The Financial Times had a feature on unusual destinations this weekend, starting with Missouri’s unlikely tourist attraction by Andrew Mueller. The small town of Branson has a disproportionate number of theatres, hotels and restaurants: “It’s a place unburdened by irony…a place where all the applause is sincere.” The theme continued with Paul Miles’ African safari in Kent. He enjoyed the surprises that came with staying the night in a two-person luxury tent on stilts in the Port Lympne Wild Animal and Safari Park in East Anglia. In Tequila Tales, Hugh Thomson reminisced about a journey in the late 1970s, when tequila was a real man’s drink that could be turned into mixes such as tequila oil, which ‘will take your head off.’ On the food side, the paper concentrated on Istanbul. Nicholas Lander ran through a selection of restaurants prospering in large part due to their prime locations in Dining with a view in Istanbul: Its ‘position on leafy hills between two continents is more dramatic’ than Sydney, the only other city with comparable locations for restaurants by the water’s edge. And in the same city Anissa Helou reviewed the restaurant Borsa, which is where the cream of Turkish society eats: “The presentation at Borsa is definitely prettier then elsewhere…and the food unquestionably worth the trip, even from London to Istanbul.”

The Middle East also featured in The New York Times this weekend, with an excellent article by Sara Dickerman about the culinary highlights of Tehrangeles – as the region’s Iranian diaspora has been nicknamed – in Persian cooking finds a home in Los Angeles: ‘bright sun and mini-malls shelter an ancient food culture and assimilate it all at once.’ The paper’s European coverage had a cultural angle, such as the surprising article In Budapest, a new eye for design by Evan Rail. The monthly Hungarian Design Market brings large crowds to the city’s central square, Erzsebet ter, and is part of the ‘emerging design scene unlike almost anything I’ve found in the former Eastern bloc.’ Even though the city’s historic core is now a serious fashion hub where you can pay top dollar in the trendy boutiques, Joel Weickgenant found Antwerp designers, off price in one of the many second-hand outlets. For art lovers, Basel doesn’t end at the fair according to Steven Erlanger: “As a crossroads city, it has an openness, with more immigrants and a daring not so commonly found in Zurich or Geneva” with its museums, art galleries and a range of exciting places to visit nearby. In her shop review of Michael German Antiques in London Elisabeth Robinson decided that this little heaven for collectors in Kensington is not really for practical purchases, but if you want ‘a cane that doubles as a telescope or one that can shoot blow darts or can carry a vial of brandy, this is the shop for you.’ On a completely different note, there was also an itinerary for 36 Hours in Williamsburg, Virginia by Joshua Kurlantzick. The town now has more than its restored Colonial district to attract a new crowd, with more intelligent cuisine, vineyards, folk-art shops and a lavish spa too.

In Metz: City of art Angelique Chrisafis noted for The Guardian that the Pompidou Centre in Paris is opening a new site in Metz next year, but it is already an attractive city worth visiting. Despite some French prejudices, “Metz is not an industrial city. Rather, it’s a beautiful, historic trading centre at the meeting point of two rivers.” Lucy Winstanley found that the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern region on the north coast of Germany ‘offers peace and seclusion – a rare discovery on Europe’s coasts in summer’ in Shore thing for taking it easy. Piers Moore Ede, in What a corker, visited the Alentejo region in Portugal, effectively untouched since Roman times and stayed at the Monte do Carmo hotel and found it ‘a place of pilgrims, miracles and cork trees.’ Life’s a doodle at London’s newest art bar according to David Vincent: after the great success of the Double Club in Angel, there are pop-up bars a-plenty in London – the DoodleBar in Battersea a much more affordable version of the concept venue.

It was a thin week for The Telegraph with only two notable articles. In Corsica: pots and pastry on the Artisans’ Route, Sasha Bates explored the fortress villages which have been regenerated through ‘a network of scenic drives taking you from village to village and pointing you towards the artists, potters, weavers, master bakers and others who have made their homes here.’ In Switzerland: Making tracks for the lakes Geoff Hill left the straight-laced city-dwelling Swiss to themselves and thought, “Switzerland is wasted on the bankers of Geneva and should really be handed over immediately to the Italians.”

In The Independent’s City Slicker: Helsinki Nick Boulos has a shortlist of things to do and see in the city for first-time and returning visitors during the summer season which heralds ‘long days to enjoy what Finland does best: the great outdoors.’ Adrian Mourby had a sneak preview at The very modern treasure in Venice’s coffers – the city’s newest art gallery the Punta della Dogana – which is the result of Francois Pinault’s re-development of the old customs houses, and confirms ‘Dorsoduro as the city’s art gallery district.’ Tam Leach argued, “Seclusion from the rest of the world has left a legacy of well-preserved Romanesque architecture” in The Complete Guide To: Andorra and the small Pyrenean co-principality packs in a lot of interest and adventure for its 181 square miles. Margaret Campbell took A journey of discovery through the Isle of Lewis as she retraced her Celtic routes in the Outer Hebrides: “Lewis is defined by water. The coastline is spectacular: dramatic headlands, buffeted by wind and tide, alternate with sea stacks and picture-perfect beaches.” The itinerary this week was for 48 Hours In: Nantes. Nicola Barranger recommended that adventurous weekenders seeking festivities, food and fun should head to the birthplace of Jules Verne in time for the Estuaire 2009 Art Festival, which has just opened.

Writing for The Times in From Chile to Argentina on horseback, Greg Dyke made the 600 mile journey from the Pacific to the Atlantic coasts of South America even though he ‘was definitely a quitter…that none of the quitters actually quit was partly to do with not having the opportunity to escape.’ Stephen Bleach expected to sit on his animal while Donkey-trekking in France, but that was a pipe dream. Nevertheless, despite the stubbornness of the pack-carriers ‘if you don’t mind a little unpredictability in life, you should go on one tomorrow.’ And finally in City style: Amsterdam Laura Lovett ran through the options for shopping, eating and sleeping among the Dutch capital’s canals.