The Church of the Holy Cross was destroyed in 1944 and rebuilt exactly as it was. The heart of Chopin is entombed there

Warsaw looks just as it did in Chopin's day. Well, almost

On the eve of the great composer's 200th birthday, Adrian Mourby sees how the city where he grew up has emerged from centuries of war and ruin

Holiday Inn is reinvented for 21st century

Holiday Inn, the hotel chain that defined modern standards – and epitomised standardisation – is undergoing the biggest makeover in hospitality history

WIN! A weekend for two in Marrakech

We've teamed up with Hotels.com – the world's leading hotel booking website – to offer a weekend break for two in Marrakech, Morocco.

Who's been sleeping in my bed: Recent bizarre ideas from hotels include human bed warmers at Holiday Inn

Is it the men in white suits...or room service?

Hotels will entertain almost any idea to get an edge. Sarah Barrell has the (bedtime) story

48 Hours In: Rome

Italy's capital is easy to reach and hard to leave, with a wealth of antiquity, plus great gastronomy.

Something To Declare: Ferry to Flanders; expert Rome; music on the Danube; Italy's transport strikes

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British Airways to fly jets on green fuel made from London's rubbish by 2014

BA will buy output from East End biofuel factory planned by US-based Solena

Jail threat to skiers who go too far off-piste

Italy expected to rush through legislation after deadly weekend on slopes leaves eight dead.

48 Hours In: Havana

Salsa, socialism and sophistication share the faded magnificence of the Cuban capital. Ben Ross prescribes a revolutionary city break

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Stay the night: Chalet Bear, Klosters, Switzerland

Cosy furnishings, hand-made mattresses, a roaring fire, and top food. Minty Clinch grins and bears it

Let the river be your guide to this lonely valley

Walk of the Month: A walk through Weardale reveals two distinct characters. Mark Rowe reports

Fishing for pearls on the island of Bahrain

It's 8.30am and Bahrain's gentle winter sun plays on the water as our boat pulls away from the jetty. Our hopes are high for a good catch: not of fish, but of oysters. And not just any old oysters but those with pearls in them.

Two lucky readers could win a weekend break at the four-star Fontana Park Hotel in Lisbon

WIN! A weekend for two in Lisbon

Enter our prize draw and you could be the lucky winner of two nights' B&B at the four-star Fontana Park Hotel in Lisbon.

One of the eight refurbished W-Class trams passes Flinders Rail station

Book up: Melbourne's novel story

Lonely Planet's Tony Wheeler reveals Melbourne's novel story

Chris Parrott takes to the rainforest canopy in Guyana

Inside Travel: Journey Latin America - still pioneering after all these years

Thirty years ago, Chris Parrott co-founded the travel specialist Journey Latin America. At the time, the region was in turmoil, from Mexico and Guatemala to Argentina and Chile. Today Latin America is largely calm, peaceful and accessible (except, temporarily, Machu Picchu in Peru). But there is still plenty of virgin territory. In September, Chris will lead a prospecting trip to the territory that Evelyn Waugh described as "gobs of Empire": the Guianas. He tells Simon Calder about the trip.

Masterpiece: Fez is one of the world's great cities

Best for getting lost: Fez

Every great city is entirely itself and nowhere else. At the same time, they're all like ... somewhere. Somewhere that doesn't exist. A Platonic copy, perhaps; an embodiment of the idea of the city, whatever that may be. Morocco has several versions – all different – but in the end Tangier, Rabat and Marrakesh seem to me just rehearsals for the world's great masterpiece, Fez. In particular, the Bali Medina, the walled Old City, of Fez. The traditional Great City – traditional now, in our post-Enlightenment eyes – is a place of visual harmony, of vistas and prospects, squares, spires and domes. Old Fez is the exact opposite. The alleyways of the medina are so sinuous, straitened and overbuilt that there is, quite literally, no view. You never know what is around the next corner as it tilts down towards the river. You barely know where the next corner is. There is no angle that can lead the eye upwards more than 30ft. The rooflines are a mystery. The medina from the air reveals nothing about the medina on the ground. The eye is made useless.

Travel Challenge: A tour of Rajasthan

Every week we invite competing companies to give us their best deal for a specified holiday. Today: a private tour of Rajasthan. Prices are for two people and include flights to Delhi departing Heathrow on 20 March.

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