When to go December to March is Rio’s high season – prices are at their highest between Christmas and New Year – but prices fall after Easter, the beaches are less crowded and the weather is still hot, if more humid, from March to May. For nature lovers, September and October are the perfect time to visit the Botanic Gardens, Tijuca Forest (in the hills above the city) and Parque Lage, at the foot of Corcovado. Carnival, in February, is Rio’s biggest draw of the year – but be warned that the we

As I sit cross-legged, eyes closed, I can hear the rain gently falling. I concentrate on my breath – in, out, in, out. It’s not long before my mind wanders – to work, to plans for later, replaying a conversation that’s been bothering me. The rain begins to fall more heavily, the wind whipping up into a storm. Concentrate! I breathe more deeply, and the rain lulls. A bird twitters, then another. Eventually, a bell sounds, and I open my eyes. I’m not in a rainforest, but in my sitting room, and w

I must have the best seat in the house. Sitting by the window in Ekeberg restaurant, I can see almost all of Oslo and its inner fjord. Below, the city twinkles serenely. Snow is still frozen hard on the ground, and many people will be turning in early after an afternoon on the slopes. The water in the harbour lies as still as if it, too, were frozen. It is hard to believe this is the same view that inspired The Scream – not least because Edvard Munch intended to represent not the figure in the

Many of us would never dream of darkening the door of a gym when travelling for work or pleasure. Fritz Lanman isn’t one of those people. “I went to Sweat It yesterday, do you know it? Pretty tough. I landed from Bangkok into Heathrow and I just knew I was going to have to stay awake all day, so I had to get a workout in to get my energy levels up. And then this morning I went to Another Space, I did a boxing HIIT workout and it was packed in there.” It’s hardly a surprise that the chief execu

The sushi chef is working deftly, precisely slicing and arranging the prettiest creations. With a flourish and a smile, he presents a plate to me, as I wield my chopsticks greedily. It’s delicious, and the Japanese teppanyaki restaurant is inviting with its green decor and delicate flower arrangements. But I’ve got a lot of ground to cover, so I wander back out onto the promenade in search of my next course. The sun is setting overhead as my gaze is drawn by an inviting tapas bar. Perhaps a ge

Breathe a sigh of relief, marketeers – there’s a brand new holiday to fill the gap between Valentine’s and Easter! Yes, it’s a good’un, and conveniently it’s aimed directly at the biggest consumer spending group out there… Women! According to my inbox, at least, International Women’s Day is our chance to throw caution to the wind and buy ourselves some pink-themed frippery in celebration of feminism. Some anti-wrinkle eye cream? It’s what Millicent Fawcett would have wanted. A glittery bath

It has been a sad week for anyone who was a teenager in the 1990s, as the deaths of two iconic figures were announced. Depending on their coolness level, many teenagers at that time would have had a poster of either Keith Flint, part of electronic dance act The Prodigy, or the Hollywood actor Luke Perry on their walls. For me, it was decidedly the latter – although I have a distinct memory of coming home from school one day to find my dad stomping around the house yelling, “I am the firestarter

Alacia Elliott doesn’t fit the mould of the stereotypical fitness instructor – no bulging muscles, menacing stance or “push through the pain” mantra. But she’s made of tough stuff. And, at 88, is older than most of her clients. “When I retired at the age of 59 from my job in local government, my husband was still working, so I decided to take some fitness classes at the local leisure centre,” says Ms Elliott. “There was so much – water aerobics, even badminton. It was also really sociable, so m

It’s no surprise that the bathroom often ends up being one room in the house lacking a little bit of love. It’s the place where toiletries pile up, not to mention overflowing laundry baskets and collections of fading bath toys. But these days, there’s every reason to turn your bathroom into a more inviting environment – somewhere you’ll actually want to spend time. And with a growing trend for hotel-inspired spaces and Instagram-friendly “shelfies”, there’s plenty of furniture and accessories

If Zeddy Rotich is feeling impatient, she isn’t letting on. It’s Sunday morning, and she’s due at church soon – her neighbour, Esther, is already waiting, dressed in blue with a string of pearls around her neck. Rotich’s children, also in their Sunday best, flit shyly around us in the shaded garden, occasionally scrambling into their mother’s lap as she talks. Chickens forage around our feet. It is the second time we have met, and it’s becoming increasingly apparent how valuable Rotich’s time

Last year saw the opening of this country idyll with a hefty dose of equestrian chic just outside Paris. While the idea of bunking down in a barn may seem like roughing it, this is stripped back luxury at its best. The Forest of Rambouillet is what Parisians like to call “the country”, while being conveniently located just 40 minutes’ drive from the city. A stud farm of over 200 hectares is home to this rural retreat, where horses, hares and deer ramble freely. The old mill house of stud farm

On the morning I meet David Higgins, bloated as I am from a weekend of excess and struggling with a frozen shoulder, I don’t exactly feel that I fit the mould of his typical clientele. The personal trainer and physiotherapist has worked with Colin Firth, Margot Robbie and even Samuel L Jackson to get them fit for camera. His new book is titled The Hollywood Body Plan – and my body doesn’t even qualify as a Hollyoaks body after a sluggish start to the year. Sitting in his sleek BodySpace gym at

He is the man who got Britons to lose weight, has written a slew of best-selling diet books and fronted dozens of health documentaries. But don’t leave the biscuit tin unattended when Dr Michael Mosley’s around. “I have no willpower. If there’s a bar of chocolate, I will eat the whole thing. If there are salted peanuts, I’ll eat the whole bloody bowl. “Clare knows – very occasionally we’ll have a packet of biscuits in the house and she’ll say ‘what are you doing’, while I’m *makes munching noi

I’m never sure quite how to handle the look of surprise people give me when I tell them I can’t swim. “But swimming is fun!” Yes, I’m sure it is. “But it’s great exercise.” I don’t doubt it. The fact remains that I can’t swim. Or even take my feet off the bottom of a swimming pool. I’ve been scared of water for as long as I can remember – school swimming trips were a source of dread and the smell of chlorine still makes my stomach lurch. The thought of being hemmed in by water makes my palms

The NHS has issued new guidance to reassure women that they can take the combined contraceptive pill continuously, without the monthly seven-day break. There is no health benefit to it, or the ensuing withdrawal bleed. The practice was envisioned in an effort to appease the Pope.

For most parents, a morning of ice skating followed by lunch is an easy way to keep the children entertained as the Christmas holidays come to a close. But for Alexa Baracaia, it’s an outing that needs to be planned meticulously. Alexa’s son, eight-year-old Sidney, is allergic to egg, peanuts, nuts, sesame and lentils.

You would think that an Irish Christmas doesn’t look all that dissimilar to a British one. We have the tree, the turkey and trimmings, carols and cards. But there are a few differences to the way we do things. We don’t call him Father Christmas for starters, but Santa, or even Santy.

When you are diagnosed with a chronic illness such as multiple sclerosis (MS), you go through the five stages of grief: denial, anger and all that. It makes sense, I suppose – you are mourning the life you had before diagnosis. I tacked an additional stage on during my “grieving” process: defiance. I was 30 when I was diagnosed, and relatively fit, although never exactly sporty. But, now that I knew about this shadow looming over my life, I resolved to be a fighter. Not just a fighter, a superhero.

It must be difficult to shake the inferiority complex if you’re any region of Denmark outside of Copenhagen. As the capital becomes the darling of the design world, provincial towns and cities can hardly get a look in.

Call me superficial, but I love to shop. On a day off, there’s nothing I like more than to wander around a department store, browsing through rails of clothing. I covet certain pieces that I will never buy, being either too outlandish to be considered office appropriate or too extortionate for me to justify. But I love to touch the fabrics, see how skirts drape, coo over supple leather and intricate lace.