North London
Sprawling Hampstead Heath, with its rolling woodlands and meadows, feels a million miles away from the city – despite being about 3.5 miles from Trafalgar…
Must-see attractions in Western Europe
South Cornwall
Looking like a cross between a lunar landing station and a James Bond villain's lair, the gigantic hemispherical greenhouses of the Eden Project have…
Paris
Filled with fountains, ponds and sculptures, the formal 28-hectare Tuileries Garden, which begins just west of the Jardin du Carrousel, was laid out in…
London
It doesn't matter from where you first glimpse Tower Bridge, with two neo-Gothic towers rising gracefully from either side of the Thames: London's…
Whitby
There are ruined abbeys, and there are picturesque ruined abbeys. And then there's Whitby Abbey, dominating the skyline above the East Cliff like a great…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
This famous inner-city oasis of formal terraces, chestnut groves and lush lawns has a special place in Parisians' hearts.Â
The West End
With almost six million visitors trooping through its doors annually, the British Museum in Bloomsbury, one of the oldest and finest museums in the world,…
London
Romp through 450,000 years of London history at this entertaining and educational museum, one of the capital's finest. Exhibiting everything from a…
Orkney
Predating Stonehenge and the pyramids of Giza, extraordinary Skara Brae is one of the world's most evocative prehistoric sites, and northern Europe’s best…
Latin Quarter
Elegant and regal in equal measure, the massive neoclassical dome of the Left Bank's iconic ±Ê²¹²Ô³Ù³óé´Ç²Ô is an icon of the Parisian skyline. Louis XV…
Kent
Leeds Castle, an immense moated pile just east of Maidstone, is often considered the world’s most romantic castle. It's certainly one of the most visited…
Mont St-Michel
Mont St-Michel's one main street, the Grande Rue, leads up the slope – past souvenir shops, eateries and a forest of elbows – to the star attraction of a…
North London
Eclectic and alternative, Camden Market attracts millions of people each year and is one of London's top places to visit. What started out as a collection…
Paris
The world's largest start-up campus was unveiled by French president, Emmanuel Macron, in mid-2017. At any one time, some 3000 resident entrepreneurs from…
Paris
If anything rivals the Eiffel Tower as the symbol of Paris, it’s this magnificent 1836 monument to Napoléon’s victory at Austerlitz (1805), which he…
The West End
Packed with waxwork likenesses of celebrities, Madame Tussauds is kitschy and pricey, but makes for a fun-filled day. There are plenty of personalities to…
St-Germain & Les Invalides
Musée d’Orsay may not be quite as famous as the Louvre—though it’s located a mere 10-minute walk away—but this Left Bank museum holds its own in its…
The West End
The magnificent Temple Church was built by the secretive Knights Templar, an order of crusading monks founded in the 12th century to protect pilgrims…
Dorset
The massive, shattered ruins of Corfe Castle loom so dramatically from the landscape it's like blundering into a film set. The defensive fragments tower…
Kent
The Chartwell Estate was home of Sir Winston Churchill from 1924 until his death in 1965. It offers a breathtakingly intimate insight into the life of…
Slieve Bloom Mountains Nature Reserve
The Midlands
A 2300-hectare nature reserve with a mountain range in the middle, full of walking and biking trails. A visit to Slieve Bloom is the perfect excuse to…
Kent
Turner Contemporary is a blockbuster art gallery, bolted together on the site of the seafront guesthouse where master painter JMW Turner used to stay…
Dorset
Durdle Door is the poster child of Dorset's Jurassic Coast. This immense, sea-fringed, 150-million-year-old Portland stone arch was created by a…
Kent
Down House, on the edge of the quaint Kent village of Downe, was Charles Darwin's home from 1842 until his death in 1882. It was here that he developed…
Windsor & Eton
Windsor Great Park stretches south from Windsor Castle almost all the way to Ascot, 7 miles southwest. It covers just under 8 sq miles and holds a lake,…
Aran Islands
Dún Aonghasa is one of the largest prehistoric stone forts in Europe and stands guard over Inis Mór on the edge of a 100-metre sheer cliff drop.
London
With a bright-red London phone box rising surreally up in a sea of purple flowers, Mayfield Lavender is one of the most alluring summer sights around…
Northeast England
Monumental Durham Cathedral is the definitive structure of the Anglo-Norman Romanesque style, a resplendent monument to the country’s ecclesiastical…
Northeast England
A monumental chateau half a mile east of the centre contains the lavishly furnished Bowes Museum. Funded by 19th-century industrialist John Bowes, and…
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Part of a sober-minded institute devoted to the study of genetic science, this centre lets you discover the secrets of life through a fascinating series…
Peniche
While in Peniche, make sure you do the 8km circuit of the whole headland (walking is hot going, however, as much of it is on the road). At Cabo Carvoeiro,…
Toulouse
Toulouse’s grandiose main square is the focal point in the heart of France’s "Pink City"
Toulouse
This aviation museum was built on the very spot the A380 Airbus was first completed. Here you can admire commercial and military aircraft and learn behind…
Cardiff
There's a medieval keep at its heart, but it's the later additions to Cardiff Castle that really capture the imagination. In Victorian times, extravagant…
Stonehenge
An ultramodern makeover at ancient Stonehenge has brought an impressive visitor centre and the closure of an intrusive road (now restored to grassland)…
Mosteiro de Santa Maria da Vitória
Estremadura & Ribatejo
The extraordinary monastery of Batalha was built to commemorate the 1385 Battle of Aljubarrota (fought just south of here). Most of the monument was…
Fontainebleau
The resplendent, 1900-room Château de Fontainebleau’s list of former tenants and guests reads like a who’s who of French royalty and aristocracy. Every…
Mosteiro de Santa Maria de Alcobaça
Estremadura & Ribatejo
One of Iberia's great monasteries utterly dominates the town of Alcobaça. Hiding behind the imposing baroque facade lies a high, austere, monkish church …
Chartres
One of Western civilisation’s crowning architectural achievements, the 130m-long Cathédrale Notre Dame de Chartres is renowned for its brilliant-blue…
Tomar
Wrapped in splendour and mystery, the Knights Templar held enormous power in Portugal from the 12th to 16th centuries, and largely bankrolled the Age of…
