Gilt and grandeur ... in the huge collection of paintings are these portraits of Russian generals in the 1812 campaign against Napoleon.

Came so far for beauty

So much art. So much backache. Lissa Christopher tours the behemoth State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg.

  • Contains:
When in room ... and from Hotel Le Continental, Bordeaux.

Keys to the cities

A Bordeaux bolthole for $120 a night? A riverside retreat in Lisbon for the same? Here's our guide to some of Europe's best-value hotels and guesthouses this season.

  • Contains:
Walkers beneath Fussa volcano.

Wildlife and wild weather

Louise Schwartzkoff paddles with otters and cruises beneath volcanoes on a dramatic expedition in the Kuril Islands.

  • Contains:
French actress Edwige Feuillere

Railway trips to dine for

Ah, the romance of long-distance train travel ... Ute Junker shares her experiences of carriages and cabbages.

  • Contains:
A Russian war veteran dances during Victory Day celebrations in the far eastern city of Vladivostok

Lost in Vladivostok

At the unfashionable end of the Trans-Siberian railway line, Louise Southerden loses all sense of direction.

  • Contains: