Zakopane

Skiing in Poland

You may not have heard of this resort, spreading over 14 different ski zones in the Tatras Mountains, but it’s Polands largest ski resort, with the après to match the 50 odd lifts, and gets about three million visitors a season so it’s not like you’re going to be sans visitor infrastructure. The highest ski runs start on Kasporwy Wierch (1985m), but the best snow is at Nosal where the natural stuff is augmented with the artificial – like in the town where the colourful local culture mingles with the new consumerism – this used to be a place favoured by intellectuals and literary types which then had to mingle with the outdoor sports enthusiasts. In the evening Nosal’s slopes are lit up for even more skiing.

This resort is best suited to beginner and intermediate skiers and there are several gentle slopes about right for learners.

Further north than the Alps but without the elevation, Zakopane gets snow from about December on. The resort missed out on getting the 2006 Winter Games and the 2011 and 2013 Alpine Ski Championships but it’s only a matter of time and money before they get a large event that puts the area back on the ski map.

Positano

Seaside Towns in Naples, Italy

Film industry location scouts go weak at the knees as they round another lovely bend in the Amalfi Coast and see the tall pale buildings of Positano nestle into the cliffs, rising like a stairway from the bright blue sea towards the citrus and olive groves. Yes, this town really is THAT photogenic. And even better: because the cliffs are so steep, the houses and villas poke their top windows over the roofs of the house in front, offering lots of opportunities to look over the bay to Capri and panoramic pans of the coast. Magenta flashes of bougainvillea dot the houses with color to complement the bright ocean.

To that image, movie makers will want to add girls in floaty florals (Positano is famous for Moda Positano fabric popular in bright fifties fashions), and wearing cloth and leather sandals, another home grown fashion specialty, as they wander down cobbled streets where no cars are allowed - the narrow roads won’t fit them. The types of girl who fall in love with poor fishermen’s sons, who spend their summer days having to ferry rich American visitors between the town's clear watered beaches in colourfully painted boats.

Art directors may want to use the defence towers of the Villa Romano - or show their hero and heroine catching glimpses of each other entering the cathedral of St Maria Assunta, with its beautiful dome; or meeting by the Grotto la Porta cave - before the scriptwriters let their love flower on day trips to Capri, Naples, Sorrento and Pompeii, and during long languid evenings spent listening to the outdoor concerts of Ravello.

To check out the pedigree of these cinematic suggestions look no further than the films which have been shot here, 'Only You' (1994) and 'Under the Tuscan Sun' (2003).

Fushimi Inari Shrine

Temples in Kyoto, Japan

Vermilion gates in the Japanese tori style mark the entrance to this shrine which is built on the bottom of a hill. Stone foxes stand guard on either side of the large formal gates and of the main shrine, which is decorated grandly in bright red – which makes sense when you remember that this shrine is to the Inari kami, the gods who look after rice, sake and business. Built in the eighth century, this is Japan’s main Inari shrine, there are some 30,000 others, and so the best place to pray for and give thanks for good fortune in business – which can be done by donating another tori gate to the thousands which are lined up along a walkway heading up Inarisan, the hill behind the main shrine.

You can get to the shrine from Inari Station on the Nara Line or from Kyoto’s Keihan line where you need to get off at Fushimi-Inari Station.

Greg & Tom 2 Hostel

Hostels in Kraków, Poland

An extension of Greg & Tom (the original), which looks like a nice hostel as hostels go, Greg & Tom the second is about five minutes walk away and seven double rooms arranged in a chic apartment so you’re sharing the kitchen and common area with a big TV and comfy lounges with a maximum of 13 others. It looks like a really flashy university dorm – all red couches and black and white modern patterned rugs.

Guests are able to take advantage of the vodka tastings, breakfasts and hot and cold buffet dinner spreads on offer at Greg & Tom – they just get to go back to their more peaceful flat afterwards.

Hostel Croparadise, Split

Hostels in Split, Croatia

Backpackers used to be a basic bunch but many of the latest breed are quite technology dependent so appreciate value added extras like free internet access – via two flat screen computers as well as your laptop – and a big screen TV in each dorm. That’s augmented with a DVD collection containing over 1000 titles – not that there is any reason you may want to stay indoors in Split, and this hostel is really close to the ocean.

If you want a bit more privacy, ensuite rooms for one, two, three or four are about five minutes walk from the main hostel or there’s rooms in a more traditional building if you’re travelling to get away from your technology.