Europe and Middle East

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in Europe and Middle East. independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Alp Horns

Tale of the Unspunnen in Interlaken

Rupert Parker braves the rain at the tenth edition of the Unspunnen – the Swiss Wrestling, National Costume and Alpine Herdsmen’s Festival, held in Interlaken.

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Rupert Parker reviews the IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Portals Nous in Mallorca

IBEROSTAR Grand Hotel Portals Nous. Palma has never looked so good.

The new adult only Iberostar Portals Nous is a classy 5 star designer hotel with just 66 rooms, just outside Palma and only half an hour from the airport.

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The Vineyard Hotel 30786618736 0518e4f32e k

The Vineyard Hotel. Discover the impressive Judgement of Paris Tasting Menu

Tucked away in a corner of prime Berkshire countryside may be a strange location to remember an incident that literally rocked the wine industry. Yet when you consider The Vineyard Hotel in Stockcross is pretty much all about the fruit of the vine, then it all makes sense.

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The Vineyard Hotel's motto Eat. Sleep. And drink wine leaves you in no doubt as to what is front and centre here

The Vineyard Hotel. Discover a hotel immersed in fantastic wine.

The Vineyard Hotel’s motto Eat. Sleep. And drink wine leaves you in no doubt as to what is front and centre here. And I fully intended to embrace that sentiment wholeheartedly

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Stuart Forster visits the Piece Hall in Halifax following its re-opening. SF Halifax PieceHall 015

The Piece Hall. Halifax’s Classical Georgian Cultural heart.

The Piece Hall in Halifax, West Yorkshire, reopened on Yorkshire Day, 1 August 2017, as a cultural and commercial hub at the heart of the town

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Steak frites Bearnaise at Petits Pois restaurant

Petits Pois Restaurant. A magnificent place to discover fine food.

In these days of clean eating, a restaurant in right-on Shoreditch actually pushing meat is a rare treat  indeed. And the deceptively-named Petits Pois, which offers that other rarely-found treat in Britain, a perfectly-cooked steak frites Bearnaise, is making the first Sunday of every month particularly attractive for carnivores, with a few extra treats some would consider beyond the pale.

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