The oute canal It might just be the only shop in the world where baristas work next to a medieval fresco. This is the 600 year old Church of St Michael in the Netherlands city of Zwolle. It’s now called the Academiehuis Grote Kerk. The tourist office has an information desk bang in the centre. In one corner, second hand books are on sale. But features also remain from days when worshippers regularly gathered there: the clock that chimed to alert a preacher who had reached his one hour time limit; the lepers’ chapel, where victims could pray safely away from the healthy; and the huge baroque organ, the country’s largest when it was completed in 1721. Baoque ogan in St Michaels' Zwolle is full of surprises - starting with its layout. It lies a short distance from the southern end of the Zuidersee, making it a great place to avoid the busy centre on a morning run or to sit in the sunshine with a beer, watching the pleasure craft come and go on the water. And what a vibrant centre it is. Browse open air market food stalls. Head on to another former church, the Broerenkerk, now a huge bookshop whose shelves cover several levels. Its ornate baroque organ presides at one end. At the other is an eatery. Bookshop iin forme church Spend time enjoying the old facades of canalside architecture. Take in a functioning church, Our Lady’s proclaimed a Basilica in 1999 by Pope Jean Paul II, though not always Catholic. During the Wars of Religion it was taken over by Protestants, but for a time it provided storage for haycarts - you can still see the untidy brickwork where a hole was created to allow them passage. And it even served as a circus “tent”. For dinner go to Waber on Neiuwe Markt , where chef Titi Waber produces an array of delicious, subtle dishes from across the sprawling Indonesian archipelago. There’s a variety of set, five course meals, variously including yellowfish tuna with yardlong beans, cassava lime and red pepper, sea bream, with carrot, silver onion, turmeric and nutmeg and  chicken thigh with sago flour, lemon grass and coconut milk. The cooking is clearly so painstaking that service takes time. Book as far ahead as you can - and if eating at an outside table take something warm. You cam reach Zwolle by tain in about 90 miinutes. We travelled by car as part of an exploratiion of the county's northeast. If you do drive there, best stay just outsiide the surroundiing canals. We stayed stayed a shorr walk from the centre across eiithe of two bridges. at the Bilderburg Grand . Our fiirst stop in the area had been De Hoge Veluwe National Park, near the small town of Ottelo and not far from Arnhem. It's some 55 square kilometres of heathland, sand dunes , much fouht over at the closeof Wold War II. It is also home to the manificant Kröller-Müller Museum, which claims to house the world's fniest collection on works by Van Gogh, mot least one of his masterpieces, The Potato Eaters (below). The cmall ciity of Elbug made a pleasant diivesion. IIts archtecture, its busy main street of shops and eateries, leading to the imposing Vischpoort (Fish Gate), a reminder of an industry brougght low when closure of the Zuydersee replacewd salt water with fresh. And from there a walk by the moat and remainiing sections of iits defensive wall. Elburg: main street and Fish Gate North of there the village of Giethoorn, with its multiitude of wooden bridges is even more iindelibly on the tourist milk run. Sometimes known the Dutch Venice, it is largely traffiic free and undeniably photogeniic. Think Bourton on the Water. -. though here caneras capture rental boats cas they ruise the glassy canal waters by the glossy lawns of residents. And if there's tiime, take in the extraordinary, hunebeds (dolmens ) in another area of rollimg, sandy heathland near the village of Havelte. Boulders contained in the iice of the penulutimate ice age were used by farmers between 3400 and 3100 years BC to buiilt two big burial chambers, They buried or covered wth sand during World War II when the Germans built an airfiield. But they were later uncovered agaiin and stand as peaceful objects of deep contemplatioin.

Image Gatien Baron, Sancerre The lovely French wine village of Sancerre has a new 5 star hotel. Les Hauts de Sancerre , in a converted hilltop chateau above the Loire Valley was due to open its first eight suites rooms this week (on July 1). By next year it will add another eight rooms, and the add a permanent restaurant, a "permaculture" garden, and a landscaped pool. Further expanskon will follow. A spa is also planned.

Western Australia’s dramatic Kimberley region comes within easier reach this summer with the launch of direct flights from Singapore to the coastal town of Broome. Melbourne based low cost airline Jetstar - a Qantas subsidiary - has started flying twice a week during the area’s dry season (late June to late October). While it is possible to fly from Perth to Broome the move (depending on connection times) may cut the total journey time from the UK significantly.  Broome lies on the Indian Ocean. It has long been a major centre of the pearling industry, which was launched there in 1880. More than 900 Japanese divers are buried in the town’s Japanese cemetery. Visitors may take camel rides along its 22km long, white sand Cable Beach. It is also home to the world’s oldest open air cinema. But arguably its greatest importance to travellers is as a gateway to the almost 660km Gibb River Road, much of which entails driving on red dust. If you rent a vehicle you will be advised not to open the doors immediately you stop - until the cloud you have whipped up rolls on past. This is an unforgettable experience. The route will take you, for example, to Windjana Gorge, where, woken early by a cacophony of rosellas,  you may spot crocodiles basking on a far bank of the Lennard river and walk in the shade of trees festooned with sleeping fruit bats. Not far from there is Tunnel Creek, a hideaway used by the late 19th century Aboriginal leader Jandamarra, who led resistance to colonization. Make sure you have a torch to help you wade through the tunnel. Further along the road, which was originally created to move cattle, there are diversions to waterfalls and swimming holes. Most people camp. But more comfortable accommodation is available. Not least of the options is the resort of El Questro , formerly on a vast cattle station You may pitch your own tent there, stay in a complex of en suite tented cabins with a restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner, or spend the kids’ inheritance in evenb greater luxury at The Homestead, perched on a clifftop overlooking the Chamberlain River. Activities include swimming, hiking, horse riding and waterway cruising. One way car rentals are available. You could fly back to Broome from Kununurra, on Airnorth or Virgin Australia, for example. A 4x4 may be required - and is essential should you extend your trip to the Bungle Bungle (Purnululu National Park), with its curious, striped rock formations.

Indoor markets can be great places to eat lunch in Finland. At least, that’s the conclusion drawn from a recent visit to Helsinki and its predecessor as the country’s capital, Turku. Their aisles are lined with counters selling all manner of dishes, from reindeer to fresh fish. They may also offer the opportunity to chat to the locals. So it was in Hakaniemi. We had already tried creamy salmon soup, the near ubiquitous Finnish staple, in the Helsinki’s red and cream brick Old Market Hall, which dates from 1889 and is a much bigger draw for tourists. A large bowl, full of salmon chunks and cubed potatoes and heaped with dill, cost €15, or about £13. Tourists were much thinner on the ground in Hakaniemi’s hall, two Metro train stops from the capital’s central station. where we bought open gravadlax sandwiches so delicious we went back to the counter for more, eating them at a nearby table, where we were joined by two separate residents of mature age who were out shopping. A former woman architect struck up a conversation with my wife. My new companion expressed surprise that we had come to the market. He had been buying fish for dinner. He had lived in Hungary, so we discussed the tenuous connection between Finnish and Hungarian, another Uralic language (most Finns speak excellent English). We say they are about as close as Finnish and Russian, he told me. It was decades since my previous trip to Helsinki but I recalled being less than excited by it. So I planned to spend some hours in galleries and museums. Today it is so vibrant that we visited hardly any. There were two exceptions, however, one tiny, the other enormous. The first was the Burgher’s House Museum in the Kruununhaka district, built over 200 years ago and the city’s oldest wooden residential building, which has been refreshed and refurnished as it would have been when  it was the home of a bourgeois family who lived there from 1859. Albums of fading photographs and a wonderful guide brought it to life. The second exception was Oodi, the architecturally spectacular six years old central library. It’s much more than a place to borrow books, though the third floor, about the size of a football pitch and with a balcony facing the Parliament building, has so many they use three robots to fetch and replace them. It’s a vast community centre, with places to eat and drink, where a library ticket allows you to borrow acoustic or electric guitars and practice playing them in a studio. There are studios where you can edit film or convert old videos to digital. In the “Urban Workshop” you can use a variety of equipment, including 3D printers. At one table two Ukrainian women used sewing machines to mend trousers. Four teenagers played video football in a glass cubicle, while on the ground floor people concentrated on chess at a bank of tables. At other times we just explored, using the superb tram network and the city transport system’s excellent app, and walking many miles - down to the south shore, for example, with its long waterfront stunning on a summer day of glittering sunlight and taking in some of the city’s attractive art nouveau buildings. There was much walking in Turku, too, a train ride of some 3hrs to the west, mostly along the delightful Aura riverfront. It took us to the medieval castle, whose King’s State Room hosted many Swedish kings, when they ruled Finland. And we crossed the Aura to the cathedral and up the hill to Luostarinmaki, ahe fascinating collection of centuries old houses - some still lived in - that survived the Great Fire of 1827. You could spend a half day ducking through low doors and reading painstakingly researched descriptions of the lives led by those who slept and worked there: the shoemaker who used hog bristles to sew his leather, Simon the bookbinder, who came here from Vilnius, then part of Poland when Finland had been swallowed by the Russian Empire, and who could obtain citizenship only if he renounced his Jewish faith. We lunched in Turku’s market hall, too. Salmon soup again. In Helsinki we had sought out Ravintola Nolita, a small neighbourhood restaurant and bakery down near the docks where the food was delicious and the service charming. Locals queued outside for mains such as an exceptional house burger (€17), fried gnocchi, seasonal mushrooms and courgette (€19) or fish of the day with asparagus and mussel beurre blanc (€28). Arriving back there on our last day there was just time to nip down to the capita’s harbourside Old Market Hall again. to grab an early dinner: stupendous plates of mixed cold fish, from smoked salmon to herring in various sauces. It was a bit of a rushed job, leaving us with but one regret from a trip that had begun with some scepticism: there was no opportunity to linger. As with the other markets we had visited, it closed at 6pm - and most of its eateries finished serving even earlier

A new guide to the world's finedst birwatching experiences comes from the Lonely Planet stable. It lists 60 of the "most enchanting" species and where to see them in their natural habitats, including UK favourites Cornish choughs, the bitterns of Minsmere and swifts in Selborne. Writer, wildlife photgrapher amd contributor Bella Falk has picked eight top spots. As well as Minsmere they include the Serengeti dawn chorus in Tanzania where you can see species such as Verreaux's eagles, Curi-Cancha Reserve, Costa Rica fpr keel billed toucans, and the Akan International Crane Centre in Hokkaido, Japan, where uou might see as many as 150 red crowed cranes fly in between November and early March. RRP £22.99 available from shop.lonelyplanet.com/en-gb or in bookshops

British Airways and easyJet will launch direct flights to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, next spring. From 30 March BA will operate four round trips a week from Heathrow. Flights from London will depart at 9.25pm on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, arriving at 5.30 the following morning. UK bound services will leave at 7am on Wednesdays, arriving at 9.40am amf at 7.30am on Fridays, Sundays and Mondays, arriving at 10am. Starting on 1 April easyJet will operate two flights a week from Luton, with departures on Tuesdays and Saturdays though the summer season. Unlike BA, it will be the first time the airline has flown there. Neil Chernoff, British Airways’ Chief Planning and Strategy Officer, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Tbilisi back into our route network, after our last scheduled service in 2013. We expect this to be a popular route with the leisure market, which has seen a strong comeback since 2019, as well as with those looking to enjoy direct flights to visit friends and family. We look forward to improving the connectivity between our two capital cities next year.”

Seville has a new hotel under the Only YOU “lifestyle brand”. With treats from a local pâtissier availably in its lobby, the five star property is a short hop from the Andalucian city’s railway station. It has 209 rooms over eight floors, a pool, private parking and a restaurant promising ingredients sourced from within 10 kilometres of its doors. The hotel the fifth to open under the brand, which is part of Spain’s Palladium chain. Prices start at €240 per night, room only.

The dramatically beautiful Faroe Islands are to introduced a tourist tax. No need to groan if you’e planning an imminent visit  however - it won’t take effect until Octooer 2025. The fees of 20 DKK or €2.70 per night and €9 for cruise passengers, will go towards the Nature Preservation Fund and will finance and maintain hiking paths, support local tourism initiatives and nature protection schemes opn the archipelago of 18 islands.

Day trippers to Venice can pay the €5 charge in advance online – but travellers staying in the city and paying the tourist tax should go to to the site to request exemption vouchers. Exemptions must be requested for each person staying. The Venice Access Fee applies to the historical city, including Giudecca, on the southern side of the Grand Canal and is payable on 29 days between until mid-July – from 8.30am to 4pm. It does not affect people visiting the small islands of the lagoon, such as the Lido, Torcello, Burano and Murano. It also excludes travellers passing Piazzale Roma,Tronchetto or Stazione Marittima without entering the historical city. The fee has been introduced to discourage day visitors at times of peak tourism. The website shows a list of the days on which it is applicable during 2024. Online payment triggers the issue of a QR code designed to streamline the process of entry. NB: If you are travelling with a tour operator or cruise line the company may collect the fee for you. So it’s important to check before forking out.

Luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent is to launch riverboat cruises in Peru next year. The vessel, described as a “floating boutique hotel” will operate on the waterways of the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve. The reserve covers more than 20,000 square kilometres of rainforest between the Maranon and Ucayali rivers which  are major tributaries of the Amazon. With months of heavy rain in between October and April and drier conditions during the northern hemisphere summer, it is home to a huge variety of funa and flora, including over 500 bird species, 102 mammals a some 1000 plants. Three and four night voyages will start next April. They can be combined to create a seven night trip taking in both the Maranon and Ucayali and beginning and ending in the port town of Nauta, not far from the nearest airport. Guests occupying ten double and two single cabins may spot pink river dolphins and three-toed sloths There will be opportunities to kayak or canoe on backwaters, take rainforest walks or fish. The boat will have and outdoor swumming pool and a gym. The new venture is a collaboration between A&K and its expedition yacht brand Ecoventura, which draws sustainability expertise from operating in the Galapagos Islands.

EasyJet is to launch sumer flights between Gatwick and Salerno, jumpng off point for Itall's specatcular Amalfi coast. With departures twice a week - on Tuersdays and Saturdays - it is the first UK airline to operate there. Salerno lies to the east of Naples, currently the most convenient gateway to the souoth facing coastlne. Between the two cities are attractive towns including Sorrento, Positano, Ravello and Amalfi itself, which is just uncder 1hr's drive from Salerno. Ravello has been the haunt of numerous celebrities, among them Grieg, Virginia Woolf, Greta Garbo, Tennessee Williams, Jaqueline Kennedy, Graham Greene and Leonard Berstein. Its 13th century Villa Rufolo was mentioned by Buccacio in the Decamerons amd inspired Richard Wagner to write his opera Parsifal. Cliff side Positano has also drawn its share ot the famous, among them the director Franco Zefirtelli, who had a villa there. Amalfi is a centre of lemon production - and with them the liqueur Limoncello. Salerno flights will also provide alternative access to the ruins of Pompeii. However, they may appeal most strongly to over-50s hikers keen to walk the coast's airy hilltop routes, which are already on offer from a range of tour operators.

Gatwick has become to first UK airport to open a dedicated electric vehicle chargimg forecourt. With 30 chargers - and available round the clock,  Ring Road South at London Gatwick’s South Terminal and adjacent to the M23.