I need to be in London for a few days before Christmas and want to spend about 10 days in southern Europe. Looking for somewhere relatively warm and, hopefully, sunny over Christmas and New Year. Can you suggest two or three locations? J.
Mills, Saigon, Vietnam One possibility is Malta. According to weatherspark you can expect average daily temperatures between 13-18C and almost 10 hours of daylight but some rain. Another good choice could be Sicily, temperatures could be just a couple of degrees cooler than Malta, although slightly drier as well.
The island’s cultural assets, including churches, galleries and museums, would work in your favour if the weather turns sour. You can fly from London to Catania non-stop in just over three hours, although you might want to base yourselves a little further south, at Syracuse or better still, the tiny island of Ortigia. From here you could make day trips to explore nearby cities including Noto, Ragusa and Modica to the south-west and Taormina and the area around Mount Etna to the north.
With 10 days to spare you could also stay for a few nights in Taormina, even the top hotels such as Villa Carlotta and the Four Seasons San Domenico Palace, where much of The White Lotus was filmed, drop their prices in December. From Taormina you could take a ferry from Milazzo to explore the Aeolian Islands. We are visiting my son in Dubai in October.
Which country would you recommend where we could travel together for a week? He has suggested either Oman or Turkey. L. Kaye, North Melbourne, Vic Oman and Turkey are both excellent suggestions.
Turkey has more variety and cultural depth and that would be my first choice. It’s also easy to get to thanks to Turkish Airlines flights into Australia that offer a one-stop connection to Istanbul, and their ticket prices are keen. In October you can expect mild temperatures in Istanbul, a little warmer along the coast but cooler in Anatolia.
However a week is too short to see any more than a couple of places in Turkey. Being more compact, Oman would fit more easily into a one-week itinerary. The other possibility is Egypt, but this, too, is a tight fit on a seven-day schedule.
After arriving in Milan in June and visiting a friend at Lake Como, we have 10 days before we need to be in Tuscany for a wedding. After the festivities we have another 10 days before we fly out of Rome. After the wedding, we’re thinking about Umbria or Sardinia before Rome.
Any suggestions for places we shouldn’t miss on a relaxed schedule? C. Norwood, Williamstown, Vic You have a generous amount of time and the most obvious route from Lake Como would be via the great cities of Emilia-Romagna. I like Ferrara, a really gorgeous Renaissance city with some wonderful palaces and art galleries.
Second choice, Parma, which is more accessible by train and gives you easy access to Modena, Bologna and Piacenza. You’re in one of the gastronomic capitals of the universe, and Parma has the usual northern Italian jaw-dropping assembly of churches and palaces. For accommodation you might try Al Battistero d’Oro .
Your next stop could be Florence, it will be busy but if you’ve not been before it’s unmissable, and the same applies to Siena. If you want something different, you could travel west from Milan to Piedmont, a tapestry of rolling hills and vineyards with medieval towns crowning the hilltops. Highlights include Bra, birthplace of the Slow Food movement, and the nearby Barolo wine region, one of Italy’s most celebrated.
Another is Orta San Giulio, a small town on the edge of Lake Orta, and finally the ride on the Domodossola–Locarno railway line, the Vigezzina-Centovalli, one of the world’s great rail journeys. After the wedding, Umbria has some fine medieval hill towns such as Spello, Montefalco and Trevi, and wooded hills where you can hunt for truffles with dogs followed by a lunch of freshly made pasta with grated truffles, a meal you won’t forget. There are great cities such as Assisi, Orvieto and Perugia and on the rippling hillsides, olive groves that produce some of Italy’s finest olive oils.
If you’re more inclined towards walks through wild countryside and along rugged coastline, Sardinia, and the island’s beaches make it a favourite summer holiday destination for Italians. My husband and I want to visit Portugal next May, staying in three or four places over 10 days. Any suggestions for stops, and highlights? A.
Jamieson, Leichhardt, NSW Lisbon has the best air connections, and you could spend four nights, there’s a lot to take in. The narrow streets of the Alfama district are a great place to look for a hotel, that puts you right at the heart of the action. Don’t miss the waterfront Belem area, with many reminders of the time when this was the departure point for explorers who pioneered the sea routes to West Africa, India and the Americas.
Combine this with a cruise on the Tagus River. Set a day aside to visit nearby Sintra, a beautiful town on the UNESCO World Heritage list and easily accessible by train. Next, take a train just a short distance north to Nazare for a two-night stop.
The beach here is one of Portugal’s finest and seafood is a specialty. Use this as a base to explore the historic town of Obidos and perhaps the important pilgrimage site of Fatima. Head north again to Porto and base yourselves in the historic Rebeira district along the waterfront.
Explore Rebeira and the amazing Palacio da Bolsa, the city’s former stock exchange, the church of St Francis and the riverfront promenade of the Vila Nova de Gaia neighbourhood, and perhaps sample some of the port wines for which the city is famous. The trip along the steeply terraced hillsides of the Douro River, the home of port, is an absolute must. You can do it either on a full-day cruise aboard the vessels that depart from the pier at Vila Nova de Gaia, or taking the train from Porto’s Sao Bento Station to Pinhao and back.
Some operators offer a cruise upriver from Porto to Pinhao followed by a train ride back to Porto. You can find plenty of options on Viator , or visit the city’s tourist office. Travel advice is general; readers should consider their personal circumstances.
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