Archie Inglis

Fjords, Bach, dark skies, Flemish masterpieces, Lyon’s bouchons and Valletta’s knights: six European breaks you can reach by Eurostar or a short flight, with honest costs in pounds.

Meet old friends in a Soho boozer and you’ll soon find the pub has held up better than any of you. Here’s how to get the most out of the reunion pint.

Hong Kong is famous for skyscrapers, but much of its land is hills, beaches and country parks. Here’s how to see the city by ferry, tram and on foot.

Scilly, Lundy, Arran, Orkney, Anglesey and the Isle of Wight, plus a few European rivals: the islands where the landscape, history and pubs beat lying on a towel.

Norway’s Lofoten islands are at their most honest when the weather turns. A guide to the stockfish, the fishing villages, getting there from the UK and visiting without spoiling it.

Letting your home while you spend winter in Spain or Portugal can cover much of the cost. First check HMRC rules, your lease, your insurance and the small print.

Hot springs in Bath, Riesling in Colmar or Silvaner on a Würzburg bridge: three small cities that look their best in autumn, and how to reach each by train from London.

Parga has the pastel houses, Venetian castle and Ionian water of a Greek island, but it’s on the mainland, so it’s cheaper and easy to reach from Preveza.

A long weekend in Riga that starts in a food market built from zeppelin hangars, wanders through Europe’s finest Art Nouveau streets and ends with beer by the river.

Tallinn’s medieval Old Town gets the postcards, but a long weekend there is better spent in the harbour quarters, the 1928 public sauna and the craft breweries.

Baroque lanes, a KGB prison and a self-declared republic of artists. Why Vilnius suits a long weekend from the UK, with flights, rough costs and where to spend your time.

Is driving the Amalfi Coast worth the stress? An honest guide to hiring a car in Naples, plate-number rules, ZTL fines and knowing when to park up.