From sightseeing and pet-friendly accommodation to staying away from crocodiles, Shandos Cleaver shares tips for taking your pup on holiday Get our weekend culture and lifestyle email When I travelled around Australia in a campervan, there was no question about leaving behind my miniature dachshund, Schnitzel. After all, he’s part of my family and where we go, he goes too. Luckily it’s become easier in recent years to holiday with pets in Australia, thanks to an increasing range of pet-friendly accommodation, from boutique motels and holiday rentals to caravan parks and farm stays ..read more

Our tipsters savour delights at cafes, restaurants and pubs by the sea, from Bangor to Brighton The cockle chowder served in a cottage loaf at The Peterboat in Leigh-on-Sea, Southend, is to die for (£19.95). The prawn and chorizo linguine at £17.95 equally so! Fabulous location, right on the sea wall, and the service is always excellent. It’s so easy to reach on public transport that customers can enjoy a glass of wine from their extensive list. Carolyn Simpson ..read more

The Sharpham estate has been offering guests an escape from the stresses of modern life for decades. But could it help our writer to deal with his anxiety? We were sitting under a giant sweet chestnut at the top of a steep field tumbling down to the River Dart, like a rivulet of mercury winding north to Totnes and beyond to Dartmoor, whose crooked granite tors look like approving thumbs. Greenfinches chirred and a song thrush went through its dial-up modem repertoire. A lone seal lolloped on the estuary mud, lazily waiting for the tidal river to reclaim it. “I come into the peace of wild thing ..read more

We’re keen to hear from workers and business owners in the British tourism sector what this year’s holiday seasons have been like We’re interested to hear from people working in the UK travel and leisure industry about what business has been like to date in 2024. If you work or own a business in UK tourism, tell us what bookings, cancellations and profits have been like this year, or if you’re a seasonal holiday worker in Britain tell us how busy things have been and whether you’ve been able to work as much as you’d like. Whether things have been positive or whether you have concerns about the ..read more

These quirky cultural gems are ideal for discovering a different side of the French capital this summer This museum offers a tour of France’s most sensational buildings, from the middle ages to the present. It sits across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower in the eastern wing of the Chaillot Palace, which was built for the International Exhibition of 1937 and features full-scale casts of architectural features, copies of murals and frescoes and models of buildings ..read more

The picturesque Ile-de-Bréhat follows major cities such as Amsterdam and Venice with measures to reduce visitors A small, picturesque island off the north coast of Brittany has imposed a summer tourist quota in an effort to ensure visitors have a more enjoyable experience and its 400-odd permanent residents do not feel swamped. From this week until 23 August, the number of people allowed on to Ile-de-Bréhat – excluding local people, second homeowners and workers – between 8.30am and 2.30pm must not exceed 4,700, said the island’s mayor, Olivier Carr ..read more

A pop-up glampsite has opened at Pensthorpe natural park this summer, giving guests the chance to immerse themselves in the wildlife and biodiversity of this Norfolk landscape It’s 5am and I awake to the sound of a gaggle of greylag geese heralding the morning outside my bell tent. The dawn chorus is in full swing, and shortly after I get up to enjoy it, I come face to face with a wild hare and spot a muntjac deer flashing past the boundary of the campsite. To the extreme envy of all my nature-loving friends, I am one of the first glampers to stay at the brand new campsite which recently opene ..read more

Michelin-starred chef JP McMahon selects his favourite bars, restaurants and beaches ahead of the Galway Races We are spoiled for choice in Galway: there’s great pizza at Dough Bros; burgers at Handsome Burger or Bótown; Wa Café and Kappa-ya are great for an authentic Japanese experience; Ard Bia and Kai are longtime champions of local Irish produce, as are the more recently opened Rúibín and Blackrock Cottage. Dela, on Dominick Street, is the go-to spot for brunch and if you crave a beautifully laminated pastry get to Magpie Bakery early before they sell out ..read more

With miles of dune-backed beaches and charming seaside towns, Scandinavia and Finland make great destinations for a beach holiday. Here’s our pick Sun-seekers and sea-dippers have been heading to Søndervig – known as the Gateway to the North Sea – for more than a century, drawn to its silver-gold sand and grass-tufted dunes. There are good facilities – mini-golf, tennis, trampolines and Segways are all available close to the beach, with a clutch of excellent fish restaurants in the town. The town’s biggest draw is the extraordinary sand sculpture festival, which runs from May until October, wi ..read more

The country is large enough to still produce surprises – Roman remains you didn’t know about, a seaside train line, vast empty beaches … Between the glamour of Biarritz and the tuna boats and half-timbered houses of Saint-Jean-de-Luz lies a surprisingly peaceful stretch of the French Basque coast, with relatively few tourists even in high summer ..read more