City Breaks

Our Amsterdam Anthology rounds off the series by offering some different perspectives on the city. Here, you’ll find Amsterdam seen through the eyes of writers, some from the past, many contemporary: travel writers...

This episode in two halves starts with food in Amsterdam; the street snacks you’ll want to try, the Dutch specialities to look out for in restaurants and a brief introduction to the city’s favourite ethnic cuisine...

Tulips and diamonds: both figure centrally in the story of Amsterdam. The Netherlands is known as the ‘flower shop of the world’ and a visit to Amsterdam’s flower market a must for any visit. Equally, you will surely...

This episode covers everything it's good to know before you visit the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam: a brief biography of Vincent himself, followed by tips on what to look out for in the museum dedicated to his work. To...

This episode revolves around Amsterdam's top art gallery, the Rijksmuseum. It starts with a little history, explaining how art came to be of such importance in Amsterdam's Golden Age in the 17th century, then continues...

This episode on World War II in Amsterdam looks at how 5 years of German occupation affected everyone living there and suggests places to visit to find out more. We start with the population in general and the Dutch...

This episode introduces Amsterdam's Jewish culture. There's a little historical context, beginning with the arrival of Jews fleeing from other parts of Europe in the 16th century and ending in today’s city where Jewish...

This episode takes you to Amsterdam's Golden Age, the era when, as the Encyclopaedia Britannica puts it, ‘the little nation on the North Sea was one of the most powerful countries in the world, dominating the seas and...

The churches of Amsterdam are not always what they seem. One is more of a national memorial, another is an art gallery and concert venue. A third is a museum where you can learn the story of the hidden churches which...

The canals ARE Amsterdam and Amsterdam IS its canals. This episode is all about them, covering both the engineering genius which gave them their UNESCO World Heritage Site status and their beauty, charmingly different...

Here are 5 suggestions for walks around Amsterdam. They include possible stopping places and between them they offer a way to see something of all of the main parts of the city. We give enough detail to follow the route...

Welkom in Amsterdam! This introduction to our Amsterdam series brings you the basic facts - geographical, historical, cultural - which underpin everything. To capture the spirit of Amsterdam, here’s Russell Shorto’s...

This last episode on the Valletta series brings you lots of different stories from Malta. We start with a little descriptive writing, factual and fictional, followed by mini-biographies of 4 people who’ve featured in...

Here are our ideas for easy days out from Valletta if you want to explore some of the rest of Malta. We start with the two most popular day trips, to the 3 Cities and to Mdina and Rabat, both very easy to do on public...

This episode is dedicated to two topics which are very important in Malta - food and festivities. Malta has more public holidays – 14 – than most other European countries, plus a whole range of other feasts and...