The alluring Oxfordshire town that’s a favourite of the A-list
Gruesome deaths happen on a surprisingly regular basis around here. The most recent was during a stage production of Amadeus. The crowd was enraptured as the actor…
Emmanuel Macron in no mood to resign during charm offensive at Marine Le Pen heartland
In his first stop in Denain, one of France’s poorest towns in a region where Ms Le Pen is a councillor, Mr Macron was taken to task…
Scathing Russian critic who survived two poisonings jailed after ‘regime of murderers’ jibe
One of the few remaining prominent Russian opposition figures and a vocal critic of the invasion of Ukraine has been jailed for 15 days, hours after describing…
Ukraine could receive MiG fighter jets as talks gain momentum
“This is equipment that we want to finish anyway, because we’re waiting for the F-16s,” he told the Politico news website. He said Slovakia is “in very…
Austrian chancellor defends ‘naive’ meeting with Vladimir Putin
An EU diplomat said the attempt to negotiate with Mr Putin was “f****** pointless”, referring to previously failed diplomatic efforts to urge the Russian president to end…
Marine Le Pen receives hero’s welcome as she gains ground on Emmanuel Macron in final flurry
“An electoral contest is a confrontation of ideas and projects, not a fight,” she said, adding that she wanted a “a tranquil France, a serene France, a…
Jean-Luc Mélenchon: France’s answer to Corbyn makes last push to challenge Emmanuel Macron
An Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll on Wednesday placed him in third place in Sunday’s first round on 16 per cent but approaching Marine Le Pen, on 21.5 per…
Holland’s once-in-a-decade flower extravaganza is like the Chelsea Flower Show on steroids
As a group Your whole gardening club can book a personalised group trip with ITO. Start with an off-the-peg package, which lasts for six days and includes…
The beautiful beaches of Germany you’ve never heard of
The idea of holidaying in Germany is more likely to conjure up images of romantic hilltop castles and quaint villages with pretty timber-framed houses than sweeping, sandy…
Chaos in Manchester – just how bad is it at the much-maligned airport?
Once through security, in a record five minutes, the scene was serene – one woman was stretched out Roman-style on a large bench – well there wasn’t…
‘Sleeping Beauty’ Nantes faces rude awakening as crime enters French presidential race
At a fountain in the quaint central Place Royale, three young women were looking at the Instagram post of a girl saying: “I was hit in Nantes…
The unlikely home of Europe’s best secret beaches
The idea of holidaying in Germany is more likely to conjure up images of romantic hilltop castles and quaint villages with pretty timber-framed houses than sweeping, sandy…
We spent €35bn on Russian gas and €1bn on arms for Ukraine, admits EU
The EU on Wednesday was discussing a new package of sanctions against Moscow in response to the atrocities committed by retreating Russian troops in Bucha and other…
Marine Le Pen places law and order at heart of election bid after Jewish man chased to his death
Marine Le Pen on Wednesday warned that the death of a Jewish man hit by a tram while fleeing a mob outside Paris was a sign of…
French election: The hologram ‘Corbyn’ who could bring an end to Macron’s ‘monarchy’
An Ipsos-Sopra Steria poll on Wednesday placed him in third place in Sunday’s first round on 16 per cent but approaching Marine Le Pen, on 21.5 per…
What happened on a holiday in the EU’s most boring Capital of Culture
More insights from a weekend in Esch Coolest corner Cool is a relative concept in Luxembourg, which would turn up looking like Matt Hancock on his day…
When will Spain, Italy and Greece finally ditch their ‘unnecessary’ Covid rules?
At a press event last week, over coffee and breakfast tapas, the Spanish Tourist Office spoke confidently about the year ahead, with visitor numbers – after two…
The hidden pitfalls in booking train journeys online this summer – and how to avoid them
According to Smith, online journey planners apply a blunt logic which causes problems with search results. “Journey planners are automatically programmed to try to minimise journey time….
The real reason the Dutch are so unbelievably rude
Today, Dutch directness is usually the basis for negotiation: “Tell me what you think, and I’ll tell you what I think, and then we’ll agree a solution.”…
France’s intelligence chief who failed to predict invasion to step down ‘immediately’
In fact, the Americans and British had impeccable intelligence on Russian preparations and took the unprecedented step of making the information public in the weeks leading up…
Could a Spartan lifestyle turn me from zero to hero? I travelled to Greece to find out
She has a point; one Leonidas I would probably agree with. The fabled 5th-century-BC warrior-king – a slayer of Persian invaders famously depicted by Gerard Butler in…
Coast, culture and low prices: Croatia’s most beautiful seaside destinations to visit this summer
Croatia offers more than 1,100 miles of meandering mainland coast backed by rugged limestone mountains, along with hundreds of scattered islands and islets, of which 47 are…
Every country in Europe will feel more expensive this summer – except one
Those price differences very roughly echo the Post Office survey, but they don’t single out Turkey as quite the excellent value that you might think it would…
Why I’ve given up on going abroad, and plan to spend my holidays on home soil
Like so many others during the pandemic, we’ve fallen in love with the south west, so decided to spend a week there. We started our trip at…
Normandy row erupts over wind turbines a stone’s throw from British D-Day war graves
A feud has erupted between two Normandy villages over the erection of wind farms a stone’s throw from British war graves, with detractors calling it a slur on…