Kristina
Travel journalist
United Kingdom
I travel a lot and write about it to reputable newspapers. Please check out my profile and get in touch if you have any questions.
United Kingdom
I travel a lot and write about it to reputable newspapers. Please check out my profile and get in touch if you have any questions.
Not so long ago, finding a quality hotel in the Northern Irish capital required a single phone call. During the Troubles and for some time afterwards, The Europa was the only place in the city that offered anything even approaching international levels of service and comfort.
Lyon, set across twin hills and straddling the Rhône and Saône rivers, is a perfect winter break. Expect an array of museums, an efficient public transport network and the legacy of chef Paul Bocuse, one of its most famous sons, alive with a new generation of young French chefs.
Matera is the world's third-longest continuously inhabited human settlement and the 2019 European Capital of Culture. The city is known for its winding sassi, caves and grottoes carved out of limestone, which have given Matera an ethereal Holy Land look.
Old work
I never tire of Rome. No matter how many times I visit, there's always something new to discover - be it a museum, a fresco, a funky bar or a tempting gelateria. The hotel scene is changing too and visitors now have far more choice than ever before, with cosy B&Bs, sleek suites and trendy boutique retreats giving the traditional establishments some healthy competition.
Otherwise known as India's Silicon Valley due to the number of start-ups based here - 70 per cent of all start-ups in India to be precise - the park-filled southern Indian city of Bengaluru (the official name is preferred to the anglicised "Bangalore") is expanding rapidly.
With its hedonistic nightlife, cutting-edge culture and reasonable prices, Berlin ticks many boxes for a brilliant city break. Berlin's popularity continues to rise - it attracted nearly 13 million visitors in 2017. Over the past decade, the number of hotels in the German capital has doubled and the options are as varied and dynamic as the city itself.
Much more than just a city of business travellers, beer halls, a carnival and a touristy old town, Dusseldorf is also Germany's art capital. Before reunification and Berlin's meteoric rise, the West German art scene was centred here. And even before the Second World War, modernist geniuses like Joseph Beuys learnt, taught and plied their trade in the Rhine metropolis.
Albania is coming in from the cold. After decades of isolation, Europe's last undiscovered country is set on modernising and attracting visitors. Its capital, Tirana, is at the heart of this plan. The first ever low-cost flights between the UK and Albania started in April 2018, when Wizz Air opened its new London Luton-Tirana route.
Lyon, set across twin hills and straddling the Rhône and Saône rivers, is a perfect winter break. Expect an array of museums, an efficient public transport network and the legacy of chef Paul Bocuse, one of its most famous sons, alive with a new generation of young French chefs.