Travel News

When it comes to extravagantly luxurious waterfront villas, Italy has you well and truly covered. From a prestigious cliffside palace on the Amalfi Coast to a magnificent villa with sensational views over Lake Como, there are plenty of knock-your-socks-off properties available to rent - if money is no object. Pictured: Villa Besana, Lake Como (top left); Villa dei Sonetti, Amalfi Coast (top right); Villa Prima, Lake Como (bottom right and inset) and Villa Oleandro, on the Amalfi Coast (bottom left).

Berlin today is one of the world's hippest, most affluent cities - a cultural powerhouse and a mecca for party animals. But just over 30 years ago it was a city torn in two, divided by a wall measuring 91 miles. On one side was capitalist West Berlin, on the other communist East Berlin. Anyone who tried to get over it was shot. To mark the fall of the Berlin Wall Radio Free Europe photographer Amos Chapple visited the precise locations of 14 striking photos taken when the city was split - in the 1950s, 60s and 70s - and took 2019 versions of those scenes. And the contrasts - or lack thereof - are fascinating.

We've scoured the globe to find the world's lesser-known islands with perfect places to stay. The list includes La Digue, Seychelles (top left), for those Robinson Crusoe moments, Astypalea, Greece, for its fresh air, French Polynesia's beautiful private island of Tetiaroa (top right), and Isla Contoy, Mexico, which is a nature lover's paradise (bottom right).

Richard and Nikki Curzon moved into a converted station home in Loddiswell with their two children and set about transforming its old signal box into a holiday let. It sits in 4.5 acres of land. The self-catering accommodation has an occupancy rate of 90 per cent, which allows the couple to run it as their full-time job. The station was on the so-called Primrose Line, a picturesque route from South Brent to Kingsbridge that spurred off the main Exeter to Plymouth line.

The map also indicates that France was the second-most popular place to visit, with 155,700,981 visitors. The map shows that Greece steadily lost popularity from 2010 onward. In fact, in 2013 it only saw 511,000 visitors, compared to 2.8 million in 2002. The map shows the volume of travellers as tiny dots streaming out from the UK to different countries around the world, shifting slightly as time goes on. As an added element, it's possible to click on individual countries and regions to view how much tourism they've been getting from the UK since 1994.

Chris Greenwood took his brood to Thomas Cook's Sunwing Arguineguin Seafront resort where they enjoyed a 'royal' family room, trips to the island's 'Little Venice' and a cove-hunting boat trip, one of the holiday firm's Love Local experiences. By summer 2020, there will be more than 70 experiences on offer with one in every destination.

This jaw-dropping clip shows an intrepid traveller swimming in a natural pool in one of the hottest places in the world. Bridget Thackwray is one half of New Zealand travelling duo Expedition Earth, and in June the 25-year-old and her partner, Topher Richwhite, 33, discovered this phenomenon at the Danakil Depression - an eye-popping geological wonder in Ethiopia. The area is peppered with deserts and hot springs, and Bridget was filmed taking a dip in the middle of a huge salt flat.

With 'impending sleepless nights' ahead of her, six-months pregnant Sarah Fitzmaurice checked into the Beach Club on Hamilton Island off the coast of Queensland in Australia for a spot of pre-birth relaxation. The adults-only resort has 57 rooms, with each one offering 'breathtaking views' out across the water. It truly was a weekend in paradise, she writes.

So is summer over? Weather reports are patchy, that's for sure. The Met Office warns to expect strong winds, showers and 'longer spells of rain' this weekend. The good news is that if you want to guarantee sunshine you can - by booking a last-minute holiday bargain. Here's our pick of some of the sunniest, last-minute offers including Grenada, Greece, Croatia and more...

The best hotels, inns and 'pubs with rooms' in the Cotswolds have a glorious sense of old-world charm - and a cutting-edge approach to good food and service. Here are some of our favourites, including Barnsley House (top left), The Tudor Farmhouse (top right), Bower House (bottom left) and Thyme (bottom right).

Here are some of the best places in the UK to swim outdoors. The list includes a famous waterfall plunge pool in Yorkshire and a tidal bathing pool in Dorset. The Outdoor Swimming Society says its follower count has climbed to more than 70,000 since its inception in 2006, when it had just a few hundred members. This is no longer a hobby for eccentrics...

Stanley Johnson (left) headed to Ningaloo in Western Australia - slightly later than planned - for a trip of a lifetime. His adventure had to be postponed so he could see his eldest son, Boris, appointed Prime Minister. However, he eventually made it Down Under and saw humpback whales (top right) and went swimming with whale sharks (bottom right) and manta rays.

Past guests include Lloyd George, Sir Winston Churchill and the cast of Bond film Goldeneye (it appears in the background of the movie, Casino Royale too). Now it's William Hanson's turn to try out the legendary Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo, which has a three-Michelin-star restaurant and bathrooms (bottom left) that are awash with marble. Find out why he gives the hotel a glowing five-star review.

Caron Steele, from Worcestershire, has been named Bird Photographer of the Year 2019 for a jaw-dropping image of a Dalmatian pelican taken on a frozen lake in Greece entitled Dancing on Ice (main). Bird Photographer of the Year Director and Competition Organiser Rob Read said 'it had me leaping from my chair with joy the moment I saw it appear on my computer screen'. Lots of other images impressed the judges too - and the very best of them have been compiled into a book, published by William Collins. TV presenter and lead judge Chris Packham said: 'Winning this competition is getting harder. And that's the way it should be because photography is evolving more rapidly than ever.'

Members of the public are being asked to vote for their favourite weather photo of the year - and the competition is jaw-droppingly strong. The Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS), in association with WeatherPro, has selected 24 finalists for this year's Weather Photographer of the Year competition and is now asking the public to help pick the winner. More than 5,700 photos were submitted in this year's contest, showing weather phenomena from around the world, including clouds, lightning, rain, fog and snow.

Lonely Planet's latest book - Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist - ranks the top 500 unmissable experiences and hidden gems across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. Here we pinpoint the quirkiest entries in the fascinating tome. They also include a theatre on a wild coastline, the Banksy Trail in Bristol and a very, very old pub.

If you want to see how England's towns and cities have changed since Victorian times, there's no need to invent a time machine and travel back to the 19th century. Simply gaze upon these fascinating composite images. They merge pictures taken across England in the 19th century with present-day images snapped in the same spot. The images focus on places including Bristol, London, Manchester and Newcastle, with many of them showing landmark buildings standing strong in the original locations.

These toe-tapping hotels might just strike the right chord with music lovers. MailOnline Travel has scoured the world for the best music-inspired spots in which to rest your head for the night, from a disco-themed room in Germany complete with a spot-lit bed to a swanky suite in Taipei dedicated to the composer Chopin (bottom right). Also pictured: HF Fenix Music hotel in Lisbon (top left), Disney's All-Star Music Resort in Florida (top right) and Pop House in Stockholm (bottom left).

Michele Robson and Paul Khosla from flight tips site Turning Left For Less snagged a trip on a private jet from Luxembourg for just £250 each - exclaiming that they 'felt like celebrities'. Paul shored up the validity of the comparison with Ryanair fares on his write-up of the trip by posting a screen-grab of a Ryanair flight from London to Palma on August 22 that costs £269 per person.

There are, by all accounts, a dizzying number of things to do in the UK. Which makes Lonely Planet's latest book - Ultimate United Kingdom Travelist - exceptionally useful, because it ranks the top 500 unmissable experiences and hidden gems across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. And the coveted No1 spot goes to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It's where some of the world's biggest comedy legends cut their teeth and is described by Lonely Planet as being 'the greatest show of arts and culture on Earth'.

Virgin Atlantic has taken delivery of its first new Airbus A350-1000 - and posted a video walk-through of the swanky cabin, which features brand new business class suites and a 'social space' for those forking out for the most expensive fares called 'The Loft'. The plane - carrying registration G-VLUX - flew from Toulouse Blagnac, near the Airbus factory, to its Gatwick home over the weekend. Virgin posted pictures of it on the tarmac in Toulouse and the video of the cabin to its Instagram stories page.

Researchers analysed and ranked 151 of the UK's Michelin-starred restaurants from the cheapest to the most expensive. The most affordable is Leroy (top left), a wine bar and restaurant in Hackney, London. Other cheap Michelin-starred restaurants include The Ninth (top right), St John (bottom left) and Kitchen W8 (bottom right) - all in London. The most expensive Michelin-starred restaurant in the UK is The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire, which is owned by Heston Blumenthal.

Lucknam Park in Wiltshire is, says MailOnline's Ian Walker, a bit like Harry Potter's Room of Requirement. Whatever you want it to be, it is. He marvels at the astounding number of activities on offer, from falconry to duck-herding, and the indulgent luxury one can be immersed in - the superb spa, the Michelin-starred restaurant and the upmarket country house-style accommodation.

Three generational family holidays have become a regular thing for the Daily Mail's Sue Ryan. On a visit to Los Angeles, she was determined to build memories with her three grandchildren. While there, they visited the likes of Huntington Beach and Disneyland before heading south along the Pacific Coast Highway. Other multi-generational spots in LA include Santa Monica Pier, Griffith Park and Universal Studios.

The Grand Central Hotel is located in the heart of Belfast and is an ideal spot for a city break. The hotel, which opened in 2018, features Ireland's highest bar (bottom right) - on the 23rd floor of the building. The original Grand Central, which opened in 1893, hosted the launch party for the RMS Titanic - which was built in the nearby Harland and Wolff shipyard.