Travel: Take the train to medieval Flanders
From next month Eurostar will transport travellers to northern Europe in record time from their new terminal at London's St Pancras station.
Taking the train through the Channel Tunnel has become commonplace in recent years, but there is more to see than just Paris and Brussels.
Belgium boasts a range of attractive destinations, prime among them the beautifully preserved medieval city of Bruges.
London best for gay travellers
London has been named as the best international holiday destination by American gay and lesbian travellers.
In an online survey of more than 7,500 lesbian and gay travellers in the USA, more than 8% had visited London in the past 12 months, placing the city ahead of Paris and Rome - the only other European destinations to make the top 10.
Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain, welcomed the result.
Travel: A passage to India
If lying on a beach is not your thing and you yearn for a bit of adventure set against an exotic backdrop, have you thought about the possibilities the vast sub-content of India has to offer?
The country offers a wealth of ancient temples and monuments for lovers of culture and heritage and many travel companies now offer fantastic sight-seeing trips.
Travel: The awesome Panama Canal
Few journeys through the engineering history books are as impressive or beautiful as a trip down the "eighth wonder of the engineering world - the Panama Canal.
Linking the mighty Atlantic and Pacific oceans took over three centuries of work by two nations. The Panama Canal is beauty and function on a scale beyond compare, with nature, machine and man working in total harmony.
Travel: The architectural wonders of Europe
Europe's great ruins and cities are mighty testament to the ancient and modern world. These are cities of legendary proportions, each with its unique charm, history and works of classical and modern art. Europe is on your doorstep: take a journey through its wondrous history.
Here we take a tour of the best picks for a short break.
Travel: Fly-drive to Transylvania and beyond
Note- Although homosexuality is legal in Romania, public displays of gay relationships are frowned upon and in some instances can be illegal. Homosexuality is however tolerated in areas popular with Western tourists.
When you think of fly-drive holidays, the US probably springs to mind. A fly-drive holiday to Romania, including the region of Transylvania, offers something a little different and in many ways more magical than anything Mickey Mouse can offer.
Travel: Finca el Cerrillo
When is a hotel not a hotel? When it is the Finca el Cerrillo - one of the best kept secrets of southern Spain
Owned by the aptly named Gordon and Sue Kind, the now restored 200-year-old farmhouse that serves as one of Andalucia's best kept secrets was used as an olive mill from 1805 until 1960. It sounds like a cliché calling this place a home from home - but the number of visitors who return are testament to the welcome this fascinating property offers its guests.
A gay Greek Island hop
The beautiful Greek islands are just perfect for a spot of hopping, as many students will tell you. But you don't need to live out of a backpack and navigate your way round the island's hostels - hop aboard a luxury liner for a tour of the very best places in Greece.
We take a trip in style around the islands just for you.
Travel: White knuckle rafting in Scotland
The sport of white water rafting has been growing in popularity in Scotland since the 1970s and has since become one of Europe's favoured destinations for enthusiasts. The rapids of rivers such as the River Tummel attract thousands of newcomers and experienced rafters every year.
Scotland and white water rafting now go hand-in-hand for a number of reasons, not least the quality facilities and beautiful rural surroundings.
Holidays for opera lovers
The popularity of opera has risen in leaps and bounds in recent years and graduated from being regarded as an elitist interest of the rich cognoscenti to being far more accessible to all-comers.
The aria Nessun Dorma from Turandot became familiar to millions who had probably never heard it before it was performed by the Three Tenors - Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras - as the theme for the Italia 1990 World Cup.
From the Blog