It’s the smell of Christmas more than anything. The puzzling fuzz of deep red glühwein, the sharp nostalgic crackle of a lit brazier, and the gentle waft of German incense.

As luxury train rides go, it would be misguided to not consider South Africa's The Blue Train amongst the very best.

Japan is famous for many things. Some of which are man made - the incredible megacities, filled with life and skyscrapers, the incredibly efficient bullet trains, and a hotel that has been in the same family for over 1,300 years.

Do you want to be part of it? Do you want to want to wake up in the city that never sleeps?

Hiking is one of the most rewarding forms of exercise in the world, and what country is more made for this particular exercise than Switzerland?

The world is a weird place. It’s not something we always appreciate as we go about our day-to-day lives, but every so often you learn something about this planet of ours, suspended in a potentially infinite cosmos, that makes you stop and pause for thought.

When Kenneth Branagh’s action-man Hercule Poirot first bounds onto the screen, we find ourselves in Jerusalem 1933. And while this is sure to be an unfamiliar opening to many of Christie’s more avid readers, we’re soon back into comfortable territory as Poirot’s sense of self-importance and masterful pomp come bubbling to the surface during his self-absorbed denouement.

Lake Garda is one of northern Italy’s most famous, and favourite, tourist spots, and how could it not be?

All Hallows Eve, the one night of the year when daemons, ghosties and probably even the monsters under your bed are free to roam the land of the living.

The reasons to visit Ireland are fairly self explanatory. It is beautiful, green, and filled with millennia of history and tradition. In case you need a bit more convincing, however, take a look at our top 5 reasons to visit the breathtaking ‘Emerald Isle’.

Munich’s annual Oktoberfest (ironically starting in September) is a hedonist spectacle that sees one of Bavaria’s most popular cities flooded with tourists, eager to sup local beer, and, as we all now know, become raucously drunk.

Has there ever been a finer example of luxury, glamour and class than the Orient Express? Possibly the first luxury train in the world, the Orient Express combines a refined heritage, elegant carriages and the highest class of on board service to offer passengers a once-in-a-lifetime experience on history’s greatest rail journey.