The Italian Unesco site is hoping to reduce over-tourism with the charge – the first of its kind in a major city After years in the making, Venice will on Thursday begin charging day trippers to enter the city in an effort to protect the Unesco world heritage site from the effects of over-tourism. While the measure has ignited criticism and derision from some, who argue it is unconstitutional and restrictive of freedom of movement – the Venice mayor, Luigi Brugnaro, has compared his “bravery” in enacting the charge to that of the Venetian explorer Marco Polo, in daring to go where others have ..read more

The Basque Country’s Mondragón Corporation is the globe’s largest industrial co-operative, with workers paying for the right to share in its profits – and its losses. In return for giving more to their employer, they expect more back When Marisa Fernández lost her husband to cancer a few years ago, her employers at the Eroski hypermarket went, she says, “above and beyond to help me through the dark days afterwards, rejigging my timetable and giving me time off when I couldn’t face coming in.” She had a chance to return the favour recently when the store, in Arrasate-Mondragón in Spain’s Basque ..read more

I thought finding Karma – yes, that is the cat’s name – would make me beloved and cherished by my neighbourhood. Unfortunately, not so much A couple of weeks ago I went to go see a woman about a cat. The woman was my neighbour (we’ll call her L) and she had lost her tabby, Karma. (That’s the cat’s name – I’m not saying L had it coming.) Karma had been gone for weeks and her family was distraught. The entire neighbourhood had been trying, without luck, to look for her. And then, one day, when I was looking out of the window, I saw Karma peeking out from the dilapidated shed at the bottom of my ..read more

Without the van, my husband and I had no urgent reason to live in Wellington. The short European adventure we had planned soon became much more One evening in 2008, a group of joyriders stole our van, named The Colombian, from a street outside Wellington, New Zealand. My sister-in-law was the first to notice and she alerted her husband, Ant, who immediately drove off in search of it. When he spotted the van parked on the beach, he called the police, who then gave chase as it drove off. After running a few red lights, the joyriders lost control and smashed into a building. The front of the van ..read more

Our slow travel expert takes the train through the Rhône’s wine country, hoping for grand cru views and a glass of Condrieu Trains and wine make natural partners, be it a glass of crisp white over a leisurely lunch in a restaurant car while cruising through the Alps or a rail itinerary that meanders through a region noted for its fine wines. Many of Europe’s most prized wine regions lend themselves naturally to exploration by rail. Take the train from São Bento station in Porto to Pocinho, for example, for fine views of the estates that have underpinned the port trade. Other classic European w ..read more

I returned two coats and the parcel was lost and then it went into administration At the end of January I bought two coats from Matchesfashion for £902. I returned them, but the parcel has been lost and now Matches has gone into administration and I don’t have the coats or the money. I used the DHL labels provided to send them back on 27 February, and followed up a week later as I had not received a refund. I was told my package was still in transit, so I returned to the drop-off point, where staff said it would have been collected that day ..read more

There can be a big gap between self-perception and how our loved ones see us. Is it ever a good idea to seek the truth? Name: Personality audit. Age: People have worried about what other people think about them since the beginning of time ..read more

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