Deals of the week:

A TRAIN

"AVE is by far the best rail performer in Europe, with a money-back guarantee if the train is late by just five minutes." The Spanish high-speed line between Madrid and Seville is one of hundreds of train trips described in the latest Insight Guide, Great Railway Journeys of Europe (£16.99). The co-ordinating author, Anthony Lambert, says his favourite journey is from St Moritz in Switzerland to Tirano in Italy – "from glaciers to palm trees in two hours, sitting in an open wagon with 360-degree views". The book also recommends "the de facto Euro train" – the "Vauban", which takes less than 12 hours to travel from Milan via the Simplon Tunnel, Basel, Strasbourg and Luxembourg to Brussels.

Almost all Continental trains are covered by the Inter-Rail ticket. It costs £350 for one month (£244 for those aged under 26) from www.raileurope.co.uk; a £5 supplement applies if you book by phone to Rail Europe on 08705 848 848. But bear in mind that you have pay to travel to France or Belgium to start using it, and that the "competitive rate" offered to Inter-Rail travellers from Britain, which entitles them to buy a Eurostar ticket between London and Brussels or Paris (£30 each way) is actually more than the current £59 return available to all travellers.

A BOAT

Pause in Guernsey, en route to St Malo – that is the possibility raised by the new route to Brittany via the Channel Islands from Condor Ferries (0845 345 2000, www.condorferries.co.uk). Motorists or foot passengers can sail from Weymouth in Dorset at around 7.30am, arriving at St Peter Port in Guernsey a couple of hours later. You can spend much of the day there, and then in late afternoon make the short crossing to St Malo. A five-day return fare in June costs £55 for a foot passenger or £196 for a car and two people, including the Guernsey stopover.

A PLANE

This morning the first ever easyJet flight from Luton to Paris Charles de Gaulle is scheduled to take off. The lowest fare is £17.50 each way, though these are predominantly available for early booking on off-peak departures. The five flights per day may help to reinstate the London-Paris as the world's busiest international air link. The 1,500 new seats each day on the route will certainly put pressure on other airlines and Eurostar to cut fares. You can book flights to Paris from Luton – and from the existing departure point of Liverpool – through www.easyJet.com or, at a premium, by phone on 0870 600 000.

AN AIRPORT

Can you judge a destination by its airport? If so, then Scotland's fourth city, Dundee, is challenging to be the best place in Britain, according to the fascinating new Dundee Handbook by Fiona Danskin, just published by Mainstream, price £7.99. "If you're in the West End, particularly near Magdalen Green, and ask for directions to the airport, they may go something like this: 'Go to the bottom of your street, cross the bridge, turn right, and it's a 10-minute walk from there'. A friend duly followed these instructions, and walked straight past it. It is absolutely tiny. There are no shops, tourists, terrible food halls, theme bars, or any miscellaneous horrors. What they do have are newspapers, coffee, tea and biscuits – all of which are free – and somewhere comfy to sit."