Taberna Etrusca, Bowchurch Yard, the City of London

Large, fairly upmarket, Italian restaurant tucked away in a quiet alleyway in the financial district. You can choose a table in the kitsch interior, decorated with elaborate plasterwork and religious murals, or in the covered courtyard. In both cases, there isn't much elbow room and you can easily eavesdrop on the other clientele - a mix of pin-striped city workers and more ordinary folk. You sit down to crisp white table cloths and napkins, plus a basket of crusty bread to dip in a saucer of olive oil while you peruse the menu. Some dishes are pricey, but they tend to be expertly-prepared and come in well-judged portions. Both the carpaccio sedano (fine slices of beef topped with flakes of parmesan) starter for £8.75 and the main course of chicken stuffed with ricotta cheese on a bed of mash potatoes and spinach (£11.75) are full of flavour. There is also an extensive list of Italian wines to choose from and service (12.5% on your bill) is professional and efficient. 7/10

Hyde Park, London

Central London's largest green space, Hyde Park is 340 acres (about 200 football pitches) squeezed in between Kensington and Mayfair. While it attracts lots of visitors, many on roller blades, it has plenty of secluded spots in which to escape the bustle of the City. There are enticing avenues lined by large, mature trees criss-crossing the park and a scattering of interesting monuments, but the northern half is rather flat and featureless. The southern section is dominated by the Serpentine boating lake, which is bordered by a lido, several smart, tasteful cafes and premium ice cream stalls. Further south, is the Princess Diana Memorial fountain - a fast-flowing artificial stream, made out of Cornish granite, that loops back on itself. You can sit on the banks and dangle you feet in the ice-cold water, but yellow t-shirted wardens are quick to stop anyone trying to stand up and paddle. 7/10

Royal Windsor Racecourse, Family Fun Day

Every so often, Windsor Racecourse, a compact, attractive course bordering the Thames, goes to great lengths to pull in the family punter, installing giant inflatable slides, bouncy castles, a tent offering expert face painting and a miniature farm. Once you have paid the admission fee for the course, all these goodies are free. The downside is lengthy queues for the face-painting, in particular, ice creams and at the bars, meaning you might not find time to place a bet. A ticket for the buzzing Club Enclosure, which is in line with the winning post and offers a prime view of the closing stages of each race, is £18 for adults and free for children. Even on a 'Family Fun Day', this enclosure, with a dress code insisting that men wear a shirt with a collar, attracts groups of raucous, but good-natured and sharply-dressed lads and bubbly, dolled-up ladettes. 8/10

Hotel Wilson, Place Wilson, Dijon, France

A three-star hotel has been shoe-horned into this timber-framed seventeenth century post house on the edge of a pretty green square just outside Dijon's historic core. While the foyer area and lounges, which are sprinkled with vintage suitcases and trunks, have character, the decor in many of the bedrooms (doubles from 75 Euros) and bathrooms is dated and unimaginative. Still, some of the rooms retain their original wooden beams and most are a reasonable size, quiet and comfortable. Breakfast for adults and children is a hefty 11 Euros a head and you might prefer to eat in one of the more atmospheric pavement cafes in the middle of Dijon. Similarly, it costs 9 Euros to use the private car park in the interior courtyard, but you can park right outside the main entrance for free. 6/10

Villa Romana, rue Quentin, Dijon

A lively and popular Italian restaurant that is one of the most inviting of the eateries packed into the streets surrounding Dijon's covered food market. You can choose to sit outside or inside amidst the funky deep orange decor. The pizzas (8 to 10 Euros) are pretty good, as is the three-course Menu Decouverte (18 Euros), which has several options for each course. The mozarella bruschetta to start came with a nicely dressed salad, while the chicken kebab main course was served with a flavoursome sauce and a mountain of succulent green beans. The pudding options include some high quality ice cream in adult flavours, such as coffee or rum and raisin. There is also a two-course (7 Euro) kids menu, which is basically a pasta dish, some ice cream and a drink. Service is friendly, but erratic and sluggish as the over-stretched waiters and waitresses sometimes forget basics like glasses to go with bottled water. 7/10

Dijon, Burgundy, France

Prosperous Dijon has an exceptional concentration of historic and atmospheric streets, squares and alleyways. In the well-preserved centre you can easily walk for 10 minutes and barely see a building built after 1900. And to its credit, the city hasn't given itself over to tourist tack - the streets are blissfully free of souvenir shops or fake 'attractions'. The mostly-pedestrianized Place de La Liberation is the focal point of the city and a fine spot to enjoy breakfast or a coffee in one of the pavement cafes, while admiring the rows of fountains and the grand and elegant Palais Des Ducs - the original seat of power of Burgundy's medieval Dukes. Another good place to refuel is one of the many restaurants and bars in the streets around the extravagant food market at Halles Centrales. But first build up an appetite by wandering around the rest of the city, which is awash with attractive squares and fine, well-preserved town houses, many with half-timbered frames or intricately-tiled roofs and ancient churches. 8/10

L'Auberge des Lavandes, Place General De Gaulle, Villecroze, Provence, France

Although it is run by a middle-aged Norwegian couple, this hotel and restaurant, housed in a 19th century terracotta building with bright blue shutters overlooking a picturesque village square, is dripping with French style and character. The winding stair case leads up to en-suite bedrooms (53 Euros for a double) with high ceilings containing an eclectic mix of aging, distressed furniture and Impressionist prints. Make sure you have dinner in the ground floor restaurant, which has tables in the square. Both the starters, such as fish soup or pate, and the main courses (lamb, trout or fillet of pork in a cream sauce) in the 20 Euro menu use high-quality ingredients prepared and cooked with precision and skill. But the highlight of the meal has to be the sumptuous deserts, such as the moist, light chocolate cake containing an inner reservoir of rich chocolate sauce, a fine creme brulee and a tangy apple tart. Get to bed early, as a deafeningly loud machine is sometimes used to clean the square from 6am in the morning. By the time you eat your simple breakfast (5 Euros for bread, coffee, jam, baby bell cheese and orange juice), your head should have stopped ringing and you will be able to soak up the idealized Provencal ambiance. 8/10

Restaurant Musiques, Setcases, Catalonia

This establishment dominates the quaint little square in the heart of the medieval village of Setcases, which is marred only by a couple of coin-operated rides for kids. Choose one of the outside tables in the square rather than those in the more dingy upstairs room and try to ignore the brusque proprietor who hangs around the doorway to the restaurant. And avoid the tapas. 'Patatas' for 3 Euros turned out to be 20 Pringles crisps in a bowl, while half a tin of pitted olives will also set you back 3 Euros. For 4.5 Euros you can get a limp green salad and 6 Euros will buy you a modest plate of cold meats. And you pay 7% tax on top of these prices! While the four-course menu (12 Euros) only has a couple of options for each course, it has to be better value than the tapas. To be on the safe side, just buy a beer and eat somewhere else. 4/10