Annie McNamee

Sure, winter has its perks. Cosying up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate in hand is lovely. Big woolen jumpers are ever-chic. But there’s no warm, fuzzy feeling that comes close to feeling actual warmth. In our eyes, you just can’t beat the sunshine: sitting on a rooftop terrace, ice-cold cocktail in hand… bonus points if everyone back home is stuck with endless grey drizzle. There are plenty of places across the world still basking in glorious sunshine from October to February. Our list of the best winter sun destinations this year spans six continents and five months, giving you 20 recommendations for the very best places you can visit during the winter months. Whether it’s Thai beaches, African safaris or sunny city breaks in Europe, we’ve got you covered. The best winter sun destinations at a glance: 🏖️ Best for beaches: Thailand 🏙️ Best for a city break: Cape Town, South Africa 🌡️ Warmest in Europe: Tenerife, Spain 🐘 Best for wildlife: Namibia 🎭 Best for an arty break: Cartagena, Colombia 🍜 Best for food: Vietnam At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines and check out our latest travel guides written by local experts. RECOMMENDED:☀️ Europe’s 10 best winter sun destinations

This list is from 2024. Our latest ranking for 2025 is live here. In 2024, what exactly makes a neighbourhood cool? Craft breweries, natty wine bars and street art are well and good, but the world’s best, most exciting and downright fun neighbourhoods are much more than identikit ‘hipster hubs’. They’re places that reflect the very best of their cities – its culture, community spirit, nightlife, food and drink – all condensed in one vibey, walkable district. To create our annual ranking, we went straight to the experts – our global team of on-the-ground writers and editors – and asked them what the coolest neighbourhood in their city is right now, and why. Then we narrowed down the selection and ranked the list using the insight and expertise of Time Out’s global editors, who vetted each neighbourhood against criteria including food, drink, arts, culture, street life, community and one-of-a-kind local flavour. The result? A list that celebrates the most unique and exciting pockets of our cities – and all their quirks. Yes, you’ll find some of those international hallmarks of ‘cool’. But in every neighbourhood on this list there’s something you won’t find anywhere else. Ever been to a photography museum that moonlights as a jazz club? Or a brewery with a library of Russian literature? How about a festival dedicated to fluff? When communities fiercely support and rally around their local businesses, even the most eccentric ideas can become a reality. And that, in our eyes, is

On March 25, 1925, at London’s Selfridges department store in central London, Scottish inventor John Logie Baird made the first public demo of his latest creation: a way to broadcast visual information from a camera to a screen. A full century later, Baird’s discovery has led to perhaps the most vital, creative and popular mode of artistic expression in the entire world. But it’s only in the past 25 years that television has really fulfilled its artistic potential.  The result has been the so-called ‘Golden Age of Television’, a boom kickstarted roughly around the turn of the century with the rise of shows like The Sopranos and later Breaking Bad, and continuing with awards-winners from Succession to Shōgun to Slow Horses. So while our list of the 100 greatest TV shows may pay tribute to the unmissable programs of yesteryear, you’ll find that the majority hail from our own century – meaning there’s no excuse not to watch every single one. Paring the list down to only 100 was a painful process, so we decided to omit sketch shows, talk shows, news and non-fiction in order to focus on scripted drama and classic comedy. Time to go goggle-eyed. Recommended: 🔥 The best TV and streaming shows of 2025 (so far)🍎 The best shows to watch on Apple TV+ right now📺 The best Netflix original series to binge🎮 The best ‘90s TV shows

This bustling coastal city is absolutely steeped in history, maritime heritage, and of course, there's loads to see. It’s roots date back as far as the Stone Age, and its first ever museum (the Tudor House) remains a top attraction, with gorgeous gardens and guided tours on offer.  There’s plenty of modern-day action too, with a treasured football team, The Saints, and their fans bringing life to the city on match day. Southampton is also only a 20-minute drive away from the New Forest, or a ferry-ride away from the Isle of Wight, there's plenty going on that makes this city worth a visit. Check out our list of top picks for all the best things to do in Southampton.  RECOMMENDED:  🚆The best day trips from London⛰️ The best things to in the New Forest🏖️ The best seaside towns in the UK💕 The best things to do in the UK Annie McNamee is a writer at Time Out UK. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

This is about the time when the January blues start to hit pretty hard. It’s dark at 4pm, you’ve got no money left after Christmas and winter feels like it’s dragging on forever. But we’re here to tell you that things are looking up, because 2025 is going to be a corker of a year for the UK.  It turns out that 2025 is going to be a bit of a big one, with a number of landmark occasions being celebrated across Britain. There’s Jane Austen’s 250th birthday in Southampton, as well as the art-packed Folkestone Triennial, a celebration of 200 years of the British railway in York and Bradford’s 2025 City of Culture festivities. Then, there are up-and-coming foodie towns in Cornwall, music scenes that are popping off in Cardiff and Belfast, and the reopening of grand cultural insitutions like the Tate Liverpool.  If there’s ever been a good time to book a trip, it’s now (it might even help keep some SAD at bay). There is so much fantastic stuff happening across the country this year, so read our list curated by local experts of the best places to visit in the UK in 2025, and get stuck in.  RECOMMENDED: 🇬🇧 The 25 best new things to do in the UK in 2025📍The 12 most underrated city breaks in the UK 🏨 The UK’s 13 best new hotels opening in 2025👨‍👩‍👧 6 amazing places to stay with Kids in the UK

If people make Glasgow, music is what fuels it. The city's music scene was thriving long before the rest of it had caught up, with places like the Barrowlands and the Old Fruit Market offering locals good, cheap live music when general attitudes of Glasgow were, let's just say, less than favourable.  But those days are behind us, and Scotland's biggest city is now known across the UK for its vibrant cultural heritage, nightlife, and, of course, its music scene. Whether you're looking for an arena of people to scream along your favourite songs with, or a small makeshift stage at the back of a bar to find your new favourite band, Glasgow's got you sorted. Fair warning though: crowds here are famously rowdy. They're a lot of fun, but don't be surprised if you end up beer-soaked. Oh, and brush up on our local chants. You don't want to be the only person not shouting along with 'here we, here we, here we f'ing go!'. 

History has it that Pollokshaws Road was once home to a merry band of Flemish weavers – known as the ‘Queer Folk’ – who were brought over to work in the city during the 19th century by local landowners. These days it’s still a thriving creative hub, threading down Glasgow’s Southside and linking up the districts of Govanhill, Strathbungo and Shawlands. Rows of sandstone tenements loom over traffic separated by wide pavements, behind which stand ornate townhouses designed by Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson. There’s a juicy chunk of Pollokshaws Road where bars, cafés and boutiques jostle for space; pick it up from Allison Street and wander down past Queen’s Park. Since it’s a largely residential area, there’s a distinct feel of community – something that’s enhanced by the indie businesses that have popped up over the past few years. In particular it’s a brunch haven, with queues leaking out of living-room-sized cafés come rain or shine. You can also expect to find organic fruit and veg at Stalks & Stems, a fresh produce emporium with a florist next door, and (almost) a different coffee shop for every day of the week. It’s not all hipster territory, though. Punters tired of mustachioed baristas and bar staff will be cheered by the decent selection of old man pubs complete with smoked-glass windows. Recommended: Full guide to the best things to do in Glasgow

How easily could you be persuaded to shave off an eyebrow, or take a shot for every stair you climbed? Perhaps you’d feel more compelled if you were half a bottle of ‘Chicken Wine’ deep, 18, and surrounded by new friends that you were trying to impress? If you attended university in the UK you might have an uncomfortable feeling of deja-vu, perhaps being whisked back to the time you were ‘hazed’ as a first year student. If you didn’t, you’ve likely heard the rumours about former prime ministers getting it on with pigs, or rugby teams shoving carrots in places vegetables should never go. Hazing, or ‘initiation’ as it more commonly goes by this side of the Atlantic, is a practice which usually consists of ritualistically embarrassing rookie members of a given group in order for them to prove themselves. It’s also nothing new. There’s evidence of rowdy schoolboys dating as far back as 420 BCE when Plato recounted ‘practical jokes played by unruly young men’ which left both spectators and haze-ees injured. Somehow, this bizarre custom has survived the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the birth of Jesus Christ, several international plagues and found a home for itself in the modern age on university campuses. But for the past decade or so, hazing’s millenia-long reign has been threatened by a generation who supposedly care more about their physical and mental health than they do about banter and ritual humiliation. Today, hazing has met its match: Generation Z. So what do these

You might never want to leave Edinburgh, and we get it. The Scottish capital is loved the world over for its culture, restaurants and Fringe Festival (to name a few). But if you limit your time in Scotland to just Edinburgh, trust us, you’re missing out.  Scotland is full of gems, but the best part is a whole lot of them can be reached by train or car in just one day – with enough time left to get back in time for dinner. From hilly hikes to wide-open beaches and from pretty towns to full-blown city breaks, these day trips from Edinburgh are not to be missed. Here are our favourites.  RECOMMENDED:🌤️ The best things to do in Edinburgh 🎨 The best art galleries in Edinburgh🏰 The best attractions in Edinburgh🏘️ The best Airbnbs in Edinburgh This guide was updated by Edinburgh-based Arusa Quereshi, and Time Out editors. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content. For more information, see our affiliate guidelines. 

What words come to mind when we mention the Olympics? Prestige? Excellence? Medals? Or is it: ‘Grom’?  The Olympic games have been around for nearly three millennia. As the entire planet tunes in to watch as the top sports people compete for those coveted gold medals, there’s some stuff you’ll probably want to get your head around to make the most of your viewing experience: jargon for you normies to weave into your vocab that will have you sounding like proper Olympic pros in no time.  RECOMMENDED:How to watch the Paris 2024 Olympics in the UK for freeHere’s the full schedule and timings for the Summer Games We’ve done some digging and unearthed some 100 percent real words and phrases that will almost certainly be used by professional Olympians and commentators across the next few weeks. What’s more, there’s something inherently funny about words which sound out of place to the average Joe. There’s nothing worth giggling about hearing the word ‘jaeger’ at a bar (especially as it’s usually followed by a friend trying to convince you to neck a shot of sweet battery acid and gone-off liquorice), but watching it earnestly come out of the mouth of a world-class gymnast? Now that’s entertainment. So what are you waiting for? Brush up on your sporty lingo and drop these into convo next time you’re watching the Games to impress your mates. Skateboarding  ‘Goofy stance’: Refers to when a skateboarder has their left foot on the back of the board. Also used in surfing and snowboarding

You remember the days. Assuring your friend that she definitely looks like her older cousin’s co-worker, especially with a ponytail in. Hovering awkwardly around the corner from the off-license as your one 18-year-old pal does God’s work for the rest of you. The pit in your tummy as you recite a fake birthday to the bouncer of a sticky-floored nightclub – remembering your star sign, memorising your imaginary postcode – and the elated relief when he lets you in with a raised eyebrow and a reluctant nod. Finding increasingly inventive ways to get around age-restrictions was half the fun of being 17, but today’s teens seem to be going off going out altogether. ‘You definitely see fake IDs less than you used to,’ says one bouncer at a popular student nightclub in Bristol. When he started working at the venue a decade ago, he’d encounter a load of fakes on any given night – but not so much anymore. ‘The worst one I ever saw had the back on upside down,’ he says. ‘The ones we do see are getting a lot better and it can be harder to catch them. But they’re definitely rarer now.’ Something has certainly shifted. A few weeks ago, as I walked through the Triangle, Bristol’s premier hotspot for stumbling freshers and lovers of three for two Jägerbombs, I noticed that the local Sainsbury’s was busier than all of the clubs combined. Two years ago, dancefloors would’ve been filling up at 11pm on a Monday. This wasn’t a fluke: since that night, two of the clubs in question have closed their

For all of the stick we give the UK – the grey skies, the pigeons, the Greggs sausage roll packets littering the pavements – it’s actually a pretty gorgeous country. In London alone, you can be goggling over the Barbican’s brutalist beauty one moment, the next, you might be basking in the tranquility of Hampstead Ponds. Add the turquoise coasts of Cornwall, the rugged mountains of Snowdonia and the fairytale wonder of Scotland’s highlands and islands to the mix, and you’ve got a country which is as good looking as they come.  When we set about curating this list of the most beautiful places in the UK, we called on our network of expert travel writers. These guys have have personally experienced the pinch-me moment of seeing every place on this list IRL – so we can guarantee you there is no catfishing going on here. Of course, you’ll find the usual suspects – you can’t argue with the magic of the Isle of Skye, after all – but you’ll also find some more surprising beauty spots to add to your travel bucket list. RECOMMENDED:🚂 The UK’s most beautiful train stations🇬🇧 The best things to do in the UK🏝 The most beautiful places in the world🏠 The best Airbnbs in the UK Chiara Wilkinson is Time Out’s UK features editor, based in London. At Time Out, all of our travel guides are written by local writers who know their cities inside out. For more about how we curate, see our editorial guidelines. This guide includes affiliate links, which have no influence on our editorial content

Inn Deep is like spending the evening at your mate’s house, only with ten times the energy and fresh pizza available without a delivery fee. The low-lighting and stripped-back interiors create a space you can relax in, but it’s the staff that really make you feel at home.  The prime location – underneath a railway bridge 30 seconds from Kelvinbridge tube station – helps to make this a prime meet-up spot, and provides glorious river views to anyone sitting outside. Add to that a huge (and we mean huge) selection of beers and spirits, and this could become your new West End go-to for ‘a chill one’. Having originally opened more than a decade ago, in recent years the Great Western Road pub has been on a mission to keep things fresh by welcoming new pop-ups to its kitchen every so often. The latest guest is Sub Rosa, a local pizzeria with two permanent locations in the southside, and a delicious marinara sauce.  What should I order? The menu is small for all the right reasons. Sub Rosa knows what it’s good at, and each of the six pizzas on offer play to those strengths. Our favourite was the pepperoni & pickled chili, as the tang and bite of the chilis cuts through the sweetness of the tomato sauce perfectly. Any pizza can be made vegan or gluten free upon request. Sides include chicken tenders in a gochujang honey butter glaze, and a range of chips. If you’re hungry opt for the Mexican loaded fries, but if you just want a snack the regular portions are crispy, salty, and definit

You’ve been here before. Almost.  With a clientele which would be perfect for a Love Island spin-off featuring exclusively people with ‘entrepreneur’ in their bios and a healthy amount of exposed pipework, The Counter is what those in the know would probably call ‘trendy’. Its dim lights, small plate selection, and strategically chipped brick feature wall put it on the verge of parodically hip, but a glance at its menu and a quick chat with any member of its team reveal it to be much more down to Earth than some of its equally Instagrammable peers. If you close your eyes you can almost feel the Istanbuli breeze flowing through your hair The sense of deja-vu you feel may not be coming solely from its open-plan bar though. Chef Kemal Demirasal’s first UK venture, opened up two years ago in Notting Hill to much success. Originally from Turkey, he’s taken much of the charm of the original joint (as well as its most popular recipes and excellent cocktails) and transported it to Kingly Street – and combined it with a series of fresh ideas and a lot of seafood. Fresh is definitely the operative word. The cocktails are infused with real fruit. The tomatoes have been imported from Turkey. There’s sort-of-caviar sprinkled on avocado-topped fish. If you close your eyes and just bite, you can almost feel the Istanbuli breeze flowing through your hair. A series of enthusiastic staff members recommended a variety of dishes to us. Some, like the tomato salad or prawns, were familiar classi

An Oxfordshire nature reserve is about to expand into neighbouring farmland, giving the rare bird species that live there loads more space to roam. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Otmoor reserve was established back in 1997, and has been a ‘haven for wildlife’ ever since. The 485-hectare site has been slowly transforming from empty fields into rugged wetland, the natural environment for some of Britain’s most at-risk bird species like lapwings, snipes, redshanks and more. With the support of Cherwell District Council, the reserve is set to take over 21 hectares (52 acres) of disused agricultural land and wet-ify it (not a technical term). The area is already being transformed into more floodplain grazing marshes, making way for a second habitat bank; a space dedicated to strengthening biodiversity and allowing for species to thrive.   The whole site, including the habitat bank, will be managed by the RSPB, which is planning to target those rare wading birds and continue to support their population growth. The charity’s chief operating officer James Robinson said that it is ‘delighted’ to help expand Otmoor, one of the largest reserves of its kind in Britain. He explained that the RSPB’s approach to conservation is future-focused and ‘rooted in ecological science’, adding that its habitats are designed to remain in place and benefit local wildlife for decades to come.  Once complete, the site will help the Cherwell district reach a ‘biodiversity net gain’,

Britain may not be the first country that comes to mind when you picture an award-winning, globally-renowned vineyard. You probably imagine the dry heat of southern France, rolling Californian hills or misty New Zealand valleys – but it turns out that you don’t need to venture so far to access world-class wine production. World’s 50 Best Vineyards has just revealed its 2025 list, and two of the entrants are right here in the UK. Created by a panel of industry experts from sommeliers and connoisseurs to tourism boards, hundreds of testimonies and reviews were compiled to determine the final order. There’s no specific set of criteria that judges are looking out for; instead ‘each vote is a nomination for a vineyard experience open to the public that they deem to be truly among the best in the world’. This is the first year the list has been managed by the ‘World’s 50 Best’ brand, so the ranking is bigger and more notable than ever before. Britain’s top ranking entry was Gusbourne in Kent, which came 28th – a huge jump from last year when it came 50th. The vineyard opened just over 20 years ago hoping to produce world-class sparkling wines, but today is ‘a bucket-list destination’ for oenophiles the world over. During your visit you can sample its wine ‘as part of its on-site tasting menu pairing or within a picnic lunch hamper in the picturesque vineyard’. West Sussex’s Nyetimber was a brand new entry for this year, debuting at 32nd. It was one of only 11 first-timers on the 20

Lily Allen fans; breathe a sigh of relief. More concert dates have arrived. A couple of weeks ago, you might have been one of the thousands who tried and utterly failed get tickets to Lily Allen’s 2026 West End Girl tour, but all hope isn’t lost. More concert dates have arrived. The sellout tour followed the success of West End Girl, an album detailing the breakdown of Allen’s marriage complete with affairs, deceit, tennis, and a woman named Madeline. When hundreds of thousands of people signed onto Ticketmaster to nab tickets, it became clear that the 2000-capacity theatres the singer was slated to perform in just weren’t going to cut it. Even a headlining slot at Mighty Hoopla festival in London wasn’t enough to satisfy demand. So Allen is now giving the people what they want – a huge arena tour ‘due to phenomenal demand’. Next June, she will hit nine arenas across the UK and Ireland with ‘Lily Allen plays West End Girl’, where she’ll perform the entire album from front to back. Here’s everything you need to know to make sure you don’t miss out on tickets this time around. When is Lily Allen going on an arena tour in the UK? The first leg of the West End Girl tour is in March, but all of the big arena shows will be in June. The arena shows will begin in Newcastle on June 16, and end in Dublin on June 30. What tour dates have been confirmed so far? Lily will play a total of eight shows in arenas in the UK, and one in Ireland. The exact dates are: June 16: Utilita Arena, New

Thinking of planning an OTT, particularly luxe sort of Christmas dinner for 2025? Luckily for a bunch of Londoners, Mark & Spencer has just announced that it’s opening two brand new food halls in the capital this week, in good time for Christmas prep.  The new food halls are the latest in a slew of new openings for the high-street icon. After closing a bunch of its cafés earlier this year, Marks and Sparks announced that it was investing £300 million into upgrading its supermarkets by doing, among other things, ‘opening brand-new coffee shops offering delicious food and barista-made fairtrade coffee’. Last month, the company unveiled plans to open up six locations in the capital before Christmas with a £90 million ‘London investment’ plan, which also included upgrades to its huge Oxford Street branch. The first three locations launched back in October – read more about them here – and two more are coming this week. The sixth and final shop in Chiswick will appear in early December. So which M&S Foodhalls are opening this week? Fulham Broadway and Clapham Common. The Clapham branch will be 6,700 square-foot large, and will open its doors for the first time today (November 20) with a performance from the City of Stars musical theatre choir – the stars of this year’s M&S Food Christmas advert. Inside, you’ll find a large bakery section selling freshly made pastries, cakes, and loaves, ethically farmed produce, and plenty of meal-deal options. There’s no café, but there is a ‘cof

The National Trust is a custodian of British history, and it’s just announced a significant addition to its roster. Ownership of Ironbridge Gorge, a Shropshire site made up of historic buildings, museums, and artefacts, will be passed to the National Trust next spring. The current managers, Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, hope the change will ‘secure [its] long-term future and prosperity’. Even for the National Trust, which looks after plenty of fascinating castles and magical forests, Ironbridge Gorge is a special place. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site, meaning that an expert panel determined it to be a place of ‘outstanding value to humanity’ thanks to its fascinating history and collection of over 400,000 artefacts. Back in the 18th and 19th centuries, the region operated as ‘the Silicon Valley of its day’, according to its website. UNESCO says that it shows ‘all the elements of progress that contributed to the rapid development’ of the industrial revolution’, from the essential materials that were mined and treated here to the cutting-edge railways that transported them in and out of the area. Many of the original industrial buildings and tools remain in good condition and open to visitors at Ironbridge Gorge. When the National Trust takes over in spring 2026, it will acquire all of the Gorge Trust’s historic properties, including 35 listed buildings, like a huge 1800s furnace, an immersive living Victorian village, and a tile museum.  Image: Ironbridge Gorge Museum Tr

Christmas chaos is about to begin. There are few ways to get around the stress of present-buying, turkey-cooking and constant work-party hangovers, but we can help you with one thing: travel. Just before Christmas, a huge rush of people dash across the country, whether that be back to childhood homes, to spend time with new grandchildren, or meet up with in-laws, but if you plan ahead you can beat the crowds (or trail behind them). There are four critical days in the lead-up to the holiday that tend to be very busy for travel. Here’s exactly when not to travel by rail, road, and sky if you want to avoid crawling up the M6 at a snail’s pace when you should be enjoying a glass of mulled wine. The busiest travel days for Christmas 2025 Train The railways are going to be a bit tricky to navigate this winter. Planned engineering works are going to disrupt a lot of trips, with major stations like Waterloo and Liverpool Street in London shutting in the interim between Christmas and New Year. Have a look at all the major disruptions to London transport this year here. Luckily, most of the work is scheduled for after Christmas, so you’ll still be able to get home for the holidays. According to research from the Independent, Saturday December 20 and Monday December 22 are due to be the busiest days on the rails as people wrap up work and head back to their families. December 27 will also be a popular day to travel, and with work taking place across the country, it could be a pretty cha

Halloween may be long gone, but Italy is having a Frankenstein moment of its own right now. It created a monster that it doesn’t know how to contain: alfresco dining. Although eating a meal outside might not seem comparable to a hulking beast that ravages through town, residents of Florence are starting to see the similarities. They say it’s disruptive and ugly, making it a generally undesirable addition to their city, and are calling on the council to ban it. Florence city council has listened to those complaints, and responded by announcing that from next year, outdoor dining will be banned on 50 historic streets and piazzas. Seventy more spots will be subject to intensified regulations, like limits on barriers and umbrellas, the Times reports. No one seems very happy about this outcome. The locals who initially made the complaints say that it doesn’t go far enough to prevent labyrinths of tables forming on busy streets, and businesses are concerned that these restrictions could turn away potential customers and harm the hospitality industry. One Florence restaurateur even told the Times that outdoor seats are ‘fundamental’ to the success of her business, and many other trattorias. Industry experts are concerned that the push indoors will hit authentic, locally owned restaurants hardest, pushing tourists towards cheap quick fixes and eating into already thin profit margins. Recommended: The best restaurants in Florence, a local’s guide Locals, however, don’t buy it. In a co

Some towns only have one, slightly lacklustre Christmas lights display – a single string of white bulbs, in some cases. In London, though, we’re spoiled for choice: there are literally hundreds, many of which are extraordinary shows of festive illumination. But no amount of Christmas spirit is going to give you the time to see all of the city’s lights displays, so we recommend prioritising only the best. Luckily, Time Out has put together a guide to help you do just that, naming London’s top Christmas illuminations for 2025. This year, Time Out’s Things to Do Editor Rosie Hewitson chose Carnaby Street as the city’s best Christmas lights display. Here’s why.  Carnaby Street does Christmas lights a little differently. Instead of rehashing the same old show (or wastefully creating a new one every year), it has an adaptable display which involves thousands of tin LEDs built into sculptures that twinkle high above the street itself. The display debuted last year, but was created with sustainability in mind so will return every winter until 2030. RECOMMENDED: The best Christmas markets in London for 2025 Carnaby’s 2025 display is titled ‘Into the Light’, with the lights taking the shape of huge Christmas crackers and stars. They’ve also changed colour, adding neon purples, blues, pinks, and oranges to last year’s gold and bringing ‘a welcome splash of colour to the dark winter skies above central London’. The iconic Carnaby Street arches will also be lit up this year. Photograph:

Several people have died in landslides across Indonesia and Vietnam as heavy rain continues to fall across the region.  2025 has seen a particularly devastating rainy season for much of Asia, with recent typhoons causing damage in the Philippines and Hong Kong. This week, torrential rain has hit central Vietnam and Indonesia, causing landslides, floods and massive damage to infrastructure. Climate scientists warn that as the planet continues to warm up, this sort of extreme wet weather could become increasingly normal. That’s basically because a hotter atmosphere speeds up the water cycle, and more evaporation means more rain. Places that already suffer from stormy seasons, like Southeast Asia, will be the worst affected. Here’s everything you need to know about the current flooding in Vietnam and Indonesia. What's the latest in Southeast Asia? Severe rainfall across Indonesia and central Vietnam began this weekend, and is currently causing a risk to life. Al Jazeera reports that at least 18 have been killed in floods in Indonesia, and a further six have been found dead in a landslide in Vietnam. A similar disaster in Indonesia left a dozen homes ‘buried’ in mud in the Cibeunying village. According to Vietnamese news outlet VNExpress, more than a metre of water has reached residential areas, leaving homes partially submerged and causing power outages. Rain is expected to continue throughout the rest of the week, but could ease in the next couple of days. What caused the lands

A lot has changed since the early 1800s, but one thing that remains is the might of the train. That’s not to say trains haven’t changed at all in 200 years; in fact, railways are still being upgraded all the time to become more efficient, speedy and to reach more destinations. High-speed railways are fairly common in Europe and Asia – in fact, Europe is currently trying to make every major city reachable via superfast railways – but Africa is catching up. In 2018, Egypt announced plans to connect the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea through a super-fast, 2000-kilometre high-speed rail network. It said that more than 10 different companies from across the world were consulting on the project and helping turn it into a reality. This is the biggest upgrade to the nation’s railway system in over 60 years. As well as connecting big cities with more rural areas, which have traditionally been cut off, the network will slash travel times and increase the country’s freight capacity by 46 percent. At top speed, trains will travel at 250 kilometres per hour. Work has been progressing, but huge projects like these take time. The network will consist of three lines, the first of which runs from Ain Sokhna, a coastal town at the northern tip of the Red Sea, to Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean. In September, the government announced that this stage is more than halfway done, and that upon opening, it will become ‘a pillar for urban, industrial, and tourism development’. On November 9 of

Just like clothing, travel destinations come in and out of fashion. Often, places will get described as so ‘underrated’ by trendsetters that resorts start opening up and cashing in on the interest, causing the cool tourists to move onto somewhere new and start the cycle again – sorry, Albania, you were the latest victim – but some places withstand the test of time. It’s these timeless spots that make up Wanderlust’s list of the Most Desirable Countries on Earth. The list is part of its Readers’ Choice Awards (RCA), voted on by over 200,000 travel enthusiasts, set up to recognise the very best ‘destinations, tour operators, and travel brands’ across the globe. Japan named the world’s best country This year, the title of ‘Most Desirable Country’ went to a nation that last held the title more than a decade ago: Japan. You can pretty much have whatever kind of holiday you want in Japan. It’s got beaches, mountains, centuries of history and culture to discover, plus world-class theme parks and the biggest city in the world. It’s no surprise that, given how many different people it caters to, it got so many votes. Photograph: Shutterstock According to Wanderlust, while cities like Tokyo and Kyoto remain popular, ‘travellers are now venturing to the wild coastlines of Shikoku, visiting the craftspeople of Kanazawa’ and even exploring some of Japan’s remote islands, ‘where the country’s soul feels most present’. The magazine added that what keeps people coming back is the country’s

It’s a tough time to be working in the aviation industry. Faced with staff shortages and huge levels of disruption, many workers at airlines and airports are facing long, stressful hours and poor working conditions. And, thanks to the cost of living crisis, loads of them are doing it all for lower wages, too. Needless to say, it’s no wonder that so many staff at airports and airlines have been going on strike. From Italy and Belgium to Greece and France, airports across Europe have seen thousands of flights delayed and cancelled by industrial action. Strikes can, of course, have a serious impact on your holiday, so it’s best to be as informed about them as possible. Read on for our guide to who’s going on strike in Europe right now, where and when those strikes will happen – and whether you need to worry about them.   Transport strikes in Italy Workers across Italy are gearing up for a general strike on November 28. Ground staff from various airlines, including KPMG and Air France, will walk out between 9am and 5pm, causing delays to both inbound and outbound flights. Make sure to arrive in plenty of time to account for any disruptions to check-in or security. Spain baggage handling strikes Airports across Spain are set to be affected by strikes over labour rights by Azul Handling baggage staff. It’s part of the Ryanair Group and handles the bags for the majority of the operators’ flights. The affected times are as follows: from 5am-9am, on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and