Where to go in Europe

Italy is a country that is gloriously, unashamedly itself. Church bells and clinking espresso cups; striped umbrellas on the beach and snow on the mountains; Vespas zipping past Roman ruins and grandmothers arguing over whose tortellini is best. One minute you’re standing beneath an impossibly beautiful Renaissance ceiling, the next you’re elbow-deep in pasta flour and plotting which flavour of gelato to have for round two. And then there’s the sheer variety of it all: the cool, glassy lakes of the north, Tuscany’s iconic vine-covered hills, cities that hit you round the head with their sheer beauty and astonishing architecture, and coastlines that can be polished, glitzy and sparkling – or a little rough around the edges. Come hungry, wear good shoes, and don’t expect to fit it all into one trip.

Impossibly varied for its size and insatiably passionate about its own history (steam engines, the railway, the telephone, the television, the World Wide Web and penicillin to name a few), the United Kingdom packs more into a relatively small island than almost anywhere on earth. More than 800 languages are spoken in London, making it the most linguistically diverse city on earth, Scotland has 790 islands, and there are 47,000 pubs serving possibly even more ales. Quite impressive! And somewhere in all of this is one of the world's great travel experiences: extraordinarily green landscapes and heather-strewn highlands; misty, mysterious lakes, lochs and fells; world-class cities and tiny, honey-hued villages; glorious architecture and universities that have been teaching since before the Aztec Empire; a food scene several decades past its tired reputation; and a nation of incredibly friendly people, albeit one a little obsessed with discussing the weather (and queuing).

The subject of song and verse, paintings and film, and enduring wanderlust, France is officially the world’s most visited country. A place where making food and wine exceptional is serious business, grandeur exists in the scenery as much as it does the châteaux, and life is for the living – and living well. Paris is, of course, at the centre of it all with its enthralling history and cool, cultured people. But once you’ve walked the city flat, there is even more to discover beyond the Champs Elysees. Fall in love with lavender-scented Provence and its fairytale villages, sip and swill your way through the wine regions, jet-set with the best of them on the Riviera, and unravel centuries of history as you do it all. From skiing in the Alps to sunbathing beside the Mediterranean, and all the castles, grapes and gardens in between, France never fails to amaze its visitors. There’s only one thing left to say, “Vive la France”!