Islands of the Mediterranean

Alicante's splendid Paeso Maritimo stretches northeast from the harbour, bristling with pleasure boats, to the expansive beach of Playa del Postiguet. The Rambla de Mendez Nunez leads to a lively market, while the Cathedral de San Nicolas de Bar is dedicated to the patron saint of Alicante. Most famous city landmark, the 3rd century Castillo de Santa Barbara, perched above the city on Mount Benecantil, affords marvellous city panoramas.

Ibiza is most famous for it's summer parties, with thousands of people descending upon the island to enjoy the nightlife. However, large parts of the island are World Heritage Sites. One spectacular site is El Vedra, a nature reserve said to be the third most magnetic point on earth.

The dramatic maquis-covered landscapes of Corsica - ruled by the Genoese for centuries and often seemingly more Italian than French - span 650 square miles of fretted, beach-fringed coastline, alp-like mountains that soar to 9,00ft, cool pine and chestnut forests, sunburst vineyards and olive groves. From the little resort of Propriano by the sands of the Gulf of Valinco you can explore the capital, Ajaccio (birthplace of Napoleon), and the unspoilt scenery of Corsica's wild interior.

Dating back as far as 648 BC, when the Greeks founded a colony called Mylae, Milazzo’s colourful history has helped to shape the town today. Perched on top of a hill overlooking the town, is Castello di Milazzo, a sprawling citadel that was originally the site of a Greek acropolis. The site changed hands many times throughout history, with the Arabs, Normans, Aragonese and Swabians among the groups to have added to the original site. Today, the citadel’s sprawling grounds are a great place to wander around, with the cathedral and Benedictine convent particular highlights, in addition to the excellent views over the bay below. Milazzo is also a popular starting point to explore the Aeolian Islands, situated north of Sicily in the Tyrrhenian Sea. This group of seven islands have been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site as an excellent example of volcanic island-building. The islands are wonderfully varied and dramatic, with rocky coastlines, mountainous landscapes and black sandy be…

The port of Piraeus brings you to Athens, one of the great names of antiquity, the city of Plato and Socrates, a cradle of Western civilisation and birthplace of democracy. You can step in to that history on the heights of the Acropolis with its glorious 2,500-years-old Parthenon dating from the Golden Age of Classical Greece. Below, in the heart of the city lies the ancient Plaka District's honeycomb of streets, little shops - and tavernas that come alive at night with the pulse of bouzouki.