Get packing
A TASTE OF INDIA
India is flavour of the month right now with The Good Karma Hospital, set in southern India, showing on ITV and the incredibly moving film Lion with Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman in the cinemas.
See this dramatic country with the Cosmos (0800 440 2795/ cosmostoursandcruises.co.uk) eight-night India’s Golden Triangle and the Tigers of Ranthambore tour from £1,199pp (two sharing), B&B and some meals.
You’ll visit iconic sites in Delhi, Agra and Jaipur, and travel to Ranthambore to see the tigers.
Another Indian blockbuster is about to hit our cinema screens with Viceroy’s House, starring Simon Callow and Hugh Bonneville, tracing the story of the independence of India.
Stay in the stupendous Umaid Bhawan Palace (00800 4588 1825/tajhotels.com) which doubled as the home of the Mountbattens. Perched above the desert in Jodhpur, this sandstone palace is still home to His Highness the Maharaja of Jodhpur and his family. There are 65 rooms within 26 acres of private gardens.
MAKE A GRAND EXIT
Planning a quick jaunt on the train to Paris in the near future? Here’s something to make the journey even more special.
If you you’re travelling in Business Premier, you’ll be able to relax in the glamorous new lounge that’s just opened in Gare du Nord.
With marble fireplaces, a circular cocktail bar and intimate little quiet spaces, the lounge resembles a slick Parisian apartment. Just don’t get too comfortable – you’ve a train to catch.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
Calling all bookworms: Hay-onWye in Wales may be renowned for its famous literary festival but you can find further inspiration in a new guide which takes you to more than 26 secondhand and antiquarian bookshops lining its pretty streets.
Check into the newly refurbished Swan at Hay (01497 821188/swanathay.com), a boutique bolthole in a Grade 2 Georgian building in central Church Street, pick up your book trail guide and then match up the corresponding numbers in the surrounding bookshops’ windows.
All the hotel’s 19 rooms are fitted out with enormous headboards, elegant drapes, local artwork on the walls and,
BREATH EASY
Feel rejuvenated and calm on a luxury yoga holiday in Italy this spring. YogaKutir (07896 215044/ yogakutir.com) which offers inspiring holistic retreats both in the UK and in uplifting overseas destinations is in the unspoilt coastal area of Puglia April 11-16.
Home to circular stone trullo houses with conical roofs, it is virtually untouched by tourism. You’ll stay in Masseria della Zingara, an 18th-century house amid fig, olive and cherry trees.
During daily sessions, you’ll focus on breathing, movement and relaxation and when you’re not practising yoga or experiencing the sweat lodge (a natural wooden sauna heated by stones) you can chill out by the pool or explore the local area on two wheels.