Travel Desk: breaks for bookworms, girlie getaways and the poshest suites on two rails

FIVE BOOKISH BREAKS IN ENGLAND
These English tourist destinations are worth visiting for their literary associations:

Bath, Somerset
Jane Austen lived in this World Heritage city from 1801 to 1806, and the town plays a central role in both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. Tickets for the nine-day Jane Austen Festival (September 12th-21st; janeausten.co.uk) went on sale a couple of weeks ago.

Haworth, Yorkshire
A cottage industry of afternoon teas and literary mementos has overwhelmed the village of Haworth, once home to the Brontë sisters.

To get there, take the Metro Rail Network from Leeds to Keighley, then do the last six kilometres aboard the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway steam train (kwvr.co.uk) which featured in The Railway Children.

Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
All the world's a stage, but the Bard's birthplace is the biggest stage of the lot. The town where he was born and died can seem completely given over to Shakespeare, inculding performances by the Royal Shakespeare Company (rsc.org.uk).

Whitby, Yorkshire
The sailors in Herman Melville's Moby Dick mostly hailed from Whitby, as did James Cook, but the town's literary reputation was cemented by Bram Stoker's Dracula.

The seven kilometre Dracula Trail explores various sites associated with the world's most famous vampire.

Windermere, Cumbria
The most famous of England's lakes, between Ambleside and Newby Bridge, is most associated with William Wordsworth and Beatrix Potter.

Wordsworth lived at Dove Cottage (wordsworth.org.uk) from 1799 to 1813 and Rydal Mount
(rydalmount.co.uk) from 1813 until his death. Potter lived in Sawrey; the World of Beatrix Potter (hop-skip-jump.com), in Bowness, is dedicated to her.

GIRLIE GETAWAY
How about a day's shopping in Paris with an expert guiding you to the best shops? Fashion blogger Sophie Ismail has just launched the Girls' Day Out service, a customised experience for groups of up to 15 people.

An initial consultation will determine an itinerary best suited to your needs: you can shop, sightsee, get massages and treatments, visit museums and even have a photographer along. A half-day basic service costs €65.
See aalstyles.com.


THE BEST AIRPORT?
Dublin Airport was named as having the world's best airport twitter feed in the Moodies Awards, which recognise accomplishments in the digital, mobile and socialmedia world . It missed out on qualifying for Skytrax's prestigious World Airport Awards, in which Singapore's Changi Airport won the top prize for the second year in a row, followed by Seoul's Incheon Airport and Munich Airport, which was ranked Europe's best. The Skytrax poll, compiled through 12 million surveys of passenger satisfaction across 110 countries, is valued for its independence and transparency.

THE POSHEST SUITES ON TWO RAILS
There may never be a better time to take South Africa's Blue Train.

A combination of favourable exchange rates (€1 = 14.5 rand) and the low season (which begins in April) has made one of the world’s most luxurious rail experiences more affordable. Online tickets (bluetrain.co.za) for the popular Pretoria to Capetown route cost €967 per person sharing a luxury suite – and if you’re travelling in June they’ll throw in two nights’ accommodation at a choice of hotels in either city.

If you’re looking for a complete package, Trailfinders’ new Luxury South Africa is an 11-night experience for €4,139.

The trip offers business class flights, five -star accommodation in a luxury suite aboard the Blue Train and full board and game drives at the Dwyka Tented Lodge, in Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, in the Western Cape.
See trailfinders.ie for more details.

ECO-SIGHTSEEING IN ITALY
Three Italian cities have introduced new eco-friendly ways of discovering their charms. Bologna's Bibo Tour (bi-bo.it) offers a 30-60-minute bicycle rickshaw tour costing €18-€30. The pace allows for sedate sightseeing in a city centre closed to motorised traffic. Naples is the first city in Italy to introduce Bee (bee.it), a pick-up, drop-off electric-car-sharing scheme – basically a motorised version of Dublinbikes – with 50 points across the city. In Rome, Sightjogging (sightjogging.it) allows you to do just that: sightsee while going for a run with an experienced guide, (an hour costs €84).

london calling
On April 9th, the Royal Geographical Society (1 Kensington Gore, London) is hosting the third annual talk on the future of tourism. Speakers include Lonely Planet cofounder Tony Wheeler, TV presenter Julia Bradbury and G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip (above). Topics include issues around sustainability relating to both tourists and the travel industry. Poon Tip will also be launching his first book, Looptail, with a forward by the Dalai Lama. Tickets at futourism.org.

Deals of the Week
€389 14 nights at four-star Golden Day Wings Hotel in Kusadasi, Turkey. Price includes flights from Dublin; based on two people sharing. See wingsabroad.ie.
€1,029 Tour of eastern Canada by rail. Two nights' each in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec. Includes flights, accommodation and rail fares. Dates: August 23rd-October 31st. See canadiansky.ie.
€3,679 21-day adventure on Trans-Mongolian Express between Beijing and Moscow. Includes flights from Dublin, train tickets, accommodation, guided tours and some meals. Departs April 26th; see sunway.ie.


MICRO-GUIDE: CANNES
Your 60-second city guide
STAY Hotel 7art (23 Rue Maréchal Joffre; 7arthotel.com; rooms from €80) Elegant boutique hotel with top-end trimmings at a midrange budget.
EAT Sea Sens (Five Hotel & Spa, 1 Rue Notre Dame; five-hotel-cannes.com; four-course dinner €95) Five-star views and food, including dessert by pastry wunderkind Jérôme de Oliveira.
DO Fondation Maeght (623 Chemin des Gardettes, St-Paul de Vence; fondation-maeght.com; €15) The region's finest art museum, one of Europe's best for 20th-century art.