Pizzas, aperitivos and a big sandy beach add to the offbeat charm of this Adriatic resort townI hadn’t heard of Pesaro before my ex-flatmate sent me there in summer 2018. I was writing a book at the time, and Giulia reckoned the best place for me to do such work was in her grandad’s old flat, a modest unit in a block put up in 1946, during the short...

From the Turkish Riviera to the Île de Ré, we select quiet and unspoilt places to stay for sun, sand, snorkelling – or just snoozingThere’s something quite particular about small but perfectly formed Assos – butterscotch and rose-pink houses line a horseshoe bay, with Venetian ruins scattered between the narrow alleys. There are two small beaches, but...

This quiet island in the Small Cyclades has one small town, several wild sandy bays and a plethora of panoramic walking and running trailsElias, quiet and unassuming, meets us at the tiny harbour and says he could drive us to the house but it would be quicker on foot. He directs us up a narrow alley past a bustling kafeneio, where people are debating...

Seaside idylls from Île de Ré to eastern Crete feature as our tipsters report that even popular destinations such as Menorca and Sicily have their quieter spotsCala Galdana beach – and its neighbours – are spectacular. Turn off at Ferreries and take the attractive Me-22 road that brings you to a breathtaking horseshoe bay shrouded by pine trees. The...

Sunday’s Sounds from the Other City festival is a joyful celebration of Greater Manchester’s leftfield cultureOn the first Sunday of May every year, Chapel Street, where central Manchester and Salford meet, comes alive with DIY art, music and spectacle at the Sounds from the Other City festival. It is a vibrant public celebration of the “community spirit...

The Egadi isles are said to have inspired the mythical islands in the Odyssey. Today, the largest of the group is a quiet place of blissful beaches, fresh fish, neon seas and ice-cream breakfastsI cycled into birdsong, into colour, the light glimmering against the white of the low stone walls. There was a spaciousness as I cycled, a lateral stretching...