Holiday Like An Italian in Sestri Levante
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Holiday Like An Italian in Sestri Levante

Most people would classify Sestri Levante as a “tourist town”, but you should not think that this is a good reason for bypassing Sestri on your tour of Northern Italy. First of all, because the tag “tourist town”, although commonly used with more than a hint of contempt, is not, if you think about it,…

A Moment of Magic and a Breath of Summer
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A Moment of Magic and a Breath of Summer

In these bleak mid-winter days of sleet, snow and icy winds: what could possibly bring more joy than a trip to a place where you can still feel the breath of summer on your neck, a place where, while the season’s paraphernalia (parasols and pleasure boats) may have been mothballed, the spirit of summer is…

The Thames Path: Madness, Modernism and an Unruly Princess
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The Thames Path: Madness, Modernism and an Unruly Princess

There cannot be many major rivers in the world that have a proper hiking trail attached to them all the way through, from the source to the spot where they join the sea. The Thames, Britain’s most famous river, is lined by such as a “source-to-sea” footpath – which, with a total length of well…

The Storied Mansions of the French Riviera
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The Storied Mansions of the French Riviera

The French Riviera has been copied and imitated a lot over the years. Nowadays, nearly every coastal country in the world appears to have a “Riviera” of its own – including Albania, for crying out loud. But there is one ingredient in the recipe for the French Riviera’s lasting appeal which is particularly difficult to…

Osnabrück – Picturesque and All Quiet on the Western Front
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Osnabrück – Picturesque and All Quiet on the Western Front

If you are looking for a reliable way to date cities, here is one clue: look at the churches: If the town centre is studded with churches that look somehow Gothic but not quite (“Neo-Gothic”: overcooked in parts, half-raw in others), then the city in question is mainly a child of the 19th century. If…