Music feast in Budapest
The magnificent House of Music is located in Budapest’s beautiful City Park. After passing through the mushroom-like main entrance, you find a museum dedicated to the history of music. From the beginnings of music through Gregorian chant and the Hungarian people to the present day, the House of Music is a fascinating place. It’s an excellent audio guide and well worth a visit for just 1000 forints (£2.25).
Danny Baker
Tips from Guardian Travel readers
Every week we ask our readers for travel recommendations. Various tips will be posted online and may be available in print. To enter the latest contest, visit the reader tips homepage
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Antiquity in Mérida, Spain
In Mérida, the friendly little capital of Extremadura, I was stunned by the ancient monuments. The Roman amphitheater, theatre, the 755 meter long Puente Romano (Roman bridge) and the Moorish castle are magnificent; It’s surprising that the town hasn’t been overrun by tourists. The whole place is very walkable; Walk through the quiet streets and come across the Temple of Diana or the portico or arch next to houses and shops. The magnificent central Plaza de España, with its towering palm trees, is a great place to recharge.
Melinda Leftley
Literary West Yorkshire
We planned a northern cultural tour, based ourselves at the delightful White Lion in Hebden Bridge (doubles from £120 B&B). One of the highlights was our visit to sites in Benjamin Myers’ Gallows Pole about counterfeiters around Cragg Vale. During our trip I read the book and also visited the atmospheric Heptonstall and Hardcastle Craggs, where Sylvia Plath is buried.
Penny
Three Erics in Morecambe
Culture? Morecambe. Lunch at Midland hotel to appreciate the view and work of Eric Gill and Eric Ravilious. Walk along the ball to take a selfie with the statue of the great TV culture icon and the town’s son, Eric Morecambe. Drinking coffee at the art deco cafe Brucciani and finally a performance by a band at the repurposed old train station The Platform. Along the way, count the street scenes you spot from TV series The Bay (described by the Guardian as Broadchurch in Morecambe). Stay at the Broadwater guest house, which has interesting 20th-century antiques (doubles from around £130 for two nights, B&B).
Stephen Shaw
Art on Bournemouth waterfront
On a swelteringly hot day last summer I stumbled upon The Russell-Cotes gallery in Bournemouth; What a beautiful thing this place is, with its panoramic sea view, shady garden and interesting art. Housed in a striking late Victorian art nouveau building, this is a two-story wonder with exquisite sculptures including Pietro Calvi’s Othello, Edward Bowring Stephens’s The Bathers and Giovani Benzoni’s Samuel, completed in 1859. It has a layout. Merton and Annie Russell-Cotes, The collection is therefore quite eclectic geographically, including works in Sierra Leone and the Congo. The ceiling is covered in ornate and art nouveau tiles, and paintings include the pre-Raphaelite period, with works by Rossetti such as Venus Verticordia, among others. In winter, special “candlelight nights” are organized.
Nigel Cox
Roman magic on Hadrian’s Wall
What really blew me away this year was right here in the UK, visiting Hadrian’s Wall for the first time. I went to Sycamore Gap in June (I didn’t realize at the time how lucky I was to see the tree). I was excited to go there, but I didn’t expect to be so impressed by a wall. It feels ancient and has such a strong identity that I laid my hands on it and dreamed of the soldiers who guarded it thousands of years ago. I visited the Great Wall of China a few years ago and Hadrian’s Wall is much smaller, has fewer visitors, but is just as fascinating. It is rugged and you can climb and climb around it, taking in its ancient heritage. A must see place.
Sarah Collings
Castle ruins in Catalonia
Far from the crowds of the Costa Brava, near the village of Ullastret (10 miles inland), it dates back to B.C. There are ruins of Ciutat ibèrica d’Ullastret, an ancient Iberian fortress dating back to the 6th century. It’s great to visit with kids as the site is surrounded by a huge wall to capture the imagination. The site is on a hill overlooking the countryside. There is a small museum featuring a skull with spikes sticking into its head. Adult entrance fee is €7.
bernard
The attraction of science in Geneva
It may not be art, but I found my visit to the particle physics research center Cern fascinating. I spent two days showing around the site; During this time I was able to see all the fascinating and extremely photogenic equipment up close. It is an extraordinary experience to see scientific research being conducted at the outer limits of knowledge. Entrance is free.
Norman Rimmell
Georgia’s ancient wine method
Georgia’s traditional and ancient qvevri The wine-making method is Unesco-listed, and after becoming familiar with ruby-red saperavi wine, master craftsman Zaza Kbilashvili, whose winery is in Telavi, eastern Georgia, demonstrated the making of clay pots. The clay is mixed with water, shaped by hand, dried, covered with concrete and fired in a kiln large enough to hold 10 gigantic 1,400-litre containers. After being baked at 1,200C for a week, they are coated with beeswax. Qvevri is then buried in the ground and whole grapes are added and left to ferment naturally. The tour over, we sat surrounded by a sunken qvevri and tasted the wine. Unbelievable.
Roy Messenger
Winning clue: Karen Blixen and three trains, Denmark
I had a great day using the single rail line from Copenhagen. First stop is Hamlet’s Kronborg Castle in Helsingør (20-minute walk from the station), which is a fantastic history lesson, then back to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art (a short walk from Humlebæk station) with its exciting installations and beautiful sculptures. Henry Moore looks out to sea and towards Sweden. We eventually wandered around Karen Blixen’s home (one mile from Rungsted Kyst St station) and her final resting place. The decor and objects he collected throughout his fascinating life made you want to move immediately. Then, with our hearts and minds full of everything we drank, it was time to head back to town for dinner.
Kate Copeland