Best Summer Parties

Malta - alta is the Bournemouth of the Med – thought to be blue-rinse but actually full of ravers. The island, south of Sicily, has the weather and DJs of Ibiza, without the inflated prices. The tiny country has only just begun shouting about its surprisingly vibrant club culture, and the kind of alfresco dance floors that Ibiza can only reminisce about. There are huge open-air clubs such as Gianpula in the town of Rabat; La Grotta, a club built into a cliff face on the nearby island of Gozo and an opulent wine lounge with table service at the top of Malta's highest building, the Portomaso tower in the town of St Julian's.

Croatia - In the past two years Croatia has become one of the most talked-about countries for clubbers looking for a European festival without the euro. A growing number of boutique festivals have helped build a buzz about the country. Events such as the Garden Festival  from 2-11 July, Electric Elaphant from 27-29 August, and Soundwave  from 23-25 July (and already sold out), are all held in the quaint coastal town of Petrcane, perfect for exploring the Croatian islands. The site is minute compared with many festivals but has outdoor stages, boat parties and an indoor club. In the neighbouring town of Zadar, the Garden Zadar, a beautiful outdoor bar and restaurant overlooking one of the harbours, is running some events with acts from the Garden Festival.

Charlotte Colgan, a promoter for the Garden Festival, says you can still have a good night out in Zadar outside festival time. The cafe bar Djina (Varoska 2) in the old town is tiny and cool, with an art gallery and really lovely rooms to rent above. (I'd really recommend these as they cost just 400 kuna (£45) a night and are very nicely done out.) Stick to the Varoska area – and bar hop from Djina to Shine Bar (M. Pavlinovica 14), taking in restaurants such as Stomorica (Stomorica 12, +385 23 315946) and Bruscetta (M. Pavlinovica 12, +385 23 312915). MTV and Godskitchen are taking over the Croatian island of Pag for three nights from 11 August. Swedish House Mafia and Above and Beyond will be playing to 5,000 people a night against a backdrop of the Velebit mountains.

Sicily - Riccione on the mainland has long been the capital of the Italian dance music scene, but over the last 15 years Sicily's house music has flourished, with lots of new DJs, groups and producers, and late-night beach bars and clubs. The scene really kicked off in the 90s with a famous dance group called Ti.Pi.Cal (after its three members Daniele Tignino, Riccardo Piparo and Vincenzo Callea). Sicilian music is passionate, sexy and sensual. For beach bars playing house music to a relaxed, Peroni-sipping crowd try Mondello beach near Palermo.

Europe's Luxury Camsites

Eco Retreats - Powys

Located on a 1,300-acre organic farm in the Dyfi Forest, at the end of a four-mile track, this venture aims to help campers "reconnect with the rhythms of the environment". Accommodation is made up of five tipis (each sleeping up to five) and one yurt (sleeping up to six), set among meadows and mature oak woods. All are furnished with sheepskin rugs, double beds, wood-burning stove or chiminea, and have their own outside toilet and spring-water shower. Guests are offered a complimentary healing session, evening meditation session and tickets for the nearby Centre for Alternative Technology.

Eco Luxury Yurt Suite - Lanzarote

This yurt is part of a collection of nine eco properties located on the family-run Finca de Arrieta estate, 30km from the capital, Arrecife. It sleeps up to five and is beautifully decorated with rich fabrics, wood flooring and antique Mongolian hardwood furniture, such as the super king-size bed. It also has its own marble-floor bathroom, outdoor kitchen and garden with a Polynesian-style daybed – perfect for a sundowner. Soak up some rays on the small sandy beach just 200m away, walk to the nearby fishing village of Arrieta, then head back to the finca for a dip in the communal solar-heated swimming and plunge pools.

Canna Camping Holidays - Inner Hebrides

Campers looking for the ultimate away-from-it-all retreat can bed down in a bell tent on the Isle of Canna, the furthest of the Small Isles from the Scottish mainland, which has just 19 inhabitants. The tent comes with a wood-burning stove and solar lighting, and sleeps up to four in one double and two single futons (an extra mattress can be provided). There's a toilet and shower a short walk away (take 50p coins). The island is renowned for its bird life, including sea eagles and puffins, and you can also expect to see dolphins, basking sharks, minke whales, and occasionally orcas.

Mongolian Yurts - Vaud

These seven yurts bag the title for the best location – 2,045m-high, among edelweiss-filled meadows on the summit of the Rochers-de-Naye. Reachable via a scenic cog railway from Montreux, which takes less than an hour, the fully insulated yurts (complete with electric heating for those snowy winter nights) are open year round and decked out in authentic furnishings with beds sleeping up to eight. Watch the sun set over Lake Geneva, then warm your cockles with a Mongolian fondue in the cliff-face restaurant Plein Roc.

Eco Lodge Brejeira - Algarve

Situated in the heart of the Algarve, near the town of Silves, this retreat is as unique as it is eco-friendly. Choose between a beautifully furnished Mongolian yurt, which has a raised veranda to watch the sunset, an old-fashioned Dutch gypsy caravan, or a converted German fire truck. Each sleeps two and has its own shower and compost toilet (to help feed the vegetable garden); the latter two also have kitchen areas. Or head to the communal straw-bale building, where breakfast and a three-course dinner are served on request. Spend your days exploring the nearby beaches, or set off on the new Via Algarviana hiking and mountain biking track, which passes right under Brejeira.

Teapot Lane Luxury Camp - Country Leitrim

One of Ireland's first luxury yurt camps has just opened its doors in an unspoilt corner of northwest Ireland. Located in five acres of woodland, the three handcrafted yurts – sleeping between two and five – feature king-size beds, rugs and pot-bellied stoves. Two restored country cottages provide self-catering and bathroom facilities, and there are also compost toilets, campfire and BBQ areas, plus hammocks and swings in the woodlands. The camp also offers holistic aromatherapy, massage and reflexology treatments. This is a prime spot for surfers – Bundoran is a short drive away.

Casas Karen - Cadiz

This is not so much a campsite as a complete tiny rustic village tucked away in a garden of umbrella pines and sand dunes and all just a few minutes' walk from the nearest beach. It's made up of 11 cottages and chozas – which are traditional thatched Spanish beach huts made of straw and bamboo. Our favourite is Choza Grande, which sleeps two and has a kitchen, lounge and dining area downstairs with sofas and rugs, and a bed on a raised wooden platform. Waste is composted and water is drawn from the campsite's own well. Massage, yoga and meditation can be arranged, and there is everything from canoeing to dolphin watching nearby. 

Ecovallee Yurt Camping - Dordogne

Opening this weekend, this family-run camp is set in 12 acres of land just 300m from the bastide town of Lalinde. It's perfect for families, with a handcrafted chestnut and canvas yurt sleeping four and a 12ft "play yurt" filled with toys and games. Outside you'll find a canvas-covered kitchen/dining area, a compost toilet and woodland play area as well as foraging pigs, free-range chickens (wake up to fresh eggs every morning) and Pepito, the owners' horse. Stock up on provisions at the weekly market at Beaumont; visit the Château des Milandes; or sign up for one of the on-site activities – there's therapeutic massage and reiki for the parents, and bread-making and face-painting for the kids.

Jolly Days - Yorkshire

How do you fancy swapping your airbed for a four-poster? Jolly Days, which opened last summer, is the latest UK venture to jump on the glamping bandwagon. It's made up of seven bell tents and seven tented lodges, set in 200 acres of private woodland on the edge of the Yorkshire Wolds. While the tented lodges, each sleeping up to six, boast four-poster beds, chandeliers, sofas around a woodburner and toilets, the bell tents are more basic, with coir matting and futon sofabeds, each sleeping four. There are communal showers, as well as a communal fire pit, cooking hut and clay oven. Hire bikes to explore the trails in nearby Dalby Forest or head to York, just over 10 miles away.

Camping Les Moulins - Noirmoutier Island

France has its fair share of campsites, but none has quite the same ooh-la-la factor as this one, located off the Vendée coast. Following a revamp last year, it features a range of canvas lodges (sleeping two to eight) and tipis (sleeping four) – think proper beds, kitchens, dining areas, even en suite bathrooms in some – set among five hectares of pine trees and dunes along a beach. Don your walking shoes to explore nearby villages, hop on the Noirmoutier petit train (it stops directly outside the campsite) to the centre of town or just kick back in the heated indoor or outdoor pool, sauna, Jacuzzi and spa.

10 Things To See In Venice

The Venice Biennale of Architecture may not be as prestigious as the older and larger Biennale of Contemporary Art, but it still represents a unique opportunity to explore not only the national pavillions of the Giardini, the Biennale Gardens, but also a host of spaces - the Arsenale, palaces, churches, private mansions - that are normally closed off to the public. The title of the 11th Biennale is Out There: Architecture Beyond Building, which gives a clear indication that these days the exhibits are just as interesting for the general public as for professional architects and designers. There is an incredible choice of exhibits from 56 countries, plus 25 collateral events. Seeing everything is pretty much impossible, so here are 10 not to miss.

Biennale Gardens

Any visit to the Biennale begins at the Giardini, the sprawling gardens where over 30 countries have their national pavilions. It is not chauvinistic for once to say that the British pavillion is one of the grandest, strategically looking down over the adjoining French and German pavillions. And this year's exhibition, Home/Away, has been acclaimed as one of the best in the Biennale. Five architects - Sergison Bates, Tony Fretton, de Rijke Marsh Morgan, Witherford Watson Mann and Maccreanor Lavington - have been selected to illustrate the particularly British obsession of owning your own house, and examine whether this can function in the rest of Europe. And the questions asked could not be more relevant given the current credit crunch and collapse of the housing market.

Ca' Del Duca

As you follow signs for Luxembourg's pavillion, you come to what looks like a dead end - a small courtyard with a single tall tree coming out on to the Grand Canal. But a small door at the end leads to the discrete Ca' Del Luca palace, which was built in the 15th century. Luxembourg's exhibition could not be more minimalist - a series of white boards that snake from one room into another. But the idea is intriguing for those who take the time to read about it - four crucial architectural questions answered by 12 different Europeans.

Museo Diocenesa Urbis 

This collateral exhibition showcases the architectually influenced artworks of the Venetian artist, Gaspare Manos. There are 150 works on show, and his paintings are bright, vivid impressions of cities around the world. But this is also a brilliant opportunity to discover one of Venice's most wonderful cloisters, the Chiostro di Sant Apollonia. Built in the 12th century, this is Venice's only surviving Romanesque cloister, and the rest of the building where the exhibition is on view is a former Benedictine Monastery.

Corderie & Artigliere

The ancient buildings of Venice's once mighty Arsenale, the Corderie and Artegliere, form a vast alternative exhibition hall for the countries that don't have their own national pavillion in the Biennale Gardens. The space itself is easily as impressive as many of the installations, and it sometimes seems that each exhibit just tries to shock the visitor more than its neighbour. The local press has been delightfully shocked by the Swiss architect, Philippe Rahm whose Meterological installation of hot and cold panels features eight live performers, two of whom are nude. Other exhibits not to miss are those of British designer Nigel Coates, and Living Inhere, a look at the problems of urban architecture in Mexico City.

Palazzo Giustinian Lolin

You have to navigate your way through a maze of dark, narrow Venetian backstreets to actually find Ireland's exhibition, but it is well worth the effort as the pavillion is housed in a magnificent 17th-century palazzo that looks out on to the Grand Canal. Push through the door and you enter a closed courtyard with a grand well, and The Lives of Spaces is housed in a series of rooms decorated with  Murano chandeliers and period paintings on the first floor. It is quite a contrast to the videos, TV screens and minimalist white cubes illustrating nine "lives" of different spaces, through the design, construction, original use and later reuse.

Chiesa di San Stae

You can't miss the sumptuous white baroque facade of the San Stae church, and there is a vaporetto water bus stop right outside, so it is easy to get to. Usually tourists wander in to gaze at the marvellous religious paintings, including one by Tiepolo, but for the duration of the Biennale, the interior is dramatically transformed by Bornhouse, an exhibition of 26 Russian and international architects considering the rather weighty theme of "birth", both of buildings and humans. The result is rather stunning, as a glowing creche has been built in the middle of the church, filled with architectural objects like clay, papier-mache, glass and metal.

Campo Della Tana

Situated just opposite the entrance to the Arsenale, this typical Venetian "campo", is a small, enclosed square with an adjoining warehouse. It is something of a poor cousin to many of the grand national pavillions, but at least Hong Kong has retained its sovereignty and separateness from mainland China, which doesn't even have its own pavillion and exhibits in the Giardini as part of the Italian pavillion. Hong Kong has created a colourful, vibrant "Cultural Factory", including not just architects but designers, photographers, performers and writers. Six different projects are presented, and check out the fun T-shirts of Prince Charles and Bill Clinton in the 'Accidental Urbanism" section.

Palazzo Pesaro Papafava

Another magnificent palace that is usually shut off from the public, the Biennale provides one of the rare moments to explore Palazzo Papafava, which dates back to the 15th century. It is hosting what is termed a "collateral event" organised by the Fondazione Mudima from Milan. This is almost more Biennale of Art than Architecture, where painting, sculpture, photography, video and performance are used to interpret a very conceptual theme, and perhaps not surprisingly, one of the stars of the show is Yoko Ono.

Palazzo Franchetti

Situated just by the Accademia bridge, the Palazzo Franchetti is quite simply one of the most beautiful palaces that line the Grand Canal. Built in the 15th century, it incorporates a stunning mix of Gothic and Byzantine influences, and today is the headquarters of the Venetian Institute of Science, Letters and Art. During the Biennale, visitors can admire both its splendid interiors and a major exhibition dedicated to the life and works of Danish architect, Jorn Utzon, creator of the Sydney Opera House.

Arsenale Spazio Thesis

No one should miss the chance to wander round Venice's historic Arsenale - the shipyard where warships of the Venetian were madde and launched centuries ago - which still has a military "no entrance" status for the rest of the year. Don't stop at the Artiglerie and Corderie either, carry on past the huge rusting cranes and boats awaiting repair until you reach the point where a tiny boat ferries visitors across to a new exhibition area, the Spazio Thesis. Inside these industrial workshops is possibly the most magical exhibit of the Biennale, illustrating a classic Italian garden inspired Botticelli's The Birth of Venus that is actually under construction in the Chinese town of Tianjin. 

France - Most Expensive Holiday Destination

France is the most expensive place to take a holiday according to research published today, despite the public perception that it is cheaper to visit than the Nordic countries, Dubai and Japan. A survey by flight comparison website Skyscanner compared the cost of paying for various typical items – including a coffee, a beer, a meal, accommodation in a Marriott hotel and hiring a car from Avis - in 30 different countries and found that the cheapest place to buy these was Cyprus, followed by mainland Greece and South Africa. If the cost of a flight was then included Cyprus and Greece were still the cheapest, followed by Morocco.

But UK consumers were way off the mark when it came to predicting which countries were the cheapest or most expensive. Although the 1,500 people questioned for the survey were correct in ranking India, Thailand and Morocco among the least expensive, they also thought Mexico would be the fourth most competitively priced destination whereas it is actually in the top 10 most expensive, both excluding and including flights.

Flights added considerably to the cost of holidays in far flung countries: although New Zealand was in the bottom 10 excluding flights, it moved up to eighth most expensive when travel was included.

But perhaps most surprising was Dubai, which, perhaps because of its millionaires' playground image, was considered to be the fifth most expensive. In reality, however, it was the 12th most expensive excluding flights and dropped to 14th including flights, just behind Italy, Iceland and America.

Barry Smith, director and co-founder of Skyscanner, said: "We decided to undertake this research in response to consumer demand for greater price transparency on their trips abroad. Whilst the results are to some extent subjective, they do provide a broad guideline of total holiday cost.

"It is extremely interesting to see how many destinations challenge common perceptions and I am more than a little surprised to see France, a destination only a stone's throw away, emerge as the most expensive overall holiday.

"These figures show it is vital to consider all the hidden extras when planning a holiday, particularly that of the flight. Consumers shouldn't assume because a destination is known to be cheap when you get there, that the total cost won't escalate considerably once the cost of flights are added, making it a far pricier choice than some of the short-haul alternatives."

Dubrovnik - Wonderland

Walk through any one of old Dubrovnik's three city gates, and you'll find a litter tray for cigarette ends and chewing gum. Inside, the reason becomes apparent. Dubrovnik is the Bath of the Balkans: a pristine set-piece walled town where shop signage is written on removable banners and only one colour is allowed for doors - a classic dark green, which combines most agreeably with the town's yellow limestone bricks and terracotta roof tiles. Litter would be a wart on its face.

A spick-and-span city, then? In parts. The main street Placa, also known as the Stradun, is one of the world's noblest drags, and in season its polished marble pavements are thronged with visitors (and are treacherous after rain). The Croatian city's cash cow is tourism, and the centre is reminiscent of a smaller Venice. But like its neighbour on the opposite side of the Adriatic, it can also reveal a more intimate side.

Go beyond the 17th-century cathedral - where small boys use buttresses as goalposts - and there's an area of streets and steep alleys called Pustijerna, where medieval arches recall old Jerusalem, and where the only sounds you'll hear are the waves sluicing the city walls and people practising the piano. From here, you can gaze east over the stone city towards hulking Mount Srd - behind which lies Bosnia-Herzegovina - and along the coast, studded with cypress trees. It's a peaceful scene.

Slightly jarring then to read the following map legend at each of the city gates: "City map of dangers caused by the aggression to Dubrovnik by the Yugoslav army, Serbs and Montenegrans, 1991-92", and to find shrapnel in the baroque facade of St Saviour's Church. Even now, the number of visitors is not yet back to pre-war levels. But the city re-establishes itself more each year, attracting a new generation of mini-breakers, cultural tourists, yacht-bound island-hoppers and independent travellers who find that, in so many ways, Dubrovnik delivers. 

Dubrovnik's hotels are improving: a Hilton is being built just outside the Pile Gate and will open later this year. This year the Dubrovnik Palace will reopen as a kind of mega-boutique hotel. Meanwhile, the Excelsior is a five-star modern block with swimming pool, spa and sauna, built to take full advantage of a west-facing view of Old Dubrovnik - it's worth trying for a sea view here, but if you can't get it, there's a terrace out front. 

The Bellevue is the other side of old Dubrovnik and has a lift that takes guests through the rocks to the shingle beach below (one should not expect too much sand in the Dubrovnik region, but at least this helps keep the water clear). Another upmarket joint is the Pucic Palace. The only hotel in Old Dubrovnik, it sells town-house elegance. It's in a slapped-up 18th-century palace on one of the smart od Puca streets parallel to the Stradun. Accommodation is one of the most expensive facets of Dubrovnik - if you want to save, try the B&Bs which advertise to their largely German clientele with the word "Zimmer".