New holidays

If the Minho were to be summed up in one colour, it would be green. It’s widely considered among the Portuguese as the most beautiful part of their country and, as if that weren’t enough, it’s peppered with elegant 16th and 17th-century manor houses which have opened their doors to visitors. Neither hotels nor guesthouses, they are homes, some of which have been in the same family for generations, and staying in such places as part of a gentle walking holiday here seems a special privilege.

It’s the serenity of La Maremma which will leave a lasting impression. Yes, this is Tuscany, so you can expect to see medieval villages, olive groves, fields of sunflowers, and reminders of the ancient Etruscan civilisation, but not many other visitors. Being so far west, another element that might surprise you are the sea views – not what you normally associate with Tuscany – but meandering down from the bucolic interior to the glorious Bay of Baratti brings a rewarding sense of journey.

Many would argue that, with its long, sandy beaches, Charente-Maritime doesn’t need to tick any more boxes, but why stop there? History? Tick – there are fortifications right along the coast, and you can delve into the region’s maritime traditions, naval battles and links to Napoleon. Good food? Tick – the oysters and mussels are some of the best in France. Wildlife? Tick – the wetlands are teeming with birds. Towns and villages to potter around? Tick – you’ll find your fill in La Rochelle and on glamorous Île de Ré. What’s more, the cycling is easy, so you’ve time to enjoy it all.

Beaches. Birdlife. Portugal’s very own ‘little Venice’. Easy cycle trails. Stylish waterfront hotels. Delectable seafood. Six very good reasons to choose a cycling holiday in Aveiro in northern Portugal. And here’s a seventh: the region remains very little known, so you can enjoy the shimmering lagoons and sandy expanses of the Costa da Prata (Silver Coast) without the crowds.

Battles, beaches and belt-defying cuisine are the predominant themes of our cycling route in Normandy. Much of its history is inextricably intertwined with ours, from the Norman invasion of England in 1066, as chronicled in the Bayeux Tapestry, to the D-Day landings. Gentle routes meander through verdant valleys and half-timbered villages to Bayeux and some of the beaches where the Allies landed in June 1944, allowing ample time to visit the poignant memorials and museums and to reflect on the past. The indulgent cuisine will, however, bring you very much back to the present.

Majestic, astonishing and impressive are all adjectives which are likely to spring to mind when confronted with Switzerland’s great lakes. Journeying by rail between them, you start at Lake Geneva, where you can take a paddle steamer across the water to a lakeside château. Next up, after a journey on the famous Golden Pass Line, is Lake Brienz, in the heart of the mountains, where you can take advantage of funiculars and cable cars to enjoy an eagle’s-eye view of the glorious scenery. Last, but by no means least, comes Lake Lucerne, watched over by Mount Rigi, the ‘queen of the mountains’.

We’ve called our journey by car through north-eastern Spain In Search of Dalí, which we think is a rather apt title, given that it focuses on three places with strong connections to the Surrealist painter: the castle where he spent his last years, the flamboyant Theatre-Museum which he created in Figueres, and the alluring coastal village of Cadaqués. But a holiday here needn’t only be about this moustachioed creative force – stroll through medieval villages of honey-coloured stone, relax by the sea in a quiet cove, call in at vineyards for wine-tastings, and explore the wild and rugged Cap de Creus headland.