Escapism

The Madison Club Lounge in New York's Roosevelt Hotel (theroosevelthotel.com) is one of many drinking dens to host Don Draper in Mad Men. This Madison Avenue hotel, and The Pierre (tajhotels.com), on Fifth Avenue, both feature in the TV show, and have special offers to mark series five, which launched in the UK on Tuesday. The Roosevelt has rooms from $425 including a copy of Mad Men Season 4; The Pierre, the "offices" of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, has themed cocktails. See a slideshow of Draper's New York at nycgo.com.

Travel alert

Planning a little road trip round France's vineyards this summer? Be aware that the country's road regulations have changed. From 1 July, all drivers on French roads must carry disposable breathalyser kits, to check they aren't over the limit before driving. Those without kits may be fined €17. Some car hire firms, such as Alamo (alamo.co.uk), say they will provide them in cars, but do check.

Cheap date

Beirut makes a fantastic exotic city break – great food, nightlife and culture. One of the hottest hotels in town, the 50-year-old Phoenicia, has a deal for April: two nights, a Lebanese cookery class, massage in the spa, breakfast and transfers for two people costs £312 for stays in April.
• 0871 423 4949, phoeniciabeirut.com

Snow watch

Powder hounds don't have to give up on winter just yet – in California, thanks to a big snow storm last week that dropped 2.7m, the Lake Tahoe resorts of Heavenly and Kirkwood have extended their season. Due to close 15 April, they will now open for the weekends of 20-22 and 27-29 April, if the conditions hold up.

Scotland's new long-distance canoe trail

A 60-mile coast-to-coast waterway across Scotland from just outside Fort William at the head of Loch Linnhe sea loch to Inverness in the north-east, which uses the Caledonian Canal, several rivers and a number of lochs, was officially launched last week as the Great Glen Canoe Trail (greatglencanoetrail.info), Scotland's first formal canoe trail.

Although paddlers were already allowed on these waterways, a network of tourist organisations have joined forces to make negotiating the trail easier, with more access points, canoe hire, camping facilities and maps available to those who choose to tackle all or parts of it.

The trail starts at Corpach in the south, at the bottom of an impressive series of lochs called Neptune's Staircase, a wonder of Thomas Telford's Victorian engineering. This, along with the Caledonian Canal, links lochs Linnhe, Lochy, Oich and Ness, allowing boats to "climb" the hills of the Great Glen and avoid a long sea journey around the treacherous tip of the country.

Canoes can't go through those first locks, so they have to be carried up, or you can start at Banavie, three miles away. The whole route takes at least five days, but I did half of it, in four days, and to make things even easier, arranged our trip with Wilderness Scotland (wildernessscotland.com), which provides equipment and a guide – reassuring when winds picked up on the ocean-like lochs. All we needed to do was paddle, pitch camp and relish the adventure through this varied and wild landscape. If you just want a day trip, opt for the Banavie to Gairlochy section, just six miles each way, with Ben Nevis sheltering you. Catherine Mack

What's new?

Museum
Britain's first surf museum opens on Friday in Braunton, north Devon, with its inaugural exhibition, The Art of Surf, reflecting 200 years of surf history, from the sketches of early explorers (Captain Cook's crew tried it in Hawaii in 1779) to contemporary graphics.
• Caen Street, museumofbritishsurfing.org.uk

Hostel
Elephant and Castle, the central but quite insalubrious area of south London, is the unlikely spot for a stylish new hostel, opening in July. Safestay at Elephant & Castle, in John Smith House on Walworth Road, the Labour party's old HQ, will have 407 beds, costing from £18 a night. Private twin rooms, as well as four-, six- and eight-bed bunk rooms will be available.
• safestay.co.uk

Flight
Singapore Air's sister carrier Silk Air has launched a new flight to Darwin, via Singapore. Book before 30 April to fly before 30 June 2012 and you can get a return from Manchester for £735, or from Heathrow for £755. Darwin's attractions include a redeveloped waterfront, galleries of indigenous art and encounters with jumping crocodiles.
• singaporeair.com

Tweet ur trip

Weird attractions
• Spy Museum in DC. Best part, feeling like a spy & crawling through a vent system @paradisotwin

• Hair museum in Turkey rates a mention, but my all-time favourite is Lenin's enormous head, Ulan Ude, Russia @Kath_Murphy

• Toilet Seat Art Museum in Texas, over 1,000 toilet seats painted by one extremely enthusiastic man @alibaverstock

• The instant noodle museum in Japan and the Museum of Bad Art in Boston are pretty odd! @EsmeFox

• Guided tour of the Cerro Rico working mine in Potosí, buying and letting off some dynamite. Boom! @9avin

• The museum of totomoxtle or corn leaf handicrafts in Xico, Mexico. Curious and crafty @AnnoushkaC

We had some great tales from you about strange attractions – see our pick here on Storify

Tweet us @GuardianTravel #TravelCorkboard