Travel & Culture
- The Guardian
An arty weekend in … Southend-on-Sea, Essex
The seaside town hosts a street-art festival and the world’s first digital art park, while nearby Leigh is packed with galleries
- The Guardian
‘I’m happy to have this slow day’: Bali marks new year with day of silence
To mark Nyepi, everything from the airport to local supermarkets and ATMs are closed, while residents and tourists remain inside for quiet self-reflection
- The Guardian
After Impressionism review – radical ideas and ecstatic sex from the edge of a new universe
Cézanne outshines Van Gogh, with Picasso his revolutionary pupil, in this absorbing hurtle toward modern art – smashing 500 years of tradition into cubist shards
- The Telegraph
Glyndebourne’s leading lady ditches opera festival for Andrew Lloyd Webber and the West End
Danielle de Niese is to star in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End revival of Aspects of Love after pulling out of this year’s Glyndebourne Festival.
- The Guardian
Anton and Giovanni’s Adventures in Sicily review – the Strictly stars’ bond is so moving it will make you weep
This is much more than a celebrity travelogue – it’s the tale of a charming and genuine friendship. These two are a ray of hope in an age of toxic masculinity
- The Telegraph
French tram drivers will refuse to transport King Charles during state visit
French tram drivers will refuse to take King Charles III on a tour through Bordeaux during his state visit, striking workers warned amid violent protests rocking the country.
- The Telegraph
Watch: Bags of KFC delivered to Xi Jinping’s ‘China-style’ hotel in Moscow
Xi Jinping’s delegation in Moscow were holed up on Tuesday ordering mass KFC deliveries to their China-themed hotel complete with a replica of Beijing’s Forbidden City.
- The Guardian
Ben Okri on swapping novels for painting: ‘Could these two great rivers of creativity merge?’
The Booker winner has teamed up with Scottish colourist Rosemary Clunie – to follow in the footsteps of word-and-picture masters Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jenny Holzer
- Evening Standard
Ai Weiwei has made a giant version of Monet’s Water Lilies out of Lego... and it’s coming to London
The work will go on show at the Design Museum next month
- The Telegraph
‘Dartford Disneyland’ calls in administrators after Kent theme park plan collapses
Developers behind a planned £2.5bn Kent theme park to rival Disneyland have called in administrators after running up £100m in debt.
- Evening Standard
Luton Airport ‘cable car’ opening date revealed - as cheaper shuttle bus is axed
£4.90 for three-minute trip from train station - £2.40 bus service to end
- Evening Standard
The best free exhibitions in London – get your culture fix and keep your money for coffee
Want to have a fun day out but also save those pennies? These free London art exhibitions are perfect
- The Telegraph
Is Jackson Hole the perfect American ski resort?
While Europe has experienced something of a lean winter, a snow-dumping La Niña has swept through North America. Many resorts have even extended their seasons as they deal with a constant cycle of digging out chairlifts and breaking snow-depth records.
- Evening Standard
Meet Glaze, the tool that stops AI copying your art style
Glaze subtly changes an artist’s work to make AI see it completely differently
- The Telegraph
The truth about hotel suites
Just who pays £20,000 a night for a suite in a hotel? And what are they getting for that? The answer to the first question is simple: very, VERY rich people. The answer to the second is: whatever they want. There’ll be a fully stocked proper wine fridge and an invite to help yourself. You’ll get a kitchen, dining room and superior bathroom products.
- The Telegraph
The faded Scottish seaside resort that’s finally regaining its mojo
By any standards, Edinburgh is an unusual city, with its handful of volcanoes (albeit extinct), swathe of hills, almost mile-long central garden, and the world’s biggest arts festival. But not many visitors realise Scotland’s capital also has a beach. And a fine, sandy two-mile stretch at that. Hop on the No 26 bus from Edinburgh’s Princes Street and you can be stripping off and plunging into the fine waters of the Firth of Forth within 20 minutes.
- Evening Standard
Booking set to open for Netflix’s Stranger Things West End production
Loved the TV show? Now see it live in London
- Evening Standard
The best family-friendly afternoon tea in London, from the Langham to Aqua at the Shard
In her most delicious investigative reporting yet, Lucy Tobin tests out London’s best family afternoon teas
- Evening Standard
British tourist crushed by boulder taking selfie at Vietnam’s ‘cliff of death’
The man reportedly clambered up the rock face and onto a prohibited section of the scenic viewpoint in Xeo Sa Lung village
- Evening Standard
ACRO Suites, Crete: adult-only luxury wellness retreat for a complete mind and body detox
You will sleep to the sound of sea waves and never want to leave the infinity pool, says Radhika Aligh
- The Guardian
An arty weekend in … Bishop Auckland, County Durham
The former mining town is home to Velázquez, Murillo and El Greco, the art of pitmen, and its own artist-designed tweed
- The Telegraph
How a land of melancholic people created the world’s happiest country
Fondly recalling a childhood memory, tour guide Tuula Kleiman describes the good old days when people would paint the soles of their feet with tar. Insisting it was an excellent form of protection, she muses nostalgically about the thick, tacky residue produced by decomposing pine wood, now used to smoke saunas and even flavour food.
- The Telegraph
The enchanting corner of Spain that mass tourism hasn’t discovered
If you’re looking for an enchanting corner of Europe that mass tourism hasn’t discovered, you could do far worse than Aragón. Tourists, from Britain or elsewhere, are few and far between in this huge inland region in the northeast of Spain. Indeed, you might well see no one at all – it has some of the least populated areas in the country.
- Evening Standard
Six inventive ways to enjoy nature in London this spring
Urban life doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the benefits of exploring nature. Londoner Liv Bolton, author of new book The Outdoors Fix, shares her top tips for making the most of the city’s green spaces
- The Telegraph
From pork pies to snowglobes – the most ridiculous ‘liquids’ confiscated by airport security
Last week, Telegraph Travel reported that Teesside had become the first airport in the UK to scrap its 100ml liquid allowances for passengers.
- Evening Standard
Best London exhibitions: the top 10 art, history and cultural displays on right now
From a study of Quinten Massys’ An Old Woman to an interactive games exhibition, London’s is packed full of stuff to do