After a summer's morning walking the streets of Paris this cafe is a real find. Part of the Mosquee de Paris, it is tucked away in a tranquil, shaded courtyard. Waiters bring trays of pefect mint tea and sweet pastries and you can while away the time admiring the ripening figs overhead. Once refreshed you can take a stroll around the nearby Jardin de Plantes, Paris's beautitful old botanical gardens.

29 rue Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 5ème
+33 1 43 31 38 20


www.jardindesplantes.net/

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What better than Verona, the city of ill-fated lovers Romeo and Juliet? Arrive in the early morning sunshine via the sleeper train from Paris then breakfast with the locals on strong black coffee and pastries.
You can spend the day exploring this beautiful old city hand in hand taking the Adige river, Piazza del Herbe, the renaissance garden Giardino Giusti and, if you can brave the tourist hordes, Juliet’s balcony.
In the evening you can experience the joy that is opera under stars in a magnificent roman amphitheatre - Arena di Verona. Then round off the perfect romantic day by following the locals in the know to Bottega Del Vino for a glass of red wine with intimate old fashioned charm.

www.tourism.verona.it/_vti_g2_1.aspx
www.bottegavini.it
Vicolo Scudo di Francia, 3, 37121 Verona Province of Verona, Italy
+39 45 800 4535
Google map: bit.ly/Aa7e8i

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The long sweeping beach at Sanlucar de Barrameda in Andalusia is worth a visit at any time of year. The beach is lined with unassuming bars that serve fresh seafood and superb pimientos de padron at good prices, a real treat, washed down with a cold glass of zingy manzanilla, the local sherry. But for two long weekends in August it is transformed into the most glorious racecourse. During the “Carreras de Caballos” race horses gallop along the surf while families watch on from their deckchairs in the late afternoon sun. The beach is decorated with hundreds of colourfully decorated cardboard betting booths made and staffed by small Spanish children who will give you a hand made betting slip, and if you are lucky a sweet when your horse comes in.

Sanlucar de Barrameda, Costa de Luz
Andalucia
www.sanlucar-de-barrameda.com/
Google map: bit.ly/h4XVfO

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The perfect day out for the jaded Londoner: hop on the train at Victoria with your bike and in less than two hours emerge blinking into the clear blue skies of Birchington-on-Sea in Kent. Well sign posted is the Viking Trail cycle path. It is a lovely route that hugs the north Kent coast, so sea views and salty air all the way. Flat and wide it is perfect for families and younger cyclists, a cycle for pleasure this, rather than for working up a sweat. The trail goes all the way to Ramsgate, the highlight being the five beautiful bays of Broadstairs. This is a great place for a lunch stop – at the Broadstairs institution Posilipo you can feast on spaghetti and shellfish sitting on a terrace high above Viking Bay. If you've had a glass of rose too many you can always hop back on the train at Broadstairs. And dont forget your swimsuit...

A very comprehensive map and guide can be downloaded at www.visitthanet.co.uk/viking
Google map: tinyurl.com/37pjxdv

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This is the perfect museum for kids. There is a lot there, an aquarium, a natural history museum and a music gallery, but all on a fairly small scale. Most importantly they understand that children need to do more than look, they need to touch, play and get involved, and here they can. There are magnifying glasses in the aquarium, quirky instruments to play in the music gallery, and fabulous and free creative activities and story-telling sessions. When you have exhausted all on offer inside you can stroll through the pretty gardens and visit the small menagerie.

100 London Rd, Forest Hill, London, SE23 3PQ
www.horniman.ac.uk/
+44(0)20 8699 1872
Google map: bit.ly/iQfW9K

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Kirstie and Paul Rowbotham moved here from the UK about three years ago, taking over this small vineyard near the village of Les Leves-et-Thoumeyragues. We were welcomed by Kirstie who showed our family around the vines, discussed the wine-making process and told us her story. Paul then took the adults inside for the serious business of tasting their excellent range of wines, while our three small children were entertained in grand style in the lovely family garden by Kirstie's father, "Poppy" – the highlight being a gentle circuit of the garden in the sidecar of his shiny black Triumph.

Chateau La Tour de Chollet
Chollet
33220 Les Leves et Thoumeyragues
Gironde
Telephone: +33 (0) 5 57 41 39 66
www.latourdechollet.com
tinyurl.com/yyba332

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