Wine and food
Vineyards, cellars and towns where lunch is the reason to go, with how to get there without driving and which visits need a reservation.
From Paris
All day trips from Paris
Worth a full dayReims
The city where French kings were crowned and where the big champagne houses keep their cellars, 46 minutes from Gare de l'Est by TGV.
Only with a tourLoire Valley
Renaissance châteaux spread along the Loire valley south-west of Paris; the nearest big one, Chambord, is 1 h 23 min by train plus a shuttle bus.
From Rome
All day trips from Rome
From Barcelona
All day trips from Barcelona
From Florence
All day trips from Florence
Only with a tourChianti
The wine hills between Florence and Siena, where estates are spread along country roads and the market town of Greve is an hour away by bus.
Worth half a daySan Gimignano
A small walled hill town 55 km south-west of Florence with 14 surviving medieval towers, reached by train to Poggibonsi and a 20 minute bus.
Only with a tourVal d'Orcia
A valley of hill towns and cypress-lined farm roads south of Siena, where Pienza, Montepulciano and Montalcino sit too far apart to link by public transport.
From Lisbon
All day trips from Lisbon
Only with a tourSetúbal and Arrábida
A natural park of limestone hills and small coves south of the Tagus, beside the port city of Setúbal, about 50 km from Lisbon.
Worth a full dayÉvora
A walled Alentejo city with a Roman temple, a cathedral and a chapel lined with bones, about 1 hour 40 minutes east of Lisbon by Intercidades train.
Better to sleep therePorto
Portugal's second city, on the Douro river in the north of the country, reached from Lisbon in 2 hours 39 minutes by the fastest Alfa Pendular train.
