As the French prepare to vote on Monday, Mary Dejevsky says the outcome is far from certain

Twenty-seven kilometres up and over the Pyrenees is one of the bigger days on the 775km trail.

This tiny Portuguese island was once home to Christopher Columbus, writes Sarah Baxter.

Former nzherald.co.nz news editor Simon Winter takes on the 775-kilometre Spanish Pilgrim Trail.

This pretty town in the Southern Bohemia region of the Czech Republic is a Unesco World Heritage Site, with 300 protected buildings in the Centrum alone. When the Communists were in charge here, they disapproved of the 800-year-old town's bright colours and painted everything grey, but the buildings have been restored to their former colourful glory now the regime has ended.

Communists could not dim the glow of Southern Bohemia, writes David Hill.

Not many people know that Denmark and Sweden are joined by the longest road-and-rail bridge in Europe.

This golf and spa resort near the Italian fishing village of Savelletri is the brainchild of Aldo Melpignano, a former investment banker who owns it with his family. It looks as if it has been there for centuries, but it opened fully only in 2011, offering accommodation within a village environment in either townhouses or luxurious private villas.

For further information see borgoegnazia.com.

Life was harsh down a 200-year-old Cornish tin mine, finds Jim Eagles.

Caroline Phillips visits Puglia's newest village resort and marvels at the region's food.

The commemoration of the Titanic tragedy acquires a bizarre dimension.

Off the coast of Cornwall, Jim Eagles finds a little piece of ground that is steeped in 9000 years of British history.

While most of us can only dream of getting a chance to drive a Ferrari, those with incredibly deep pockets will be heading to Monaco to pick from the crème de la crème of Ferrari's history.

Kiwis are among the many to have made a stand at Thermopylae, writes Jim Eagles.

Kristina Rapley tastes the good life in Tuscany.

Although a survey has found France to be the rudest country in the world, Jim Eagles says attitudes in Paris have changed.