Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
ONE THING WE like almost as much as going on holiday is planning one.
We’ve rounded up some incredible escapes which are just a direct plane trip from Ireland.
Feel your heart stop at the top of this elevator journey…
Duomo di Milano via Shutterstock
The Duomo of Milan is the third largest Christian church in the world but the real attraction is getting into the very ordinary-looking lift to the roof… and stepping out onto one of the most breathtaking city views in Italy. On a good day, you can see all the way to the Alps.
Float on your back in the bluest sea…
Sveti Jakov via antonikon/Flickr
Locals in Dubrovnik will whisper that the best beach in that part of Croatia is Sveti Jakov. It has a hidden cave and the old town above gazes out over the azure Adriatic. Excuse us while we close our eyes…
Let a snowball melt on your mouth in this foodie paradise…
Chocolate snowballs via Shutterstock
Denmark’s capital of Copenhagen is in love with gastronomy but the real trick is to wander down Vaernedamsvej Street – or ‘Little Paris’ – for unusual taste sensations such as kartoffelkage (potato cake filled with cream and covered in marzipan), artisan sausages or the famous flodeboller (snowballs) at the Summerbird Chokolaterie. The snowballs are covered in chocolate but the fillings are a closely-guarded surprise…
Immerse yourself in some extraordinary lives at this Victorian cemetery…
Highgate via Anders B/Flickr
A graveyard might not seem an obvious tourist spot but some of the most interesting people in London are residents at Highgate cemetery. Take a tip from us and book onto one of the guided tours which reveal all the secrets of the hallowed ground where the likes of Karl Marx, George Eliot, Douglas Adams and the wife of Charles Dickens have been laid to rest.
Feel the heat prickle your skin on this sauna boat…
Stockholm archipelago via Shutterstock
It might not occur visitors to Stockholm in Sweden to view it from the water. But it is built on an archipelago and you can take a waterscooter safari around the edge – or better still take a sauna on one of sauna boats and dive into the water to cool off, the city looming behind you.
Smell the rosemary in the scramble down to this stunning beach…
Corfu via Shutterstock
Mirtiotissa Beach in Corfu is a nudist’s paradise (if you want it to be) which author Lawrence Durrell thought was so wonderful, he wrote it into his book Prospero’s Cell. You’ll get your first sight of the azure sea after walking through a wood to reach the clifftop. The tranquility waiting below is worth the careful journey down the steep stone staircase to the beach.
Gasp with the exhilaration of getting splashed at this waterfall…
Rhine Falls via Shutterstock
Just a quick train ride from Zurich in Switzerland is Rhine Falls, the largest waterfall in Europe. The train ride is scenic in its own right but you can’t beat getting splashed in a waterboat tour while getting front and centre of the falls.
Wake up to ducks quacking on this canal…
Barge, Toulouse via Shutterstock
You can’t go to Toulouse in France and not live the life aquatic on the Canal du Midi. Go the whole hog and stay on a barge – either moored (like this one for rent), or one which you can untie and meander to your heart’s content along the shaded waterways.
Slake your thirst along this scenic cycling route…
Beer garden, Germany via Shutterstock
Rewards feel best when they come after a little hard work, right? You can rent a bicycle for free in Germany’s Frankfurt (you just need a credit card to leave a deposit) and pedal the newly refurbished route along the Main river. You can travel for miles and miles, passing through small picturesque villages and, best of all, nicely spaced out beer gardens facing the river. (And you and the bike can get the train home from Hanau.)
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Oh great. Now we’ll be hearing from all the armchair experts with blindingly simple solutions that the programmers didn’t think of because they were too busy eating their liga and colouring in with their crayons. I can’t wait.
@8bitplebian: I don’t eat liga when I’m coding lol
@Scorpionvenomm: Sorry, Farley’s.
They should turn it off and on again
“British Airways HAVE apologised to ITS customers…”
@Harry Whitehead: British Airways is the name of the company, singular. The airways themselves haven’t actually apologised.
If you are going to be pedantic, at least be right.
@Michael Doyle: If British Airways is to be treated as a singular noun, the correct verbal agreement would be HAS, not HAVE. Try reading it again.
@Harry Whitehead: Exactly. That’s why your original correction was incorrect.
My heads hurt.
@Neal Ireland Hello.: Err…mine wasn’t a correction. I was directly quoting the article. I used capitals to highlight the mistake. Either ‘has + its’ or ‘have + their’.
@Harry Whitehead: Lol, show how much the Irish care about the stranded passengers
@Harry Whitehead: maybe the article has been fixed since you read it first. Further down I do see “British Airways say” , which is conflicting.
@Michael Doyle: Yeah you’re right, it’s been fixed.
@Harry Whitehead: That explains it. Now we can get back to worrying about the group of passengers that are/is stranded.
@Michael Doyle: *WORRY WORRY WORRY WORRY WORRY WORRY WORRY…*
@Michael Doyle: Sorry, couldn’t resist.
I’m glad we got to the bottom of this, gentlemen.
There’s some good deals in pc world, maybe they should get down there
Resilience and redundancy plans anyone??
Probably cloud-based….
Look up its an empty sky.
go back to old system with ticketing, technology is weak, all it takes is one system to go down and the hole lot falls down, flights delayed, or cancelled no good to people travelling or missing connecting flights! then they dump you outside the airport to fend for yourself!
@Stephen Finn:
There is a whole lot wrong with that suggestion.
@Nick Allen: and yet you aren’t arsed pointing out exactly what is wrong with it.
I think you will find they were hacked, but not admitting to the fact. It seems impossible that they would have no redundancy or contingency plan if a data centre was struck by lightning.
Hugo Drax involvement I’ll warrant .
The cancellations also hit flights to Heathrow and Gatwick, I’m in Miami and two flights from here today were cancelled. The staff on the desks said nine flights from New York were also cancelled, they were still suffering a lot of computer glitches while trying to transfer us to alternative flights with different airlines. I was in a queue for about 90 minutes and it then took about another 20 minutes for the desk agent to convince his computer to book me onto a new flight.
I somehow read the hashtag as ‘competence outage’.
Word on the street is the Indians screwed up!!!!!!
have your say