‘The heart of Munich’s underground scene’: exploring edgy Schlachthofviertel
Butcher’s shops and dive bars sit side by side in a district where you can swap the touristy beer halls of the city centre for raw creative energy
March 2026
Five of Europe’s best accessible island escapes
From the Venetian lagoon to the sparkling Med, these island getaways offer a welcome change of pace just a short hop from the mainland
February 2026
Readers' travel tips
‘Avignon warmed our bones and fed our souls’: readers’ favourite early spring trips to southern Europe
The best places to seek respite from the wintry UK weather in France, Italy and Germany
December 2025
My big night out
My big night out: I woke up on a llama farm in Germany – hungover and lying beside a naked punk
At 20, I went on a European road trip for the summer, where a chance encounter in Cologne taught me the importance of friendship
Feast
Ho, ho, Hamburg: bringing the flavours of a true German Christmas market home
From glühwein to lebkuchen, bratwurst to stollen, recreating the delicacies I sampled in the city’s festive markets is wholly achievable. Plus, a new digital cookbook for a good cause
‘This is the real Santa’s workshop’: a trip to Germany’s toy village
You don’t have to be a child to enjoy Seiffen, the magical ‘home of Christmas’ where they’ve been making traditional wooden toys for hundreds of years
November 2025
New sleeper service will run from Paris to Berlin next year
European Sleeper will operate the new service from March 2026, replacing the Nightjet train that is being axed next month
October 2025
A train tour of Europe’s cool northern capitals: from London to Vilnius, via Berlin and Warsaw
My epic rail journey to some of the continent’s most creative and edgy cities mimics a cruise – I hop on and off, eat too much and soak up the culture
September 2025
Walking and feasting on the German shore of Lake Constance
‘It landed like an alien spaceship’: 100 years after Bauhaus arrived, Dessau is still a magnet for design fans
August 2025
Breakfast in Amsterdam, aperitifs in Vienna: how to make the most of your time in Europe’s sleeper train hubs
To maximise the thrill and romance of taking a night train, our rail expert recommends the best cafes, sights and facilities near your departure station
June 2025
Riding high in Germany on the world’s oldest suspended railway
Still gliding above the town on an overhead track 125 years after it was built, the charming Schwebebahn in Wuppertal has lost none of its magic
May 2025
Sailing across the Baltic: an idyllic voyage from Germany to Denmark
A boat trip to Denmark’s South Funen archipelago takes in the North Sea coast, the historic Kiel canal and the Baltic before delivering its crew to an idyllic island rich in maritime culture
January 2025
Dream journey: a nostalgic trip aboard the sleeper train from Amsterdam to Berlin
Taking the overnight train from Amsterdam to Berlin and on to Dresden is all about slow travel and the romance of life on the track
December 2024
Paris to Berlin by train is now faster by five hours. We try out the new service
24 favourite travel finds of 2024 - from turtles in Turkey to a Highland pub crawl
November 2024
Winter rail adventures in Europe: three itineraries for the colder months
Our slow travel expert picks her favourite off-season trips by train to France, Germany, Austria and Italy
October 2024
I’m visually impaired but thanks to my guides I loved exploring Austria’s Tirol
A trip that pairs partially sighted people with fully sighted guides offers reassurance while expanding the possibilities of travel, as our writer discovered in Austria and Germany
August 2024
‘Everything carries a hint of myth and magic’: six great island escapes in Europe
Scaling the fairytale peaks of Saxon Switzerland in Germany
