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Taste & Wellbeing Travel Guide



Taste & Wellbeing Travel Guide: trips with treats



Hell’s Kitchen in New York, La Boqueria in Barcelona, the big food market in Ubud or Salamanca Market in Hobart. The weekend street markets along Portobello Road or Brick Lane or Hackney Broadway in London. Les Puces in Paris or, my favourite by a long shot, the street market in Catania, in Sicily, with its cacophony of sights and sounds — the octopus trying to climb out of a bucket; the Fiat Punto piled high with fresh artichokes. Wherever I go, I try to visit markets. It doesn’t matter whether they’re selling fresh food or second-hand junk, they capture my attention, revealing a sense of place and the flavour of local life.

For you, it might not be markets but bookshops, or modern architecture, or jazz clubs, or botanic gardens. It might be an activity — sketching, or walking, or birdwatching, or eating in little neighbourhood restaurants. We all bring interests and themes to our travel experiences, and they can influence everything from where we go to what we do while we’re there — the memories that may live on after others have started to fade.

On an organised tour or a cruise, having a theme of this kind not only gives a trip a sense of purpose, but also brings together a group of people with similar interests to further enhance the travel experience. A holiday of this sort can give you the chance to explore an interest, usually with expert guidance, in the company of like-minded travellers. And in this guide, we offer some suggestions for pursuing journeys with an echo, trips with treats, travel with a focus.

Gemma Nisbet


Food and cooking tours

Food and travel make perfect companions, and we look at the variety of options for eating and drinking your way around the globe, including trips with your favourite celebrity chefs and journeys to taste exotic cuisine.


Wellness, spas and yoga

Whether you're after a yoga retreat close to home, a focused wellness holiday somewhere tropical or just a bit of pampering, there's plenty to choose from.


Art and culture

Holiday options for people with a passion for literature, art, music, architecture, dance or film - or those who want to concentrate on producing their own artworks away from home.


Gardens

Travellers with a green thumb can attend major horticultural events, or visit some of the world's finest green spaces.