Less than £200: Cresta Holidays has a three-night break in the French city of Lille for £155pp. The package on offer includes travel on Eurostar from London St Pancras on 30 July and B&B accommodation at the simple but central Comfort Hotel Opera (crestaholidays.co.uk).

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Stevan Jovetic

Fiorentina insist Chelsea 'target' Stevan Jovetic will not be sold

Fiorentina have no intention of selling Stevan Jovetic this summer despite reports in Italy linking the Montenegrin striker with a move to Chelsea.

Feel at home: house-swapping in The Holiday, starring Cameron Diaz

Holidays with home comforts

House-stays are recession-beating, authentic, and they offer you the chance to live like a local wherever you visit

New England, Cotswolds, Tuscany

Now... Plan a spring city break to the capital of New England. Virgin Holidays has three nights in Boston for £555pp, which includes flights from Heathrow on 14 May and room-only accommodation at the Midtown Hotel. Virginholidays.co.uk

Livorno players with the hearse bearing Piermario Morosini at the club's Armando Picchi stadium yesterday

Thousands of Livorno fans in farewell tribute to Morosini

Livorno's players and thousands of supporters yesterday paid their last respects to Piermario Morosini, who died while playing for the club in a Serie B match last weekend at Pescara.

PIERMARIO MOROSINI: The midfielder died after collapsing during Livorno’s match against Pescara

Thousands pay tribute to Piermario Morosini

Livorno's players and thousands of supporters today paid their respects to Piermario Morosini, who died while playing for the club in a Serie B match at the weekend.

Mouse work: could the Disney organisation run virtual trips that remove the need for travel?

Travel Agenda: Brighton Festival; coolplaces.co.uk; Villa Armena

Tomorrow: Book now to be at the Brighton Festival (2-31 May). This year's event has been guest directed by Vanessa Redgrave. Highlights include a multi-sensory reworking of the music of Joy Division, the chance to watch Mariella Frostrup film The Book Show, and a talk on "the world's most mysterious continent", Antarctica, with Caroline Lucas MP. (brightonfestival.org).

Tranquil haven: Villa in the Vineyard in Montelpar

Child's play: Alastair Sawday's top 15 family-friendly Italian stays

I am writing this from my desk in Bristol, with all the frustrations of introducing an article about such stunning places. There is not one place here that I would not give a wet weekend in England for – and if I had a young family, I'd be unable to resist.

All fuel is drained from stricken 'Concordia'

Authorities say they have removed all the fuel that was left aboard the Costa Concordia cruise ship that capsized off Italy.

Costa captain not wearing glasses, says first officer

The captain of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise liner was not wearing his glasses on the evening of the accident and asked his first officer to check the radar for him, the officer's lawyer said yesterday at a hearing held in the Tuscan city of Grosseto.

The Costa Concordia ran aground off the Italian island of Giglio last month, killing at least 25

Costa Concordia voice recorder analysis may take months

The first evidence hearing into the January 13 shipwreck of the luxury cruise liner Costa Concordia began today, with so many people trying to cram into an Italian courthouse it had to be moved to a nearby theater.

The Costa Concordia at Giglio

Divers find eight more bodies on Costa Concordia as police widen investigation

Divers searching the Costa Concordia have found eight more bodies, including that of a 5-year-old Italian girl, onboard the semi-submerged cruise ship.

Captain Schettino, who is being investigated for manslaughter and abandoning his vessel

Cocaine found on cruise ship captain's hair

Experts and lawyers representing survivors of the capsized Costa Concordia cruise ship want further drug tests on the ship's captain after the discovery of cocaine on the outside of a hair sample. A forensic analyst involved in the case reportedly described the finding as no more than a "marginal problem". The full test results given to investigators show that the drug was not found within his hair or in his urine, which would have indicated that he had used it.

Concordia officer saved by frying pan

The last person to be found alive on the wrecked Costa Concordia has revealed how he banged on the inside of the ship with a frying pan to attract attention.

Career Services

Day In a Page

Next in line – but public just can't warm to idea of Charles in charge

Next in line – but public just can't warm to idea of Charles in charge

'Independent' poll finds less that half want him to take throne as ministers moan of interference
Nothing's sacred: the illegal trade in India's holy cows

Nothing's sacred: the illegal trade in India's holy cows

Andrew Buncombe reports from Kaharpara on a bloody war between rustlers and border guards
Mogul grounded: Desmond gives up his jet deal

Mogul grounded: Desmond gives up his jet deal

Media tycoon's company pays £1m to cancel his order for a £36m private jet after drop in profits
How Ai Weiwei built a pavilion in London – by remote control

How Ai Weiwei built a pavilion in London – by remote control

The artist tells Clifford Coonan how he used Skype to escape confinement in Beijing
Nature, nurture... or neither? The new twist in an age-old argument

Nature, nurture... or neither?

The new twist in an age-old argument
Radio 4 to shed its cosy image with a 'sexy' Ulysses drama

Radio 4 to shed its cosy image with a 'sexy' Ulysses drama

New station controller wants to reflect the current period of 'turmoil and uncertainity'
Alcohol: I drink therefore I am

Alcohol: I drink therefore I am

New guidelines warn Britons to drastically reduce their boozing. But is a life without liquor worth living? Hell no, says John Walsh
The Cable News Nightmare: CNN (and Piers Morgan) in audience crisis

The Cable News Nightmare

CNN (and Piers Morgan) in audience crisis
Like a barbie, but better: The Big Green Egg can griddle, roast, and smoke food - and even make pizza

The Big Green Egg: Like a barbie, but better

It can griddle, roast, and smoke food - and even make pizza...
The 10 Best chopping boards

The 10 Best chopping boards

Whether you want to dice veg, chop meat, or just slice up a salad, there’s a surface here to suit every culinary need.
Flat and fabulous: From wraps to foccacias, our appetite for new and exotic breads knows no limits

Flat and fabulous: Exotic breads

Lucy McDonald visits the bakeries of Tel Aviv to to find out what we'll be eating next.
Brendan Rodgers: Just like Mourinho... only different

Brendan Rodgers: Just like Mourinho... only different

Obsessive, ambitious, eager to learn and with no playing career; can the Northern Irishman be Liverpool's Special One?
Gary Lewin: Players need winter break

Gary Lewin: Players need winter break

The England physio tells Patrick Barclay that this spate of injuries is due to the non-stop demands of the Premier League

Countdown's rudest ever moments

Yesterday a contestant spelt the word 'minge'.
Special report: Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported

Special report

Tamil asylum-seekers to be forcibly deported