The most outrageous celebration of Carnevale in Italy takes place in the Piedmontese town of Ivrea just before Ash Wednesday. In a ritual linked to a 13th-century rebellion by the townspeople against a local lord, 4,000 locals divide into nine teams to do battle with 500,000kg of oranges. Unlike Spain’s La Tomatina, this isn’t a backpacker free-for-all; the battle is carefully organised, with up to 100,000 spectators. Foreigners can participate, but only if they pay a fee (about €120) to join a team. This year’s festival runs from March 2nd-4th; see storicocarnevaleivrea.it. Ryanair (ryanair.com) has a Saturday only flight to Turin, from €32 each way.
India introduces online visa applications
Irish visitors to India will no longer have to apply for a visa at the Indian Embassy as the country is to introduce an online application system that will expedite visa applications from 180 countries. Fill out the form online and you will know within five days if your application has been successful. It is hoped that the new system, which will be operational by October 2014, will help attract more visitors to a country which, despite its huge size, only welcomed 6.58 million tourists in 2012 – about a quarter of Thailand and Malaysia's count.
Advance check-in at Dublin airport
Aer Lingus's new evening check-in service will be good news to groups travelling out between 6am and 8am – the busiest time at the airport. Passengers can now check in the day before departure, between 4pm and 8pm – and the handiest bit is that only one member of the party has to be there, with all the bags, tickets and passports for everyone travelling.
How we travel
According to the European Commission's latest Flash Eurobarometer survey, 78 per cent of Irish people used the internet to plan or book their holidays in 2013. But it wasn't the only method: the multiple-answer questionnaire also revealed that 20 per cent used a personal contact, 20 per cent the phone, 15 per cent a travel agency and four per cent by post. When asked to list three sources they considered most important when making travel plans, 67 per cent included personal recommendations; 54 per cent the internet; and 34 per cent opted for personal experience. Travel agencies were included by only 13 per cent of respondents, with media recommendations only 10 per cent. Ireland featured near the top of the list of those who travelled the most, second only to Norway.
Shangri-La at the Shard
The most hotly anticipated hotel opening in London finally has a date. The five-star Shangri-La will open in Renzo Piano's The Shard on May 6th. It is the Hong Kong luxury hotel group's third European property opening, after Paris in 2010 and Istanbul in 2013. The new hotel occupies levels 34 to 52 of the Shard's 72 floors and as such will be the first high-rise hotel in London and the tallest in western Europe. For a luxurious room and the best views of London, you can expect to pay around £450 (€550) a night; suites start at around £3250 (€3,965). See the-shard.com/shangri-la
Top five Mardi Gras festivals
Rio is the party capital in South America and New Orleans is synonymous with Mardi Gras, but you don't have to go that far to enjoy pre-Lenten carnivals, which can last up to three weeks and generally climax on Shrove Tuesday, which this year is March 4th.
VENICE
The mother of all European carnival festivals. Don a mask and lose yourself in the sensual side of La Serenissima. The whole city participates and there are carnival-themed tours, festivals and masked balls. February 22nd - March 4th.Aer Lingus has flights from €79.
BARCELONA
The Carnestoltes kicks off the week before Ash Wednesday with Greasy Thursday, dedicated to vice, and continues until all seven sins are celebrated. Festivities end on Ash Wednesday with the funeral of the sardine – and everybody eats fish. February 27th - March 5th. Aer Lingus flights from around €100 each way.
BASEL
Basel casts off its generally sedate feel for the three-day Fasnacht, which begins at 4am on the Monday after Ash Wednesday, as 20,000-odd costumed and masked Fasnächtler walk in two parades (known as corteges). It's the biggest festival in Switzerland. March 10th - 12th.
COLOGNE
Cologne throws a huge party in the days leading up to Weiberfastnacht (Shrove Tuesday night). The big event is Rosenmontag on the Monday – a parade of carnival floats and bands that snake along a six km route to the cathedral, distributing about 150,000 tonnes of chocolates and sweets to spectators. February 27th - March 5th. Aer Lingus flies to Dusseldorf, 44km from Cologne, from €55 each way.
SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE
There's a reason that Tenerife's capital is twinned with Rio and it's everything to do with how they celebrate the arrival of Lent. The carnival parade is as colourful as the one in Brazil, but a little less debauched. February 28th - March 9th Ryanair flies to Tenerife from €90.
Micro-guide: Rio de Janeiro
SLEEP Porto Bay Rio International (Av. Atlântica, 1500; portobay.com; rooms around €170). Four-star hotel on Copacabana Beach
EAT Aprazível (Rua Aprazível 62, Santa Teresa; aprazivel.com.br; mains around R$70/€21). Up a winding road, serves fabulous fish and has sensational views.
SEE Escadaria Selarón (stairway between Joaquim Silva in Lapa and Pinto Martins in Santa Teresa), 215-step staircase covered in mosaics by Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón
