Travel

Walking The Burren, Co Clare: A place of curved hills, acres of open limestone and a landscape in which to lose oneself

Fiona Reynolds eats her words about regular walkers avoiding showers during the wettest months she can remember.

The incredible tale of my father's escape from 'Italy's Colditz'

Today, we might think of spending a few months in a world heritage site in Southern Italy as an enormous privilege. During the Second World War, however, it was anything but.

Jason Goodwin: 'Politicians need historians as much as kings need minstrels'

Jason Goodwin undertakes a family cycle ride along the Danube.

Airlines under fire for 'tankering', as planes burn tonnes of extra fuel in order to save a few pounds

A BBC Panorama programme has unveiled a widespread practice where airlines load their aeroplanes with extra fuel to avoid having to refill at more expensive airport—thus producing more emissions than necessary to operate each flight.

Gstaad, Switzerland: ‘The last paradise in a crazy world’, a fairytale still untouched with pistes aplenty

Rosie Paterson travels to Gstaad–once described by Julie Andrews as ‘the last paradise in a crazy world’– to find out what lies behind the jet-set façade.

Port Fairy, Australia: The former whaling town with more bite than its name suggests, on Australia’s Great Ocean Road

Cruising down Australia’s Great Ocean Road, Matthew Dennison discovers a former whaling town well worth visiting.

The Fife Arms, Braemar: Sustainable, beautiful and the ultimate destination for fishing enthusiasts

The Fife Arms – a gloriously decadent hotel in the Scottish highlands – is a magnificent cornucopia of art, taxidermy and fieldsports, finds Paula Lester.

A trip to Paris: Where to eat, sleep and shop in the City of Light

Rosie Paterson walked in Audrey Hepburn's footsteps and explored the food, sights and museums of Paris.

Hacienda La Caravedo, Peru: The oldest working distillery in the Americas, talented horses and a lasting memory of peace

Mary Miers visited the lesser-known side of Peru for a lesson in relaxation. She found nature reserves, geoglyphs and a jolly good pisco sour.

Chalet Sapphire, Morzine: The perfect resort for a beginner, drenched in luxury with an ice chamber, a cinema room and an open bar

A seaside estate in Montego Bay, where you can swim with horses and sample local herbal remedies

Swimming with dolphins might be the norm, but Nigel Tisdall bucks the trend to frolic with horses in the surf.

The Utterly Inessential Travel Shopping List: Everything you need for winter sun or hitting the slopes

Last week's Country Life showed you all the best places to travel for a holiday now that the summer is over, from swimming with horses in Montego Bay to curling up in a chalet in Courmayeur. Now that you've booked your trip, Alexandra Fraser shows you all the things which may make your journey a little bit easier, a little bit more luxurious and a little bit utterly inessential.

Chalet Hibou, Le Mirior: The height of ski-chic, designed to make you say ‘that was the best day of my life’

The Cavendish Hotel, Baslow: Fishermen's friend on the Chatsworth Estate

The Treehouses at The Fish Hotel: Spending a weekend as the Cotswolds Family Robinson

The Fish is a lovely Cotswolds hotel where you can can stay in normal rooms, shepherds' huts or treehouses. And while the latter aren't quite the same as living in the Ewok Village, they're plush, delightful — and you won't have to battle Stormtroopers while foraging for your dinner.

Istanbul, Turkey: Full of eastern promise, perfect for a weekend mini break

Sarah Freeman visits the wonders of Istanbul, only four short hours from our shores and immortal in its beauty.

Island hopping in Sweden: 'Pine forests, cobalt rivers and toy-town villages of scarlet wooden cottages'

Sweden has more than 30,000 islands to take in, and many of them are easily accessible from the capital, Stockholm. Sophia Constant took a road trip to find out more.

St Regis Mauritius: A tropical idyll where the biggest challenge is deciding how to relax next

A long weekend at Forsthofalm, the Alpine hotel made entirely from timber

Recent research suggested that time spent enjoying nature does wonders for us, with even a couple of hours a week making a big difference. Melanie Bryan tested the theory with a long weekend at Forsthofalm, a hotel in Austria that promises to leave you feeling better than when you started.

Country Life's ten favourite cities in the world — can you pick a favourite?