July: Peak timing: rediscover Machu Picchu this month

Where to go, what to do in 2011

The destination

Take a sailing tour out of Cannes. A new seven-night holiday offered by Essential Sailing (essentialsailing.com) lets you get as involved as you like with crewing the 50ft yacht.

Or, you could just sit back on the deck and watch the Riviera's summer festivities, like this month's Cannes' International Firework Festival. From £1,695 per person, half-board excluding flights.

The route

This month is the last chance to arrive – or leave – Singapore in style as the country's historic 1932 Art Deco Keppel Railway station closes its doors (yoursingapore .com). The station, the arrival point for journeys from Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok, is being replaced by a more functional terminus closer to the causeway with Malaysia.

The accommodation

The latest venture in Alain de Botton's Living Architecture project, The Long House (living-architecture .co.uk), created by the Modernist architects Sir Michael and Lady Patty Hopkins, opens on the edge of Cockthorpe, Norfolk. From £760 per four-night break, sleeps 10.

The cultural attraction

Only the English would contemplate performing Wagner's Ring cycle in a converted cowshed, but that's just what Longborough Festival Opera (lfo.org.uk) is doing – and to rave reviews. On 25 July, this Cotswold Bayreuth adds Siegfried to its repertoire. The first complete Ring will be performed in 2013.

The great outdoors

All routes in Peru lead to Machu Picchu this month, which marks the 100th anniversary of its rediscovery. Journey Latin America (journeylatinamerica.co.uk) is organising a two-week tour, arriving at Machu Picchu on 24 July, the date of the anniversary. Prices from £4,328.

The family holiday

Be the first to experience Inntravel's (inntravel.co.uk) new family walking holiday in the High Dolomites. Follow flexible self-guided walking routes, taking in mountaintops and gentle meadow trails. From £738 per adult, £648 per child.

The adventure

Hone those buns of steel on a mountain bike, taking in the Sella Ronda (sellaronda-mtb.com), in the heart of the Dolomites, previously inaccessible to cyclists. The Sellaronda Tour, complete with guide, is mainly off-road and takes you past a host of welcoming mountain refuges. From €45 (£38.50), including bike pass for the lifts.

The British day out

A new £1.1m visitor centre will open this summer at the Unesco World Heritage Site of Durham Castle and Cathedral (thisis durham.com). It will recount the story of the designation of the cathedral, castle, and Palace Green.

The winter sports

The Saas-Fee Ride (saasfeeride.com), Europe's biggest summer Freeski event takes place on the glacier 3,300 metres up Saas Fee, Switzerland, on 16 July.The latest freeski tricks will be on show from the world's best.

All prices are per person, based on two sharing, unless otherwise stated. Hotel room prices are per room per night, unless otherwise stated