 An Englishman’s home is his castle, the saying goes – but there’s no denying that the real thing is a lot more spectacular. Europe’s home to some stunning fairytale-like castles, and Lonely Planet’s put together a list of the best.
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©ATOUT FRANCE
Emmanuel Valentin
The pretty French village of Mougins has long been associated with more leftfield celebrities than Cannes, its glamorous big sister up the road. Man Ray, Christian Dior, Edith Piaf and most notably Pablo Picasso are just a handful of the people who've passed through.
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If you need a reminder about how quick, reliable and comfy European high speed train travel is, take a look at this wonderfully bizarre selection of videos compiled by Spanish website Via Libre.
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 Fancy a rail get away this autumn?
Here are 5 beautiful cities you can speed to in under 5 hours from London on the train…
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 Strasbourg isn’t your typical French city. Way over in the east of the country, it’s spent a fair slice of its rich and varied history as part of Germany. The result is an enchanting mish-mash of French and German culture and architecture.
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 Lyon, the capital of the Rhone Alpes region, is a UNESCO World Heritage city whose history goes back 2,000 years and yet still manages to be one of the most vibrant and exciting places in France. Close to the Beaujolais vineyards, Lyon is renowned for it’s gastronomy and has more museums on more diverse subjects than any other city in France.
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 “The world’s largest event dedicated to chocolate” brags the strapline. Do you really need any more reason to book yourself a ticket to the annual Salon Du Chocolat festival in Paris?
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 If your idea of a day at the races involves Ladies Days, huge hats and glasses of bubbly, the annual Palio of Siena might come as something of a shock.
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 August’s the perfect month for culture vultures to pay a visit to Germany’s fascinating capital city. Twice a year dozens of Berlin’s museums and memorials keep their doors open until 2am in the morning, with entry to each and every one of them guaranteed with a single ticket.
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 There’s always a good excuse to book yourself a ticket to the Floating City. If you head to Venice in early September you’ll experience the city at its most exciting and magical.
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