1. Normandy for value
In these difficult times, travellers will be looking above all for good value and security. The country that is likely to benefit most – apart from Britain, perhaps – is likely to be France, and nowhere more so than Normandy. You can take the car there on the ferry for £100 return, or less; you can travel via Paris on Eurostar in half a day, and there's greater variety in this wonderful region than in anywhere else I can think of.
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| (France) - Normandy - Lyons La Foret |
It has some of the best beaches and most beautiful countryside in France. There are sophisticated resorts (Deauville and Trouville) scenic ports (Honfleur and Barfleur) and seaside villages (Etretat and Pourville) and there is the wild and rocky west coast of the Cotentin Peninsula.
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| (France) - Normandy - Mont Saint Michel |
There are world-class art galleries in Rouen and Le Havre, and excellent ones in Dieppe and Honfleur – not to mention Monet's garden and a string of other associations with the Impressionists. There are great medieval churches and cathedrals in Fécamp, Rouen and Mont St Michel. And I haven't even mentioned the Bayeux Tapestry, the cheese, the cider, the Calvados, the golf, the sailing, William the Conqueror, the Normandy landings…
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| (France) - Normandy - Cathedral Notre Dame |
2. Leonardo's Milan
The great interest in the National Gallery's current Leonardo da Vinci exhibition, Painter at the Court of Milan, has raised the profile of the northern Italian city enormously. And rightly so, visiting last September, I was hugely impressed by the sights – it has art galleries and museums to compete with Florence and Venice – the food, and the friendliness of the people (not something I was expecting from the capital of fashionistas). There are relatively few tourists and, if you are inspired by Leonardo, some of his greatest work, from The Last Supper to the Notebooks, can be seen here.
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| Leonardo da Vinci exhibition |
3. Klimt's Vienna
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| (Vienna) - The Belvedere Museum |
Continuing on the arty theme, devotees of the dazzling, sensuous forms depicted by Gustav Klimt should make a pilgrimage to Vienna next year to join celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the birth of an artist who was a founding father of the radically modernist Viennese Secessionist Movement.
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| Klimt's Vienna |
The Austrian capital – which at the time Klimt was painting was the centre of a vast empire – is the permanent home to the largest collection of Klimt's works in the world, including The Kiss and the Beethoven Frieze. Over the coming 12 months, a host of galleries and museums will be staging special exhibitions highlighting paintings and drawings not usually on display. There will also be re-evaluations of the artist's life and significance, and fresh insights into the society and culture – the late 19th-century twilight years of the Habsburg empire – that formed the backdrop to his creations.
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| Gustav Klimt The Kiss |
Ace Cultural Tours (01223 835055; aceculturaltours.co.uk) offers a five-day guided tour of Klimt's Vienna departing on June 10 from £990pp.
4. Here we go… Poland and Ukraine
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| (Poland) - Krakow - Min Market Square |
In June, England's footballers head to central Europe to attempt to end a trophy drought that has lasted 46 years. It will no doubt end in tears, but visiting fans should take the opportunity to explore the two countries that are staging Euro 2012. In Poland, the atmospheric medieval city of Kraków, where the English side will be based, needs no introduction, but other, lesser-known treasures include the restored Hanseatic port city of Gdansk, and Wroclaw – otherwise known as the "Venice of the North".
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| (Poland) - Krakow |
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| (Ukraine) - Lviv |
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| (Ukraine) - Lviv |
In Ukraine, in addition to the gold-domed splendours of the capital, Kiev, and Odessa on the Black Sea, the western city of Lviv offers art and culture and old-world Gothic and Renaissance charm.
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| (Poland) - Krakow |
5. Cádiz for the bicentenary
The fortified city of Cádiz is a lesser-known Andalusian destination, despite having a fascinating history and being perfectly placed for jaunts to the unspoilt Costa de la Luz. Visit in 2012 and residents will be celebrating the city's bicentenary with parades and historical re-enactments. Cádiz also has a celebrated carnival and long maritime tradition: it welcomes the Tall Ships Regatta on July 26.
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| Cadiz |
Hire a car, and head to the nearby sherry bodegas of Jerez. Farther south is hip, Moorish Tarifa, reached via beaches – including the windsurfer hang-out of Los Caños de Meca – and lovely whitewashed villages such as Vejer de la Frontera.
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| Cadiz City Tourist Map |
Jerez de la Frontera, an hour from Cádiz by car, can be reached by air with Ryanair and British Airways. For car hire, try Holiday Autos (0871 472 5229; holidayautos.co.uk).
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| Cadiz Cathedral |
6. Cultural Portugal
In northern Portugal, the city of Guimarães has been chosen as a European Capital of Culture for 2012. Situated in the beautiful Minho region, an hour from Porto, the city has a Unesco-listed medieval centre, a hilltop palace, a museum and keep and a buzzy atmosphere, thanks to its student population and café-lined squares.
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| (Portugal) - Guimarães |
Next year, expect a varied programme of art, cinema, dance and theatre, plus spontaneous events in unlikely public spaces. Note, too, that Portugal is one of western Europe's most affordable destinations and a great place to combine culture with beach life.
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| (Portugal) - Guimarães |
Archers Direct (0844 573 4806; archersdirect.co.uk) runs an eight-day northern Portugal tour that begins in Porto, visiting Guimarães and the country's Green Coast. From £645 per person.
7. The Faroe Islands
An increasing number of British visitors have been making for Denmark, inspired by the cult television series The Killing, which is set in Copenhagen. But what of the country's far-flung autonomous province, the Faroe Islands? The link may be tenuous (the protagonist wears a much talked-about Faroese woollen jumper), but people would do well to include in their plans this windswept archipelago marooned in the middle of the North Atlantic.
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| (Denmark) - Faroe Islands |
You certainly don't go for guaranteed sunshine or warmth – the highest recorded temperature is 22C (70F) – but the 18 islands are quirky, full of bird-life and remote trails for walkers.
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| Runavík - Faroe Islands |
Sunvil Discovery (020 8758 4722; sunvil.co.uk) offers tailor-made itineraries to the islands from the end of May to mid-September.
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| Skarvanes - Faroe Islands |
8. Albanian adventures
9. Skiing in Austria
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| Skiing in Austria |
France may be getting most of the snow, but it is Austria (and to a lesser extent Italy) that you should turn to for value on a skiing holiday. The weakness of the pound against the Swiss franc – down by 25 per cent between August 2010 and 2011 – has made the cost of skiing in the popular resorts of Zermatt, St Moritz and Verbier prohibitive for many Britons.
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| Skiing in Austria |
The high-profile French resorts also seem expensive by comparison, as resort owners seem unwilling to lower prices despite the wider economic downturn.
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| Skiing in Austria |
However, the likes of Mayrhofen, Soll and Schladming in Austria offer real value on and off the slopes. Add to this the great skiing and the famous après ski (St Anton's infamous Mooserwirt on-the-slopes bar opened as a hotel this month), and it is no wonder that Austria is poised to outstrip France as the destination of choice for skiers for the first time since the Seventies. Contact Inghams, Scott Dunn, Esprit and Expedia for ski deals.
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| Skiing in Austria |
10. Britain at its best
It looks as though more of us will be holidaying in Britain this year, so book early to get the pick of self-catering accommodation. Two new set-ups with interesting camping and designer-inspired properties around the country are Canopy and Stars (01275 395447; canopyandstars.co.uk) and Living Architecture (living-architecture.co.uk). Center Parcs (08448 267723; centerparcs.co.uk) meanwhile is upping its game with the opening in January of luxury treehouse villas at Longleat Park.
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| (Britain) - Aylesford Kent South England |
Even if you haven't got Olympics tickets, there's plenty to see in London this summer. The London 2012 Festival runs from June 21 to September 9 and is selling itself as the UK's biggest ever festival of dance, music, theatre, visual arts and film (festival.london2012.com). The Queen's diamond jubilee celebrations reach a peak on the weekend of June 2-5, when a flotilla of up to a thousand boats will sail down the Thames.
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| London |
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| London Bridge |
Accommodation in London will be expensive, but a new venture, onefinestay.com, can arrange stays in private homes, while the Camping and Caravanning Club has secured three event campsites, open in July and August, with pitches from £30 a night (2012camping.co.uk)
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| Britain- Landscape |
(Telegraph)
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