Caribbean Chrimbo
UNWRAP your Christmas pressies in paradise on an all-inclusive week in Antigua – and save a fifth. The winter offer is at the three-star Halcyon Cove by Rex Resorts in Dickenson Bay, where there’s tennis, volleyball and watersports and a restaurant at the end of its own pier, serving lobster. It covers breaks from December 24 to March if booked this month. See tropicalsky.co.uk. URBAN AUTUMN: The city of romance celebrates its love of the arts with its Autumn Festival. Launched last month, it claims to be the largest festival of its kind, with a mad mix of dance, music, film and theatre across the capital until December 31. See festival-automne.com.
And chocolate lovers can get their fix at Le Salon du Chocolat at Porte de Versailles. The annual festival will be celebrating all things choccy, from cakes to chocolate fashion, sculpture and art. It runs from October 28 to November 1. See salonduchocolat.fr for more. CITY DEAL: Two nights room only at three-star Hotel Cervantes starts at £149pp, including return flights rom Glasgow on October 29 with Thomas Cook City Escapes. BOOK: thomascook.com/holidays/city-breaks, 0871 895 0045. URBAN AUTUMN: Canny travellers will time their escape to the Eternal City after the peak summer season. The stifling temperatures then slip to a sightseeing friendly 22C, so still pleasantly balmy for lunching al fresco.
Head over the Tiber river to Trastevere to try a traditional pizzeria. And you won’t have to battleb ttl i in autumnt t to see countlesstl culturallt l treasures, such as the Spanish Steps. Closed for a year, the 18th-century stairway reopened last month after a sparkling £1.3million renovation funded by Italian jewellers Bulgari. CITY DEAL: Three nights’ B&B at the four-star Holiday Inn Rome Pisana start at £299pp including return flights from Glasgow departing on November 7 and a 22kg baggage allowance. BOOK IT: jet2holidays.com, 0800 408 5594. URBAN AUTUMN: Thanks to Game of Thrones and celebs such as Mickey Rourke, Richard Gere, Beyoncé and Jay-Z dropping by, the Croatian city has soared in popularity.
As autumn arrives, exploring the pedestrianised streets of the Unesco Old City centre becomes easier as the crowds disappear.
But Dubrovnik’s weather holds on to temperatures of 20C. And with the Adriatic Sea nicely warmed up by the heat of the summer, who can resist a dip in the enticing water? CITY DEAL: A three-night B&B stay at four-star Uvala Hotel, overlooking Lapad bay, costs from £276pp, including flights from Luton on