiss city of Lugano is an outlier, radically different in feeling from counterparts like Zurich, Geneva, Lausanne, or Basel. It has a 19th-century feel, a measured pace, and traces of the Belle Epoque. Situated on Lake Lugano with tree-lined promenades and a backdrop of domed mountains, the views might have been lifted from an Art Nouveau poster.

You don’t need to head to obscure, hard-to-reach parts of Italy to heed some of today’s most popular travel mantras, like “escape the crowds!”and “beat the heat!” Here are five gorgeous destinations close to (and even in) the country’s most sought-after spots that can help you do a bit of both. All are right on the water—almost a requirement for summer vacations now, when warm-weather months bring new, record-setting hot spells throughout Europe.