My Life In Travel: Jeffrey Archer

First holiday memory?

I was brought up in the West Country, and my first holiday was going to visit my aunt in Leeds. My memory is of travelling up there in a motor car, probably for the first time in my life, with my grandmother. She didn't realise that roundabouts – which had just been invented – were for going around, so she proceeded to drive over the top of every single one of them. It didn't seem to worry the old girl, God bless her.

Best holiday?

A very nice gentleman once asked me to do a big speech in America for him, and as a thank-you he gave me his yacht for two weeks. Mary and I went round the Greek islands, visiting places as and when we wished. Because we live in the Old Vicarage in Grantchester, we went to see the poet Rupert Brooke's grave on Skyros.

Favourite place in the British Isles?

Edinburgh. It's so small that you can cover it in a few hours, which is so lovely. It feels like a gigantic beautiful village more than a city.

What have you learnt from your travels?

How little I know and how much more I ought to know.

Ideal travelling companion?

A man called Simon Bainbridge. He is one of the cleverest men I know, and he has a wonderful knowledge of art. He travels with Mary and me on holiday and takes us to museums and art galleries, showing us the pictures we should be looking at. On top of that, he's a wonderful companion.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

Culture vulture. I now almost only go to cities where there are art galleries; I want to see new things all the time.

Greatest travel luxury?

A yacht, but without the expense of paying for the staff and petrol.

Holiday reading?

I try to return to the classics, so I might take Dumas's The Count of Monte Cristo. I feel a bit guilty about books I haven't read.

Where has seduced you?

St Petersburg. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the Hermitage and the Summer Palace are two of the most staggering buildings I've ever seen. I certainly want to see them again.

Better to travel or to arrive?

I hate airports, planes and taxis. I just want to press a button and be there!

Worst travel experience?

Flying back from Australia, we landed in India because there was an engine problem. We were told we would be there for an hour. One hour turned out to be two days sitting at the airport.

Worst holiday?

It wasn't strictly a holiday, but I was sent on a book tour of Florida last year, and went round bookshops in a broken-down old car, an experience I never want to repeat.

Worst hotel?

The Ramada Inn in LA, where the air conditioning thumped all night, and my bed had mauve nylon sheets and pillow cases, and a rubber pillow that stuck around my ears, so I didn't sleep at all.

Best hotel?

That wonderful hotel in Bangkok, The Oriental. The manager told me they have four staff to every guest. It has a reputation for being the best hotel in Asia, deservedly so.

Favourite walk/ swim/ride/drive?

The Pass of Brander in Scotland, where the Campbell Clan killed everybody; it is one of the most beautiful roads on Earth.

Best meal abroad?

I stayed at l'Hôtel in Paris, where Oscar Wilde died, and ate at its Le Restaurant, which was exceptional. I was dining with my publishers for the French version of A Prisoner of Birth, and it was a memorable meal. I started with foie gras, and then had the most beautiful sole meunière, followed by three tiny sorbets; the chef kept bringing out odd things in between, which was very tiresome of him.

Dream trip?

Mary and I have now allocated the places that we must visit before we die, and one of those is Rio de Janeiro. Another dream trip would be to go around the gr eat cities of Tuscany and see the Caravaggios, the Da Vincis and work by the great early-Renaissance Italian artists, with the countryside in between, and the finest food on Earth on top of that.

Favourite city?

Rome. It's got everything I've just mentioned, plus the Romans are such nice people.

Where next?

To India to do a book tour of six cities, from Chennai to Mumbai.

Jeffrey Archer's novel, 'Paths of Glory', is published by Macmillan (£18.99)

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