Travel News

They were taken by photographer Allan Hailstone in the 1950s over the course of two short trips, one in July 1955 with his father and another with a college friend in September 1959. Mr Hailstone, originally from Coventry, took hundreds of stunning images of Paris's most beguiling scenes and architecture - the Champs-Élysées, the quaint streets of Montmarte, the majestic Notre-Dame cathedral and the beautiful Arc de Triomphe.

Forget a bland spa hotel by a big golf course, plump instead for a honeymoon with the distinct whiff of adventure about it - in the likes of Gaya Island (top left) for top beach-lolling, the Antarctic region (top right) to see penguins, Rwanda (bottom left) for gorilla-tracking and India (bottom right) to see tigers.

Iceland was one of the last places on earth to be settled by humans. And as these incredible photographs show, we haven’t done much with the place. And that can only be a good thing because Iceland is one of the most staggeringly extraordinary places on earth. These images are from a new book in Amber Books’ Visual Explorer Guide series called Iceland, by Chris McNab. They capture Iceland’s quite breath-taking landscape – Northern Lights hanging over mysterious rock formations, black sand beaches, geothermal pools, mighty volcanoes and majestic waterfalls. Pictured: Hverfjall volcano (top left), the Seljalandsfoss Waterfall (top right), the Gullfoss Waterfall (bottom right), the Fjaðrárgljúfur canyon (bottom left) and the Hveravellir (Hot Spring Fields) Nature Reserve (inset).

MailOnline Travel's Ted Thornhill checked into the Lanzerac Hotel and Spa in Stellenbosch, near Cape Town. He gives it four stars, despite a series of face-palm moments that included waiters forgetting the wine list (it's a wine hotel) and which table had ordered what. And room service arriving at 7.20am with a mysterious breakfast that was not asked for.

Coney Island has experienced a roller coaster of fortunes over the years - but these incredible vintage pictures taken in 1948 clearly caught it at a high point. They show sunbathers topping up their tans on packed beaches, people frolicking in the sea and strolling along the boardwalk and enjoying thrill rides including The Bobs coaster and the famous Parachute Jump.

Qatar Airways is ranked as the number one airline for the second year running with American Airlines in second place. Thomas Cook Airlines comes bottom of the list - just below easyJet. The top airport for the second year running, the study claims, is Hamad International Airport in Doha, followed by Tokyo International Airport. The study was carried out by AirHelp, a company that assists passengers with compensation claims for delayed, cancelled or overbooked flights. It ranked 72 airlines and 132 airports from 40,000 reviews based on on-time performance and quality of service, as well as food and drink options and how easy it is to claim a refund.

The list also includes a museum dedicated to potato chips in Belgium, drain pipes in Dresden that make music when it rains and Starkenberger Brewery's Beer Pools - a spa made of lager. The ranking was compiled by comedian Danny Wallace. His top five includes the David Hasselhoff Museum in Berlin (top left), Prague's Museum of Alchemists and Magicians (top right), Mini Europe in Brussels (bottom left) and the Floating Cat Sanctuary in Amsterdam (bottom right).

Norwegian-based cruise company SeaDream Yacht Club is expanding its fleet with the SeaDream Innovation, which it says is 'a new, revolutionary yacht, which will introduce the concept of global yachting'. Incredible new renderings show how the mega yacht - which will weigh 15,600 gross tons and boast 110 ocean-view suites - will have nine decks and be packed with features.

Fiona Hardcastle ventured to Burgundy's Côte-d'Or region with her husband and three children. Here she reveals just what a magical place it is. It has arguably the world's most wonderful bicycle trail, which winds through picture-perfect vineyards, superb Relais & Châteaux hotels and, of course, offers up the chance to drink the best wine you'll probably ever put your lips to...

Britain has over 1,000 islands and many of them, as a fascinating new book reveals, are ripe for exploring. Islandeering: Adventures Around The Edge Of Britain’s Hidden Islands, by Lisa Drewe, charts 50 hidden islands, many accessible but little known – all perfect for adventure and circumnavigation. The new book underscores what each island is ‘best for’, with categories including skinning dipping, epic tidal crossings and pubs. Here we pick out our favourite examples.

The landlocked country in the eastern Himalayas is home to a mesmerising mix of breathtaking scenery, from gaping valleys to soaring snowy peaks, and ancient Buddhist architecture. Even the international airport (bottom right) there is a sight to behold. It's famed for having one of the world's most dangerous approaches, with towering 18,000ft peaks on each side and vicious winds whipping through the steep valley.

It’s called Banwa Private Island, and while the price tag is eye-wateringly hefty it does secure guests the entire island. And what an island. Nestling in the Palawan archipelago in the Philippines – regarded as ‘the last ecological frontier’, according to the resort’s website - it’s pretty much 15 acres of paradise on earth. The resort website says that it’s ‘a private world where time stands still’ and where temperatures rarely dip below 30C. The accommodation is luxury through and through.

Air travel can be hell. But there’s a way to ease your pain - by paying to access an airport lounge. There’s free wi-fi, charging stations and sometimes showers. In most cases, you can take newspapers and magazines with you on the plane. Here Thomas W. Hodgkinson rounds up the best lounges at airports around the UK and the ones to avoid.

They show the fleet and passengers of National Parks Airways (NPA), which operated for a mere 10 years, between 1927 and 1937, in Utah, Idaho and Montana. It would eventually capitalise on the boom in Yellowstone National Park tourism and ferry passengers to towns nearby – but it started off operating airmail and passenger services on one route from Salt Lake City to Great Falls. Pictured clockwise from top left: An NPA Fokker Super Universal in 1928; an NPA Stearman C3MB used for airmail services; a Boeing Model 80, used for Yellowstone Park sight-seeing excursions; a Fokker Super Universal about to take off for NPA's inaugural flight to Idaho Falls in September 1934 and (inset) a rented Boeing 247 in West Yellowstone.

Photographers have just one day left to get their entries submitted to the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest. But they will have to be of exceptional quality if they are to eclipse any of these recently entered images. The set includes a dramatic image of rhinos drinking from a watering hole in Africa while lightning blazes above (top), an aerial shot of the mighty Mount Fuji in Japan (bottom left) and a foggy sunrise in Hong Kong (bottom right).

Italian photographer Stefano Tiozzo, 33, filmed a series of unique aerial images of the Vatnajökull glacier in Iceland throughout February 2019. It is the largest ice cap in Europe by volume and at its deepest point it is 1,000 metres (3,280ft) thick. Lurking underneath, meanwhile, are a number of huge active volcanoes, including Öræfajökull, Bárðarbunga and Grímsvötn. The latter is extremely lively and erupted as recently as May 2011, producing an ash cloud that rose 12 miles into the air.

The 6,300-square-metre pool in West Sussex can accommodate up to 1,000 guests and has been filled with over 600,000 litres of water and decorated with more than two million tiles. The pool's stand-out feature is perhaps the helter-skelter water ride (top right), which Butlin's says is a 'world first' and almost as high as two double-decker buses. Butlin's says that the wave pool is family friendly and that 'when the music blasts out, it comes alive accompanied by a suitably water-based soundtrack'.

MailOnline's Carol Driver wasn't sure about Dubai being a family-friendly destination. But her preconceptions were turned on their head after a stay at Fairmont The Palm (pictured), which is located on the stunning Palm Jumeirah island (top left). She checked into the five-star hotel with her husband and not-yet-two-year-old daughter.

The AA has announced the winners of the 2019 B&B; awards - and there can be no dispute over the loveliness of the gong-baiting lodges. Awards have been handed out in a number of categories, including friendliest, story of the year, unique, restaurant with rooms, breakfast of the year and guest accommodation of the year. The winners include a restored Edwardian country house with views of a rather famous English lake, a Victorian property with four-poster beds and a restored lodge at the head of a sea loch.

The trip, to La Reunion in the Indian Ocean, is being offered by holiday firm Off the Map Travel. Guests stay in see-through bubble tents (bottom right), explore lava caves, zip-line through the jungle and enjoy a helicopter ride through waterfall-strewn ravines (main and top right), reminiscent of scenes from Jurassic Park. The company describes the French island as being the crossroads of African, Indian, European and Chinese cultures and very similar to Hawaii - where Jurassic Park was shot.

The Goseong-area route has opened on the eastern side of the DMZ in the first phase of what's known as the 'Peace Trail' project. It is one of three trails set to open on the peninsula, with tours running twice a day, six days a week. Pictured inset are the vibrant blue Military Armistice Commission Conference Rooms, which straddle both North and South Korea.

John Sutcliffe hiked from Cape Cornwall to Cape Wrath, carrying 18kg of camping equipment and clothing and taking in some of the UK's most remote and wildest parts. During his daring 106-day walk, which included a few rest days, the former geologist spent almost every night camping in the wild, save for the occasional night of luxury in a B&B.; Pictured clockwise from top left: John at the start of the trip in Cornwall, the South Pennines, Cape Wrath, a glaciated 'U' valley in Cumbria and the dramatic Falls of Glomach in Ross-shire.

Everyone says Qatar Airways’ Qsuite is, if not the best, then one of the best business class experiences in the world - the TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards (2019 winner), the Skytrax Awards (2018 winner), MailOnline commenters, frequent fliers. So MailOnline Travel Editor, Ted Thornhill (top left), wanted to find out what all the fuss is about. And low and behold – what the fuss is about is readily apparent at every stage, he writes.

Paul Bromham, 38, from Swansea, Wales, started filming during his time-off while hiking. His edited video shows the sharp contrast in scenery from vast white stone runs (sometimes called stone rivers) to rolling boggy mounds and mountains areas as well as penguin-speckled white-sand beaches. Pictured is Gypsy Cove (top and bottom left), Mount Kent (top right) and the Falklands' capital, Port Stanley (bottom right).

Radio Free Europe photographer Amos Chapple, from New Zealand, recently had a look around the site, which lies some 185 miles south of Kiev, and captured the facility in a set of fascinating, if unnerving, photographs. The subterranean base is cylindrical and comprises 10 storeys. It was designed to be self-sufficient for 45 days in the event of a nuclear war and so it contains generators to keep the power running and (very cramped) living quarters with the odd mod con or two. Mr Chapple snapped bunk beds, the silo’s microwave oven, a kettle, the launch buttons, the ladders that connect the facility’s floors, a 750kg blast door and an SS-18 Satan missile on display outside. He described the experience as ‘incredibly unsettling’.

MailOnline's Sadie Whitelocks checked into The Times Square Edition during its launch week, along with Kendall Jenner (inset), Cara Delevingne and Hailey Bieber. The 42-storey, 512ft hotel was masterminded by former Studio 54 co-owner Ian Schrager and has taken eight years to create. Sadie writes that the hotel has strong powers of seduction... with amazing views of Times Square coming as standard, of course (top right). Also pictured: One of the bedrooms (top left), Sadie's bathroom (bottom left) and the swanky bar (bottom right).

MailOnline Travel's Ted Thornhill checked into the One&Only; Cape Town. It's not cheap, with rooms starting at £491 ($635) - but for that you get perfection. More or less... Ted enjoyed top fodder at the hotel's Nobu restaurant, splendid wines courtesy of sommelier Luvo Ntezo and a lovely water's-edge bedroom (bottom right).

MailOnline Travel has toilet-hopped around the world to find the most Instagram-worthy loos which, were you to visit, would keep you snapping away for quite some time. For a taste of the bizarre, Sketch in London has installed giant egg-shaped cubicles in its dining establishment (top left), making it feel as if you might have stumbled upon a dinosaur's nest. Or if you're after something a little more opulent, the mirror and marble-clad restroom at the Brasserie of Light restaurant, also in the British capital, promises to impress. For the ultimate hipster snap however, head to the graffiti-riddled loos at dive bar Welcome to the Johnsons in New York's Lower East Side, once frequented by Lady Gaga (inset). Also pictured: Annabel's in London (top right), the Madonna Inn (bottom right) in San Luis Obispo, California, and Bokan in London (bottom left).

The new attraction, called Hagrid's Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, is set to open in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the Florida resort on June 13. The ride will see guests join Hagrid's Care of Magical Creatures class and fly deep into the Forbidden Forest aboard his magical motorbike, beyond the grounds of Hogwarts - encountering the wizarding world's rarest magical creatures including the Blast-Ended Skrewt (top left), Fluffy the three-headed dog (top right), Cornish Pixies (bottom left) and a majestic Centaur (bottom right).

The mesmerising video, filmed at the plane manufacturer's plant in Toulouse, France, charts the delivery of components all the way through to fitting the fuselage together and spray-painting its livery. The A330-900 plane in the video has now been handed over to Air Mauritius, which is leasing the aircraft.

Student Alex Hendriks expected lifeless desolation when he visited the centre of the Chernobyl disaster zone in northern Ukraine with his friends. And while it was certainly bleak – it was far from lifeless inside the radioactive ruins. There were hundreds of dogs roaming around. They entered the Exclusion Zone, which includes the city of Pripyat, on a bus operated by tour company Gamma Travel, having been picked up in Kiev, and this bus then drove them around the zone for the entire day. The dogs are the descendants of pets left abandoned by the former residents 35 years ago.

The Groundkeeper's Cottage (left) has just opened at fantasy-themed holiday park North Shire, on the edge of the North York Moors National Park, ahead of International Harry Potter Day. The cottage, which cost £195,000 to build, comprises three interlocking circular slate-roofed buildings, two with turrets, and all with stained glass windows. There is also a feature fireplace (top right) and wooden beams festooned with Hagrid-style paraphernalia such as old baskets, ropes, leather bags and lanterns, and a statement copper bath (bottom right). Pictured inset is the 'real' Hagrid's hut from the Harry Potter movies.

The judges of the 2019 National Geographic Travel Photo Contest must have furrowed brows. That's because entries to the competition continue to flood in and, as the latest batch below demonstrates, the quality is still superbly high. How will they decide on the winners? There's a dramatic shot of Notre-Dame Cathedral engulfed in flames (top left), a stunning image showing a diver outnumbered by a shoal of fish in New Zealand (bottom left) and a powerful capture of a supercell storm unleashing its wrath in Kansas (bottom right). This sneak peek also includes a striking portrait of a Mongolian nomad dressed in traditional garb (top right) and a snap of an ancient pagan festival in Bulgaria (inset).