My motives for this trip were varied. I was on the committee that vetted applications for the Ocean Cruising Club’s Challenge Grant when Project Manaia had applied for a grant to support their environ

This week’s dream: wonder and melancholy in eastern Turkey ...

This week’s dream: a journey into Sicily’s lovely ...

It’s more than 350 years since Marrakech last held the title of Morocco’s capital, but in many ways it still feels like the heart of the country. International designers and bohemians have been drawn to the city for decades. And though Marrakech’s fortunes have ebbed and flowed over the past millennium, tourism is booming right now. It’s the mix of old and new that tends to captivate: art galleries sit alongside ancient tombs, while crumbling, labyrinthine alleys lead to gilded coffeehouses and chic garden cafes — all framed by the Atlas Mountains. Luxury hotels have sprung up on the city’s outskirts like glittering palaces, but there’s nothing quite like staying within the amber-hued walls of the 11th-century medina, where riads (traditional townhouses) offer memorable retreats.

Soak up the storybook atmosphere of Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital city, this winter

They say first impressions last, and mine begins ...