Take me there: Basecamp Bonn
Poor old Bonn. Always stuck in the corner holding the coats while fun-loving Berlin dances in the spotlight. Well, not any more. A quirky new hostel is challenging Bonn's reputation as the most boring city in Europe. Instead of the usual dormitory rooms, guests at Basecamp Bonn (basecamp-bonn.de) can spend the night in one of 15 salvaged caravans, trailers or railway sleeper cars parked in a city-centre warehouse. If you're feeling adventurous you can even spend the night in a tent pitched on the roof of an East German Trabant car. Take that, Berlin! Prices range from €22 a night for a bunk in a railway carriage to €96 for the vintage Airstream trailer.
It's a good time to… visit a garden show
The Chelsea Flower Show celebrates its 100th anniversary this week, but if you didn't manage to score a ticket for this year's horticultural extravaganza, don't despair – alternative garden events are popping up like daisies across the capital. Perhaps the most exciting of these is the Chelsea Fringe, which returns this weekend after a successful launch last year (18 May-9 June; chelseafringe.com). From grassroots community garden projects to avant-garde art installations, the emphasis is on keeping things small scale and democratic – most of the events are volunteer-run and free. Highlights of the programme include a garden tour of a roundabout in Hackney and the creation of an "edible high road" lined by fruit trees in Forest Hill.
A similar mix of urban inspiration and intrigue can be found at this year's Open Garden Squares Weekend (8-9 June, opensquares.org), a fantastic event which allows visitors to take a tour of London's private and hidden gardens, from Downing Street to Holloway Prison. One £10 ticket (£12 if purchased on the day) gives access to more than 200 gardens throughout the two-day event. Compared to the £55 day ticket for Chelsea, this looks like very good value indeed.
Give me a break: the week's best deals
Home Hotel getaway Mercure has launched a Love Summer promotion at its 26 UK hotels, featuring a two-night stay including three-course dinner on the first night and breakfast from £125 per couple. If you want a countryside setting, try the Bowden Hall Hotel, set in 12 acres of parkland near Gloucester. The offer is for stays until 7 September and must be booked by 17 August (jupiterhotels.co.uk/summer)
Away Spanish savings Mallorca Farmhouses is offering peak-season discounts of up to £235 on its self-catering villas and cottages. A week at Agusti, a three-bedroom cottage with pool in a rural location near Pollenca, now starts from £1,056 per week in June, a saving of £118, while larger families can save £235 on a week at five-bedroom Es Comellar near Cala d'Or, which start from £2,125 per week (mallorca.co.uk)
