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Chrissie McClatchie

Chrissie McClatchie

Travel writer

Travel writer

French countryside, Italian style: why fly from Paris to the Mediterranean coast when you can catch a fast train?

You can take Italy’s ‘red arrow’ fast train even if you’re not in Italy

A business class trip passes in a blur of bucolic French countryside and Italian food and wine.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
3674, the train’s legendary bar car

Dream trip: A journey on the Venice-Simplon Orient Express had me pinching myself

An overnight journey from Venice to Paris is like stepping into a wonderful time warp.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
Mediterranean town Ajaccio, the capital city of the island of Corsica.

The best value mini-cruise in the Med is not on board a cruise ship

An overnight ferry from the mainland to this island is a taster of Mediterranean cruise life for a fraction of the price.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
Bormes-les-Mimosas, a postcard-pretty Provencal village along the Route du Mimosa.

The Aussie import that lights up the French Riviera in winter

So happy is this native Australian plant in the soils of the Cote d’Azur that whole festivals and road trips have sprung up to celebrate it.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
Le Petit Leon chef Nick Honeyman with sommelier wife Sina Honeyman.

The Aussie chef who conquered the home of the Michelin star

When Nick Honeyman and sommelier wife Sina took over a long-running seasonal bistro in 2020, it opened only for eight weeks in summer. Then eight weeks stretched out to six months.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
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Seborga, in the Ligurian hills.

A quirk of history let me visit four countries in a single day

This isn’t your typical Italian hilltop village, as much as it might look like one from the outside.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
It is possible to pull off small-ship cruising with kids.

Meltdowns and stares: Five things I learnt taking kids on a luxury ship

Things are going well until my daughter starts slamming her head into the dining table and wailing at high volume.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
The landing at Nice is one of the most beautiful in Europe.

Underwhelming European airport at least offers a beautiful view

France’s second-busiest hub has so much potential, yet it’s an underwhelming gateway to a beloved tourist region.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
Without Latour-Marliac, Monet may never have had his lilies.

This French garden inspired some of the world’s most famous paintings

Without the world’s first water lily nursery at Latour-Marliac, Monet may never have had any lilies to paint.

  • Chrissie McClatchie
Travelling across France on the high-speed OUIGO service.

This French high-speed train is cramped, but the savings are glorious

France’s budget OUIGO train service uses the same mechanics as the original TGV and travels at incredible speeds of up to 320km/h.

  • Chrissie McClatchie