Palazzo Margherita near the town of Bernalda is the director's fifth resort worldwide. You can even stay in Sofia's favourite bedroom at the hotel, as Natasha Culzac discovers.

The central state of Thuringia is not where most Britons head for a dose of Christmas cheer. But Valentina Jovanovski discovers traditional markets and great Gluhwein.

Pompeii tends to get all the publicity when it comes to ancient disaster tourism. But a new exhibition is set to show that its smaller sibling city, Herculaneum, is half the story.

David Whitley heads for Manchester's big new football draw, which offers visitors much more than just a collection of old shirts, match-day programmes and ticket stubs.

At The National Motor Museum in Beaulieu, a year-long exhibition dedicated to the vehicular adventures of our favourite spy lets you take a closer look yourself.

Bath is known for its Roman past and Jane Austen connection. But the Somerset city is also a hotspot for fine food. Anna Melville-James heads west for the Great Bath Feast.

It is famed, of course, as the home of Dracula. But while the shadow of Bram Stoker's creation is hard to escape, Nick Boulos finds there is more to Romania than vampires.

The actress' roles in Harry Potter and the BBC's Shakespeare productions are taking her to locations across the UK that have underlined her fondness for her home country.

Frank Gardner leads his family into the snowy Bavarian Alps to spend the night at the Iglu-Dorf hotel. It turns out to be an unforgettable experience for all the wrong reasons...

It is a place of power and intrigue - not least at the moment, as the US presidential election hoves into view. But Washington DC is also a quietly cool city, says Graham Boynton.

Autumn is when New England is at its best, says Chris Leadbeater as he visits Nantucket, where the trees' leaves flit from pink to brown and the seaside breeziness is intoxicating.

The Caribbean island of St Vincent could be about to join the likes of Barbados and St Lucia as one of the region's tourist hubs, says Richard Pendlebury. For now, it's all his.

It is a totem of remembrance that many of us will wear over the next few weeks. But how is the poppy made? Joanna Tweedy tours the Poppy Factory in Richmond to find out.

Travelling to Heathrow can be the dull part of a holiday for anyone who does not live near London. But wait, says David Whitley - many regional airports serve great destinations.

Aberdeen's reputation has grown with the news that US billionaire Donald Trump is building a golf course nearby. But Claire Cohen finds much to enjoy off the fairway.

The Delta is a world of water lilies, reeds and willow trees with no roads, and hardly a human, for hundreds of square miles. David Milne went to see how the cuckoo is thriving there.

Reunion is the least known of the Indian Ocean islands - a tiny outpost of France . Kevin Coulson finds glorious scenery, good food and Gallic accents far from home.

Sarah Hartley takes her mother on a trip to Florence, where they 'absorb' dreamy architecture, beat the queues at the Uffizi and discover a refreshing alternative to all that Renaissance art.