Ewan McDonald writes from Istanbul, where tourists sought pleasure while the locals openly defied their leaders.

Another year, another northern summer of music festivals approaches.

Londoners do, of course, do London.

Rarely are hikers rewarded so richly for their toils as on the steep slopes of Italy's Cinque Terre region, where five ancient fishing villages cling to the sheer slate cliffs below.

In English, the word "wander" means to ramble or roam. In German it has a slightly different meaning which equates to the English term "hike", usually through places of wilderness and natural beauty.

The palazzos were built for nobility, but it is artists, fashion designers and hoteliers that uphold their grandeur today, says Kate Simon.

Bullring combines grandeur and gore, writes Julie Moffett.

What's in store for Paris's iconic Hotel de Crillon? Samuel Muston takes the long view.

Starting at the top of the London Eye, Julia Shallcrass discovers London attractions and local haunts.

Eurostar's latest service takes you straight to the heart of foodie France. Andy Lynes climbs aboard.

Three years after Ireland's €67.5 billion financial rescue by the International Monetary Fund and the European Union, signs are the Emerald Isle is on the improve.

Scientists have uncovered what, for some couples, may be an uncomfortable truth: all people of European descent are related.

The Black Caps play England at Lord’s this week. Simon Wood has the inside edge on the home of cricket.

Pamela Wade admires the sweetest cupcake, iced with Swarovski crystals.

This compact city-state stands aloof from its bigger neighbours. Adrian Mourby takes a tour.

Increasing numbers of campsite holidaymakers fly to Italy, but taking the decision to drive across mainland Europe is worth the effort.

Bucharest was founded by a shepherd, according to local legend, and was later nicknamed the Paris of the East.

There’s nothing quite as delightful as sipping high tea with your pinky out in the home of the high tea.

A holocaust survivor and one of the last remaining Jews to be saved by Oskar Schindler hopes her story can help prevent the horrors she witnessed happening again.

The Romanian capital is home to two million people, with a cityscape that ranges from rundown grandeur to communist monstrosities and sleek modernism. It hums with a cosy, vibrant and seductive Byzantine charm

Ian McCrae, is the CEO and majority shareholder of Orion Health, the large Auckland health software company which has just celebrated its 20th birthday.

I spent many weekends as a child being dragged to motor shows by my car-mad dad (and extremely patient mum).

Oliver Reed once declared that he wanted to drink every pub dry before he died. In Malta, he met his match.

Tauranga lawyer Belinda Pidwell will never forget a Bosnian man tell how he and his family were lined up and shot.