SAS Economy class, Nice, Cote D'Azur to Stockholm, Arlanda

Crowded and expensive, Nice Cote D'Azur airport can be a grim place to wait for a flight. In the middle of the day in May, there may be nowhere to sit upstairs and long queues for the pricey cafes. The vending machines, which charge 2.5 euros for a modest bottle of water, sometimes don't recognise your coins, but keep them all the same.  Still, there is a nice view of the sea out of the floor-to-ceiling windows. If you want to sit, head downstairs where there may be spare seats next to the gates. The airport has free WiFi, but it is a bit shaky.  Moreover, you may have to catch a bus to your SAS plane, which can involve a tedious wait while the driver waits for all the passengers to pass through the gate. On board, the economy seats are quite large and you can have as much coffee or tea as you like. But you have to pay for the limited choice of soft drinks and food, which is expensive - six euros for a lame chicken sandwich. Towards the end of this two and a half hour flight, you can survey the watery, wooded landscape of central Sweden. After you land, you can pass through Stockholm airport very quickly, as there doesn't appear to be any passport checks for passengers coming in from France. 5/10

Trastevere, Quai de l'Amiral Courbet, Villefranche-sur-Mer

One of a clutch of waterfront restaurants in the picturesque port of Villefranche-sur-Mer, Trastevere is a traditional Franco-Italian eatery, mixing pizzas with classic French dishes, such as moules mariniere. On a warm evening, you'll probably want to sit at one of the tables next to the yachts floating in the unusually clean seawater, separated from the restaurant by the very quiet road. Trastevere is fairly expensive, but it serves large portions. For example, a big bowl of salty fish soup (14 euros), comes with shredded cheese, mustard and plenty of croutons. Or you can start with a huge pile of white bait, which can be a bit dry. Among the mains, the steaks are thick slabs of good meat, but can be surprisingly overcooked for a French restaurant. A tad more healthy is the filling seafood risotto - a succulent and salty special. Its fat grains of rice are soaked in a scrumptious sauce. Trastevere's service can be a little gruff and sluggish, but is good enough. 7/10

Hotel Kyriad Nice Port, Place du Pin, Nice

Housed in an incongruous modern building in a historic Nice neighbourhood, the Hotel Kyriad Nice Port seems to be trying to keep capital costs to a minimum. The small rooms are kitted out with poor quality fixtures and fittings. There is barely enough room in the wardrobe for a few days' clothes, while the small en-suite bathroom, with a circular shower, is tired and functional. There is no iron, but there is a flat screen TV. The free Wi-Fi works well enough, but the PIN-operated safes can be flaky and you might have to ask for a key from reception. In a seventh-floor room, you can open the small window and you might get a view over the rooftops of Nice to the hills beyond. At night, the regular roar of mopeds means you will want to shut the window and turn on the chugging air conditioning.  Still, the  buffet breakfast is okay. It includes a decent fruit salad, sausages, bacon, bread, croissants, yoghurts and you can squeeze your own orange juice. Unfortunately, the machine coffee is lame and the Wi-Fi doesn't seem to work very well in the breakfast room. 5/10

Cycling Herne Hill to Greenwich via the Ravensbourne River

A 12 mile ride along a little known London backwater, this route takes in just about all walks of life in the Big Smoke. It starts at the Herne Hill Velodrome, which played host to the cycling events of the 1908 and 1948 Olympics, and then passes the old-world elegance of Dulwich College and its extensive playing fields. It climbs up College Road, through the tollgate, to Crystal Palace, where you cut through the park past the National Athletics Stadium. You then ride east into leafy suburban Beckenham and swing north into Beckenham Place Park, past the golf course and the hulking, grey, neoclassical country house.

Street Entertainers in Covent Garden, central London

Seasoned jugglers on unicycles draw a big crowd to Covent Garden's cobbled piazza.

Broad Court, central London

A pedestrianised lane near Covent Garden, Broad Court has a row of five traditional red telephone boxes and a graceful bronze statue of a ballerina, facing the Royal Opera House.  Lined with handsome buildings and trees, Broad Court links Bow Street with Drury Lane.

Fitzroy Square, central London

The term oasis is over-used, but it is a fitting description of Fitzroy Square in central London. This is a spacious and largely pedestrianised garden square surrounded by gleaming white Georgian terraces, period lamp-posts and cast-iron railings. Genuinely peaceful, it is hard to believe you are only a couple of hundred yards from the traffic mayhem on the Euston Road. 

Norman Parkinson Exhibition at the National Theatre, the South Bank

A free exhibition of a ground-breaking fashion photographer's best work, Lifework: Norman Parkinson's Century of Style features scores of memorable photos. It includes iconic images from the 1950, such as the Art of Travel, showing a smartly-dressed woman crossing a Nairobi airfield and New York, New York, which depicts a couple running towards the camera, against a backdrop of skyscrapers. Extended to May 27th, many of the highly-stylised images, which are a mixture of black and white and colour, feature famous people, including The Beatles, David Bowie and Richard Burton, in engaging poses. There is also an unusually natural photo of the Queen with her Mum and her sister.  If you are near the South Bank, you should stop by the National Theatre. 7/10