‘Paris is like Disneyland for adults’: Eight celebrities reveal their Euro adventures

Elise McCann, Star of Mamma Mia! The Musical

“I went inside a tiny jewellery store that sold bells: a traditional symbol in Capri of luck, love and good fortune.”

In 2007, I spent nine months travelling around Europe. I had done a few musicals back home, and was offered a job on a cruise ship. One of the itineraries was an Italian leg. Myself and a few cast members decided to catch a ferry to Capri, the beautiful island known for its very expensive shopping and famous grotto.

We boarded a very full boat and set off on our way. As we traversed a narrow stretch, the seas got choppy and it was the sickest I had ever felt. Everyone on the boat was queasy and within seven minutes, people started vomiting. I cowered into my friend Ricky’s arms; I was so nauseous.

Then we arrived in paradise. I didn’t have an appetite for any of the restaurants sadly. I do remember the blue grotto as the bluest of blue water. I bought my mum a Hermès neckerchief; it was the only thing I could afford. I went inside a tiny jewellery store that sold bells: a traditional symbol in Capri of luck, love and good fortune. I bought one and still have it. I put it on a necklace once and the wind swept past and it tinkled. I had a massive shiver throughout my body and felt something would happen. Not long after that I was first cast in Mamma Mia! I didn’t eat anything that day: it was the grossest and most beautiful of times.

Kris Smith, Presenter and Nissan ambassador

“We spent two nights in Paris and wanted the full traditional Parisian café and restaurant experience.”

I went to Paris this summer and drove on the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans racetrack: it’s two-and-a half-hours’ drive from the French capital. I did a workshop and learned about the Formula E and got to test drive a new Nissan. I have seen the track on many different race days on my TV screen and was blown away to be there. It was quite surreal driving around: bizarre and brilliant. I went to Paris with my wife Sarah; it doubled as a short honeymoon for us as we got married a year ago and didn’t travel. We got to tie it in with my racing day.

We spent two nights in Paris and wanted the full traditional Parisian café and restaurant experience. We had breakfast at the famous Café de Flore. As stupid as it may sound, I tried to speak French when I was there. It’s a small gesture that they appreciate and I found it worked for us.

Poppy King, The original lipstick queen

“There is something about being on your own that comes out in Paris: a curiosity and a wonder, like Disneyland for the adult senses”

I have been to Paris with lovers and alone. It is the most romantic city in the world. There is something about being on your own that comes out in Paris: a curiosity and a wonder, like Disneyland for the adult senses.

I love to do the smaller museums, each embedded in their own arrondissement, like the Rodin Museum in the 7th or the Dali Museum in Montmartre. While on a business trip in 2000, I was searching for the Doll Museum in the Marais and got there eventually. I don’t speak French, which makes the conversations in my mind come alive, knowing that it’s me and Paris having the dialogue.

I once found this amazing courtyard at the back of Notre-Dame; it was a tiny garden. It was a summer’s day and I spotted the famous Berthillon shop, known all over the world for its intense flavour explosions of the most amazing sorbet. I had a tiny scoop of fraise de bois on a tight French cone. It’s like a trip to the country.

I ended up sitting on a bench in that little courtyard for three hours, people watching and listening to the trees, amazed at where my lipstick had taken me over the years.

Guillaume Brahimi, Chef and presenter

“They have a policy of never saying no and it works a treat here.”

Last year, I was in France filming my SBS TV show [Guillaume’s Paris] and had a few days off. I wanted to surprise my wife Tamie with a stay at La Colombe d’Or in Saint Paul-de-Vence: a 13-room hotel that’s located in the mountains, 40 minutes from Nice.

It’s full of original paintings from Picasso, Chagall, Dali and Matisse – a hotel that is impossible to get a booking, let alone trying at the last moment. The website doesn’t look like much, just a picture and a phone number. I rang and asked if they had a room for two nights. They laughed and said, “You are so lucky, we just had a cancellation and it’s for two nights.”

Tamie always dreamt of going there. We took a taxi and I made a deal with the driver not to let her know where we were going. As we got closer, I told Tamie I wanted to stop for a coffee break. She was unaware that we were across the road from the destination. She emerged from the taxi, looked around and commented how nice it was here. Then she said, “It’s La Colombe d’Or!” It’s where I proposed to her in 2022. We had a glass of rosé instead of the coffee, and the wait staff made us feel at home during our stay. The chef would make us niçoise salad every day. They have a policy of never saying no and it works a treat here.

Collette Dinnigan, Designer and Specsavers collaborator

“It’s a cocktail lounge with jazz playing: romantic, dark with red hues throughout. You can imagine Baz Luhrmann turning up.” Credit: LOUIE DOUVIS

I never expected to love Naples because my first experience wasn’t great when [husband] Bradley Cocks and I were living in Rome in 2018. At the time, we found ourselves driving in an historic centre, the streets were getting narrower and darker, and we were accumulating fines with every turn, as cars aren’t allowed in these areas. It was pouring with rain, and we had our son Hunter and a friend in the car. We couldn’t get out of the centre; it was beyond frustrating.

I have been back a few times since and fallen in love with Naples – the India of Europe. It doesn’t feel overly touristy like Rome. We also took a 45-minute ferry ride to Procida from Naples and spent a week there; the lemons are so sweet and memorable.

In Naples, you can fall in love with so many aspects. For me it was the tiled pillars and gardens at the gothic site Chiostro di Santa Chiara, while Grand Hotel Vesuvio was an easy place to stay. Galleria Umberto is full of great shopping and amazing ceilings. My favourite restaurants are Mimi alla Ferrovia; you can’t book, but the food is sensational. Or try Europeo Di Mattozzi for an onion and meat ragu as their bolognese. The best vongole is found at Ristorante da Dora. The food scene in Naples has more grit to it than in Rome. Bradley always gets his suits at Luca Avitabile – all custom-made, old-school service, which is just divine.

You must spend a night at the speakeasy bar L’Antiquario; all the staff are dressed in white, cotton jackets with ties. It’s a cocktail lounge with jazz playing: romantic, dark with red hues throughout. You can imagine Baz Luhrmann turning up.

Waleed Aly, Presenter on The Project

“I do like getting into the history of the place and trying to understand what I’m looking at. Budapest has a tragic and therefore engrossing history.”

I found myself in Budapest in 2017, on a 30-degree day and it wasn’t what I expected. When I think of Budapest, I think of cold landscapes and Communists. My wife, Susan Carland, and I had been on holiday in Croatia and she went back home for work while I went to Budapest for three days on my own. It meant I could go and see all the things that would have bored her. We have a running joke about how I want to visit a maritime museum in every place I travel to. The problem with this joke is I don’t ever remember wanting to see one.

I do like getting into the history of the place and trying to understand what I’m looking at. Budapest has a tragic and therefore engrossing history. It was occupied by the Nazis, who were then displaced by the Soviets. Basically anything significant that happened in the 20th century seemed to happen there. I couldn’t find any halal food in Budapest and ended up eating a lot of Italian. The food looked great!

The thing that struck me was how stunning it is. I think this former Soviet bloc city might be the best-kept secret of Europe. The architecture is incredible and undisturbed. What you don’t have in Budapest is ugly construction. You just have the old stuff and it’s stunning and I couldn’t get over how beautiful everything was. I went to a monument park a little way out of the city that I don’t think many people go to Budapest for. After the fall of the Soviets, there was a bit of debate about what do you do with all the monuments, such as statues of Lenin and the like. They took them to this park and lay them in a way that made sense of the eras. You got a sense of how present this Soviet iconography was in everyday life. You’d read the plaque and find that a certain Lenin statue stood outside a bread factory back in the day. It was insane.

Bec Harding, Co-founder of LUI skincare range

“We followed him all the way to the gorgeous trattoria La Sorgente, set among the trees and where the locals eat and drink wine.”

My partner, Andy Lee, and I stayed in Porto Ercole, Tuscany, for four nights at the iconic Hotel Il Pellicano in June this year. It’s been around since the 1950s and photographer Slim Aarons took a lot of his photographs there. I never thought that I’d find a coastline in Tuscany; I just imagined it was rolling hills and wine country for the most part. Andy and I had a few days to travel on our own in between weddings. Neither of us had been before. We hired a car from Rome and took the chance.

The town itself feels untouched and authentic. There are elderly ladies hanging out their sheets on terraces; it felt like I was stuck in a time warp.

This iconic hotel is where Sophia Loren has stayed many times. I found a blog by an Australian woman who had lived there, and recommended a trattoria in the hills near a monastery. I couldn’t find a website for it but did have an address. Andy and I decided to start exploring just as the sun was setting. We were at the top of a hill and spotted a church. I went to the church and could hear singing and spotted a guy having a cigarette who couldn’t speak much English. He told us to follow him through the forest.

Andy and I looked at each other and wondered if it was the right thing to do. But we followed him all the way to the gorgeous trattoria La Sorgente, set among the trees and where the locals eat and drink wine. It was such a memorable evening.

Heather Ewart, Presenter on Back Roads

“The city exceeded our expectations. It’s small and doesn’t feel crowded like other parts of Europe.”

We went to Malta this summer and spent five days there during the heatwave. Apparently, we arrived on the hottest day Malta had ever had.

The city exceeded our expectations. It’s small and doesn’t feel crowded like other parts of Europe. The old town was a short walk from our hotel. It was compact and easy to walk around. We had a fun dinner at a local restaurant and ended up at a few wine bars – one which saw the owner take off his shirt and serve wine shirtless. He made us try all these Maltese liqueurs.

There’s a lot of tiered alleys and laneways, which adds to the charm. You can sit on the steps, where wine bars have laid out pillows to make it more comfortable. It’s lovely.

Malta specialises in rabbit stew; so that’s a must-try. We also did a catamaran cruise to the Blue Lagoon; you can dive off the boat into the waters. We had a barbecue on board: it’s such a beautiful thing to do.

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