I was born and bred in Tours, in the Loire Valley, so it’s time I give credit to this simple yet beautiful city.

Tours had a stint at being the capital of France, which explains why there are so many castles. The most famous one is probably Chambord, the one built on a small artificial lake, but there are hundreds of them, scattered along the river Loire. Even in Larçay, the small village where I lived, there are two small chateaux!

Tours is also known for wines, with many small obscure ones that you’ll hardly find in a supermarket in England, but that are worth testing. My mother’s favourite is a red Bourgueil - just trying to pronounce it makes you feel like you’re there…

Still, you don’t have to be into wines or castles to enjoy Tours. It’s a great ci

Barcelona on the Northeast coast of Spain is a dynamic and stylish year-round city.  It is packed with lively restaurants and Tapas bars, trendy shops and welcoming cafés and an art and architecture scene that will simply take your breath away. Perfect for that short city break, Barcelona has something for everyone and is so good I’ve been back twice!

When to go

Barcelona is great any time. In the summer you can relax on the beach or in one of the many parks, and in winter or autumn warm yourself with a fabulous hot chocolate in cafés on La Rambla.

The last time I went to Barcelona was for a

Let me tell you about Tallinn. Not only because it is my humble home town, but because I actually like it. And I do not want you to miss out on the Big Experience if you have not been there yet.

Google search will tell you it is a capital of Estonia, situated in the North-East corner of Europe, on the coast of the Baltic Sea. It gets very cold in winter and quite hot in summer. The best time to visit – all year round.

The best way to get there is by plane, of course. Easyjet and Estonian Air (www.estonian-air.ee) fly regularly from the UK and Germany, SAS and Finnair from Scandinavia. If you are visiting Sweden or Finland, you might want to include Tallinn in your itinerary as a daytrip, as there are good ferry connections from Sto