Hand-picked

Birmingham

Cheap holidays from Birmingham Airport: best deals + destinations

GUIDE · Birmingham is the most central UK airport — under 2 hours from 75% of the UK population. It punches above its weight for package holidays, with Jet2/TUI hubs and competitive long-haul to the Middle Ea

Manchester

Cheap holidays from Manchester Airport: best deals + destinations

GUIDE · Manchester is the UK's third-busiest airport and serves a wider range of destinations than any other northern hub — all-inclusive Mediterranean, long-haul to Asia and the US, weekend city breaks acros

Inspiration

See Harry Potter platform 9¾ then ride a real Hogwarts Express — Scotland's Jacobite

INSPIRATION · King's Cross is fine for a selfie. But the actual train from the films runs from Fort William to Mallaig — 84 miles across the Glenfinnan Viaduct, twice a day, May to October. £55 return.

Inspiration

Climb the cliff face from Mission: Impossible — the actual Norwegian fjord

INSPIRATION · Tom Cruise free-soloed Preikestolen in Fallout. You can hike to the top in 2 hours for free — and the view (604m straight down to Lysefjord) is worth the flight to Stavanger alone.

Inspiration

Watch tango where it was born — Buenos Aires's milongas (free, no tourist trap)

INSPIRATION · Tango shows are £80 and full of tourists. Real milongas — local dance halls — are free, open until 3am, and you can join in (everyone does). La Catedral is the legendary one.

Inspiration

Drink in the pub where JFK proposed to Jackie — Cape Cod's quirkiest pilgrimage

INSPIRATION · Skip the Kennedy Compound (it's not open to the public anyway). The pub he proposed in — the West Yarmouth Tap — still does $4 oysters and has the photo on the wall.

Inspiration

See Mamma Mia performed on the actual island it was filmed — Skopelos's hidden bay

INSPIRATION · The clifftop chapel where Pierce Brosnan and Meryl Streep nailed their wedding scene is on Skopelos, a 4-hour ferry from Athens. Local bars host Mamma Mia singalong nights all summer.

london

Watch the Wimbledon final on Henman Hill — the £8 ground pass that beats £4,000 Centre Court

INSPIRATION · Queue from 5am, pay £8, claim a spot on the hill, watch the men's final on the big screen with 30,000 strangers and free strawberries. Better atmosphere than the corporate boxes.

london

Eat dim sum then catch a West End musical — the perfect London Saturday

INSPIRATION · Brunch dumplings in Chinatown's hidden basements (Plum Valley, Dumplings' Legend), wander Soho, then walk five minutes to Shaftesbury Avenue for a 2:30pm matinee. £55 all-in is doable.

Italy

Drink Negronis where they were invented — the Florence bar that started it all

INSPIRATION · 1919, Count Camillo Negroni walks into a Florence bar and orders his Americano 'stronger'. The bartender swaps the soda for gin. The rest is liquid history. The bar is still there. Bring £8.

Inspiration

See the Northern Lights from a steaming volcanic spa — Iceland's best-kept hack

INSPIRATION · Skip Blue Lagoon. The Sky Lagoon's infinity-edge pool faces north over the Atlantic — perfect for catching the aurora while half-submerged at 38°C. December–March is the window.

Italy

Watch Gladiators where they actually fought — the Colosseum after dark

INSPIRATION · Ridley Scott shot some of the most memorable Roman scenes in cinema right inside this 1,950-year-old amphitheatre. You can stand on the arena floor after sunset for £24.