Travel News

Christmas shopping does not get any better than this, Yorkshire folk would argue.

Local produce, including art, cakes and home brew, keep visitors warm enough to see the yuletide stalls through from Parliament Street to Coppergate Square.

Other goodies include hand-painted glass, locally-made jewellery, pottery, wood-craft, photography, farm-reared venison, ostrich and boar, traditional cheese and mulled wine.

This ancient city turns into a fairytale Christmas of lights, shops and seasonal fair from November 27th and 30th and includes carol singing.

Whatever the weather at St Nicholas Fair don't miss the chance to take a peek around the medieval boutiques down cobbled Shambles Street for upmarket goods.

It’s around the corner from cheap hotels in York.

Meanwhile Jorvik Viking Centre has plenty for the children to have a go at, based on artefacts archaeologists dug up in the 1980s.

The centre now has a special exhibition which allows visitors to trace their Viking roots.

There's also towering York Minster, northern Europe's second largest Gothic cathedral.

You can chance a three-mile stroll around the city's medieval walls and visit the spit and sawdust pubs along the way.

Or more adventurous walkers can try the climb to Clifford's Tower which was built on a hill that overlooks the city.

For a barrel of laughs - with some traditional pigs' knuckles fare thrown in - join the laughter fest that is the Koln Comedy Festival.

What started out as six performers has turned into 150 and the comedians no longer imported – Germans celebrate their funny bones too by presenting a variety of awards.

Accolades like are broadcast in a special show from the city.

The acts are popular with more than 35,000 tickets sold two years ago, so book some affordable accommodation in Cologne quick.

Last year organisers joined up with filmmakers for the first time to add comedy cinema to the festival's string of highlights.

Koln Comedy Festival runs from October 16th to November 1st and takes place in theatres around the city, including the Philharmonie and the Living Room.

Outside festival hours take your pick from one of 12 medieval city gates to start wandering around the walled city.

There are plenty of sights to take in including Cologne Cathedral, Ludwig Art Museum and the Romisch Germanisches Museum, which displays thousands of Roman artefacts.

The city was a cultural and commercial centre as a northern outpost of the Roman Empire and dates back 2,000 years.

There's good news for all you food and drink fans too. Cologne has more restaurants and pubs per capita than any other city in Germany.

Enjoy some traditional Cologne fare by trying Eisbein - pigs' knuckles, sauerkraut and potatoes.

Get some ideas for your garden at one of Belgium's biggest flower shows.

Each October Brussels' Basilica of the Sacred Heart bursts into colour with flowers, water features and planets arranged by almost 100 florists.

Pick one of the best hotels in Brussels to use as a base from which to see the spread of talent and explore the displays.

The Basilica was finished in the 1960s, after King Leopold II laid the first stone.

It is the fifth biggest church in Neolithic Gothic design in the world and it is unique in that it incorporates two architects' designs.

A permanent exhibition entitled The History of the Basilica will reveal more about the city as will a panorama of Brussels 53 metres up, which is accessible by lift.

It's also a museum of religious art with 250 paintings and sculptures from all over the world.

The Basilica is open every day from 10:00 to 18:00 except on Saturday which is between 08:00 and 22:00. Admission is free.

Brussels is also home to another biennial floral festival entitled Brussels Flower Carpet which is held at the Grand Palace every other August.

Every two years begonias are intricately worked into a themed pattern, which transforms the city centre. Past work has included Brussels' coat of arms.

Frankfurt Book Festival is one of the most talked about events in the literary calendar.

Although in an age of computing, telephone conferencing and remote messaging where is the need?

The answer is in the networking.

In addition to talking about new manuscripts, what's hot and what's not this year, publishers and authors get the chance to exchange ideas.

As publisher Morgan Entrekin once told a journalist: "It's the chance to rub shoulders with these really intelligent writers and publishers and to talk about books that you care deeply about."

"That's the reason you're in this field."

And this year's topic of interest is Turkey. Every year the fair focuses on one country to highlight its work among international publishers.

The book fair runs from October 10th to 14th and with thousands of industry figures expected to attend, it is likely to be difficult to find a room in one of the best hotels in Frankfurt without booking well in advance.

It's well known that paperbacks are more readily available in Europe opposed to countries like the United States where books come out in more expensive hardback format first.

It has been estimated more than 600 million euros worth of business is achieved at the fair, which dates back to 1949.

If water sports are your thing look no further than Athens for the latest gadgets and gismos to have you riding the crest of a wave.

The Elliniko Exhibition Centre near Athens International Airport will host hundreds of stalls showing off the latest sailing technology from October 25th to November 2nd.

Motorboats to yachts will be on display alongside diving schools, water ski instruction centres and surf dudes.

Attendees are likely to include a mix of sales people, manufacturers and professional sportsmen and women.

Even if you're simply thinking of replacing the hook on your fishing rod, make a point in coming along as there's something for everyone involved in water.

Athens itself is an excellent place to visit if you are thinking about sailing. There's even an English sailing school if you want to whet your appetite off the coast.

Athens Sailing Academy offers courses for beginners and people wanting to become more professional to a range of accreditations.

Best of all they can promise fine weather from May to September with the occasional thundercloud outside this period.

Just make sure you book some cheap hotels in Athens on dry land. It's always good to have a place to stay when you've got steady feet.