Is the party over for Belgrade’s club scene on the Danube?

Raft houses, known as ‘splavs’, became synonymous with the hedonistic nightclub scene in Serbia’s capital. Now they are being cleared from the river to make way for luxury flats, bars and shops

Second to none: why Porto is my number one for a city break in Portugal

Second cities can be more welcoming and fun than capitals, perhaps nowhere more so than Porto, with its less manicured charm

‘Joyce and Hemingway loved lingering here. I can see why’: readers’ favourite small cities in Europe

Art nouveau cafes, Ottoman architecture and beer halls make these modest cities a big draw away from the crowds

Where tourists seldom tread, part 12: five more UK towns with hidden histories

Scratch beneath the surface of these once well-connected but now overlooked towns and their grand civic buildings and streets reveal a rich seam of history, legend and memory

Trainspotting from the bathtub: why Manchester’s newest bolthole is on the right track

You don’t have to be a railway buff to enjoy the Station Agent’s House. The restored Georgian gem is a perfect base for exploring the historic Castlefield district

Waterford revival: the reinvention of Ireland’s oldest city

From Viking history, to its wild coastline and even its ‘damp’ weather, Waterford has taken its natural assets and run with them

A late summer break in Montpellier, one of France’s sunniest cities

The reinvention of Montpellier from ancient university town to ‘Berlin by the Med’ is in full swing, and late summer is the best time to visit

A last blast of summer: five cities in southern Europe perfect for late-season sun

The sun is still shining brightly in southern Europe, but the crowds have gone, which makes these gorgeous seaside cities even more alluring

My favourite late summer city break in southern Europe: readers’ tips

Beaches on Sardinia, food markets in Aix-en-Provence and historic Sarajevo are among our tipsters’ highlights

A greener Spanish city break: electric boats, birds and rice fields in Valencia

Traffic-free central squares, a huge urban park and a protected nature reserve reachable by bike all add up to make Valencia this year’s European Green Capital

Hamburg’s wartime bunker is reinvented as an unlikely green oasis

An iconic air raid shelter in the St Pauli district has been given a new lease of life with the addition of a hotel and rooftop urban park

‘We hiked green volcanoes near Barcelona’: readers’ favourite day trips from cities

Our tipsters revel in rural escapes and dips in the sea on their city breaks from Gdańsk to Lisbon

Berlin by rail: a cold-war adventure

Taking the sleeper train to Berlin, the writer and his teenage son explore the city’s fascinating legacy, eerie buildings, war relics and stunning street art

An alternative guide to Sheffield: a crucible for left-field culture and regeneration

With a £470m redevelopment of the city centre, a feted documentary festival and a vibrant foodie scene, the former steel-making hub is showing its true mettle

Art in the Arctic: exploring Bodø, Norway, European capital of culture for 2024

The Norwegian town, just inside the Arctic Circle, makes a picturesque (and unusual) setting for a programme of exhibitions, gigs and outdoor activities – and the sun doesn’t set all summer