Great ESCAPES

HISTORY CRUISE: Take in the history and culture of Greece and combine it with the decadent delights of Mykonos on this eight-night city break/ mini-cruise. Your Athens hotel for three nights is the luxurious Divani Caravel, before sailing off to Mykonos, Kusadasi, Santorini, Patmos and Heraklion. The departure date is August 27, and the cost, including breakfast, three lunches and two table d’hôte dinners, is €1,149pps. Return flights ex Dublin to Athens, on selected date €383. See insightvacations.com

LISBON LIVE: The Portuguese capital comes alive this month for the Festas de Lisboa with a series of events including street art and entertainment, musical and theatrical performances and folk parades, in the city’s oldest neighbour-boods. The more familiar delights of fado and freshly grilled sardines also feature, along with free concerts of Brazilian, jazz, world music and rock. Aer Lingus runs flights daily to Lisbon. For more details see visitlisboa.com

NORDICROCK: If you’re bored with Ireland’s summer festivals, Roskilde in Denmark could be for you. Travel Creations is offering a four-night B&B package from July 1 to 5 at Ibsen’s Hotel, Copenhagen for €498pp. The concert, featuring Stevie Wonder, The Rolling Stones, Arctic Monkeys and Outkast, is just a 20-minute train ride away from the Danish capital. Day tickets cost around €130 and can be purchased at http://roskilde-festival.dk/ See also http://itaa.ie/festival-fever/ for details

NOW GET WALKING: Wonderful walking country lies just behind the Côte D’Azur. Try a seven-day route from Breil-sur-Roya to Villefranchesur-mer with Adventure Holidays, which is offering six nights double occupancy with private facilities in two star hotels, plus six breakfasts, two dinners and one picnic lunch. There are five walks (up to five hours a day) and on day three a taxi transfer from Sospel to the Castillon pass. Prices start at €695. Flights extra. See adventure-holidays.ie