Nottingham Castle

If you have seen Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves then you have been misled in more ways than one. For one thing, you do not have to cross Hadrian's Wall to get from Nottingham to the south and, for another, the castle doesn't look the same as the film. The original castle was destroyed during the civil war and a ducal palace stands in its place. The castle contains a museum that has held prestigious collections. A few years ago it was the only place in Britain to hold a prominent collection of pre-Raphaelite art. The grounds are also worth a wander. After this it is just a short walk along the walls to

Ye Olde Trip To Jerusalem Inn

The Trip is the oldest inn in the world. It is built right into the walls of the cliff the castle stands on. After a refreshing drink you can continue on to the Brewhouse Yard, which contains a museum of an authentically furnished house and school from various periods in Nottingham history. From here you can also pop to the Nottingham Lace Centre, as all are based in the same area. The Salutation Inn, also nearby, is a lovely spot to eat.

Shopping

Nottingham is the third best city in Britain for shopping. There are the shopping centres, Broadmarsh and Victoria, for high street shops. There are also the boutiques along the Hockley area. While in Hockley stop for a cup of tea at Lee Rosy's Tea Shop. A great selection of teas, smoothies, coffee, sandwiches and cakes surrounded by the work of local artists. Atmospheric and also very tasty!

Sherwood Forest

Sherwood Forest is a bus ride or a drive from the city. You can see the Major Oak, where Robin and his Merry Men spent their time hiding out. Interestingly, there is still a Sheriff of Nottingham. You will recognise his car from its NTV2 number plate, NTV1 belonging to the Mayor. Resist the urge to throw rotten fruit at his car, he's far nicer nowadays!

The Caves

Caves run under much of Nottingham. These were used for smuggling, for storage and other exciting subterranean activity. You can access the caves from the basement of the Trip, organised tours from the castle or from the entrance in the Broadmarsh shopping centre. No, really you can. The shopping centre entrance will be the most worthwhile tour, and while you are there you can head down the road to the Galleries of Justice, a museum of crime and punishment.

The Tales Of Robin Hood

This is more aimed at children, or the young at heart. You go on a cable car journey through “Sherwood Forest”. It is handily placed between Market Square and the Castle.

The World's Smallest Cinema

Rather cheekily placed across the road from the Arts Cinema, Broadway, is the Screen Room. This is officially the world's smallest cinema. It shows mostly indie films, and serves the best vegan cake around. It's in the Hockley area, so you can combine your trip with some shopping.

Music

There are endless music venues in Nottingham. There's the Arena for all your skating and large band needs, as well as the world famous Rock City, the Rescue Rooms, Stealth, Junktion 7, The Maze, The Theatre Royal, The Social… chances are you will find the sort of music you like.

Sports

For Soccer fans the Notts County and Nottingham Forest ground are handily placed next to Trent Bridge Cricket Ground. There is also the Tennis Centre and the National Water Sports Centre, for all you active types.

Enjoy your trip to Nottingham!

For Monaco, chose the Corniche Inferieure, which will guide you along the coast, or the Moyenne Corniche, the spiritual home of sports cars and film stars. Monaco is as you would expect, greatly compacted glamor. If you like to gamble and people watch then you would be foolish to avoid a stop here.

But I'm rather scruffy, so I went for the Grande Corniche. The Grande Corniche is the highest of the three, with beautiful sea views from a mountain trail. On clear days you can even see Corsica. This road overlooks the picturesque Eze, so you can briefly see the sites without braving summer crowds. There are few places to stop along the way, so when you find one take a moment to pause and savor the view. Some may consider these roads to be “hairpins” but next to the roads across the Pyrenees it is highly civilized. This is the sort of driving that makes you feel alive, a real buzz that does not need the pop-culture anchor point of the lower Corniche.

Despite being the longest route of the three, by necessity as it winds up the mountain itself, the Grande Corniche is the least likely to be congested. Locals go for the coast road, and tourists for the Moyenne Corniche. I am bemused as to why more do not choose the top road, since the sights here are unrivaled.

But all too soon the journey is over and we pass, without comment, through the unmanned border control into Italy. After all, we are all Europeans now. It seems that either side of the Rivera has become a sort of fusion. You will find pizza parlors all over St Tropez and the menus in San Remo are also written in French. The only clue that you are in another country is the change in language around you.

Hopping over the border will lead you to a number of tourist-aimed shops. You will not find the usual beach themed shops, but will come across bootleg alcohol shops. These are towns that know their market. You will find good pizza with minimal effort, but decent ice cream takes more of a hunt.

If you want to go to a real Italian market, head to Ventimiglia on a Friday. You will find yourself joined by numerous French and Italian people, as well as tourists. If you wish, head back on the Moyenne Corniche to see Monaco and Eze by night. This way you can experience two of the Corniche on one journey. Once again, you could go for the auto route and bypass the more intriguing roads, but you would be missing out on a spirit of adventure.