Daily Express

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JANUARY

The first Virgin Hotel (dialling from the UK: 00 1 312 940 4300/virginhotels.com) opens in Chicago on January 17, with chambers that have both a sleeping lounge and a dressing room. The Commons Club bar and lounge channels the feeling of a private members club, with a classic diner at Miss Ricky’s for American treats. Doubles from £134, room only.

Or you can undo the Christmas damage at PUSH (07985 411 643/pushmindandbody.com), a brand-new boot camp at Burgate Farm in the New Forest. A team of experts in mind and body wellness will put together a seven-night programme (including a pampering night). From £1,000pp (two sharing), B&B.

FEBRUARY Make this the year the children learn to ski at Inghams’ brand new Learn To Ski & Snowboard resort of Oberperfuss, only 20 minutes from Innsbruck airport.

Beginners’ slopes are at the top of the mountain, while for more experienced skiers, it is an easy bus hop to the resort of Axamer Lizum. Oberperfuss has a clutch of bars and restaurants and a six-mile toboggan run. Inghams (01483 345 717/inghams.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Hotel Krone, from £699pp (two sharing), half board. Price includes return fights from Gatwick, transfers, equipment hire, lift pass and six days’ ski school.

For something different, stay at the wonderfully named Knickerbocker Hotel (00 1 212 354 2988/theknickerbocker. com) which reopens this month in Times Square, New York, recreating the glamour of the building designed by John Jacob Astor in 1906. Doubles from £319, room only.

MARCH On March 20, for two and a half minutes, the sun will disappear behind the moon in a total eclipse that will not be repeated in Europe until 2026. The best place to watch it is the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of Denmark.

Independent Traveller (01628 522772/independenttraveller. com) offers five nights from £2,500pp, B&B. Price includes return flights, transfers, some meals and excursions.

Livelier is Boston – book a budget flight with WOW Air

(0118 321 8384/wowair.co.uk) which from this month ies

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From one side of the globe to the other, ANNABELLE THORPE comes up with the must-do list for 2015

NOVEMBER: The Taj Mahal is one of the sights on a rail tour of India by ornate train (inset)

FROM PREVIOUS PAGE five times a week from Gatwick, via Reykjavik. From £213 return.

APRIL

Hopping across the Channel will get easier from April 3 when Ryanair (0871 246 0000/ryanair.com) begins twice-weekly flights from London Stansted to the elegant seaside town of Deauville, on the Normandy coast. Return flights from £37 offer an affordable way to discover the pretty resort that was made famous by Impressionist painter Édouard Manet.

Stay at La Closerie (dialling from the UK: 00 33 2 31 14 15 16/deauvilleapart hotel.com), five minutes from the sea.

Doubles from £60, room only.

MAY

One of Morocco’s most atmospheric towns, Essaouira is a tangle of pretty whitewashed streets opening out onto a harbour where fishing boats still sell their catch to restaurants on the jetty. easyJet (0330 365 5000/easyjet.com) starts the UK’s only direct flights on May 1, from London Luton, flying twice-weekly. From £111 return.

Alternatively, write your own 50 Shades Of Grey novel on a romance-writing course at the Watermill (020 7193 6246/ watermill.net) in Posara, a 17th century restored olive mill in Italy’s Tuscan hills.

Seven-night course from May 2, from £1,345pp, full board. Flights extra.

JUNE

The tiny Greek island of Ammouliani is off the west coast of the Mount Athos peninsula. It covers only 1.7 square miles, but manages to cram in more than its fair share of beautiful white-sand beaches and coves and some fantastic tavernas serving fresh fish. Sunvil (020 7578 4747/ sunvil.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Kastalia Hotel from £574pp (two sharing), B&B. Price includes return flights from Gatwick and transfers.

Nearer to home, get on your bike on June 21 for the 40th anniversary of the London-Brighton Bike Ride. Cycle the 54 miles from the City, through country lanes to finish by the sea in aid of the British Heart Foundation.

For details or to register 0300 456 8355/ bikeride@bhf.org.uk

JULY

Visitors to Florida Legoland (dialling

from the UK: 00 1 877 350 5346/florida. legoland.com) will be able to stay in the new Legoland Hotel with interactive Lego features and exclusive early access to the park. Family rooms (sleep up to five) or suites (sleep up to seven). From £178 per night (four sharing), room only.

Or enjoy summer evenings at the new Brockloch Treehouses tucked away in woodland at Brockloch Farm in Dumfries and Galloway. The wooden cabins have sunken baths and skylights above the bed for watching the sunset. From £175 per night (two sharing), self catering.

Canopy & Stars (0117 204 7830/ canopyandstars.co.uk).

AUGUST

Singapore gets out the bunting as it celebrates its 50th anniversary of independence. There is a spectacular parade on August 9, the opening of the new National Gallery and a brand new Jubilee walkway, linking historic sites in the Civic District and the new Marina Bay Sands area. Virgin Holidays (0844 557 9266/virginholidays.co.uk) offers seven nights at the Hotel Miramar from £1,287pp (two sharing), room only. Price includes return flights and transfers.

You might instead be tempted to take the family to the new Sensatori Hotel (0871 231 4691/thomson.co.uk) in Fethiye, Turkey, where everything, from wine with dinner to watersports, is included.

Seven nights from £584pp (two sharing), all inclusive. Price includes return flights and transfers.

SEPTEMBER

The opening date has yet to be confirmed, but Elvis fans travelling to Memphis to mark his 80th birthday in 2015 will be able to stay at the new Guest House at Graceland (dialling from the UK: 00 1 901 332 3322/graceland.com).

Only a few steps from Elvis’s mansion, the 450-room hotel has an in-house theatre for live performances of the King’s music and his films. Opening is set for autumn and rates are not yet available.

For another anniversary, 125 years since Vincent Van Gogh’s death, Amsterdam celebrates with events throughout the year.

The Van Gogh Museum (vangogh museum.nl) launches a landmark show,

Munch: Van Gogh, on September 25, celebrating the work of both artists (ticket prices yet to be confirmed).

OCTOBER

October sees the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, where the French dictator Napoleon was finally defeated after 23 years of war. The battle took place eight miles south of Brussels.

Titan Travel (0800 988 5823/titantravel. co.uk) offers four nights visiting both Brussels, the Belgian capital, and battleground sites, doubles from £799pp (two sharing), B&B, plus two evening meals, pick-up from home address to Folkestone, Eurotunnel and coach travel, five excursions and expert guides.

NOVEMBER

Norwegian Cruise Line (0845 201 8900/ncl. com) launches Norwegian Escape, its largest-ever ship, on November 15. Based in Miami, the ship will operate weekly itineraries in the Eastern Caribbean.

There will be a range of activities for three to 17-year-olds and a luxury area with 24-hour butler service. An 11-night Maiden Voyage cruise from Southampton, from £899pp (two sharing), full board.

If you prefer trains, join Amritsar & The Maharajas’ Express, a new 13-day tour across India from Great Rail Journeys (0800 140 4444/greatrail.com), taking in the Taj Mahal and the Golden Temple.

From £6,395pp (two sharing). Price includes return flights, most meals and excursions.

MAY: Essaouira, one of Morocco’s most atmospheric towns

DECEMBER

Exploring Morocco will become easier with the opening of Africa’s first highspeed train line, between Tangier and Casablanca (oncf.ma), cutting travel times from five hours to two hours 10 minutes. Naturally Morocco (01239 710814/naturallymorocco.co.uk) can arrange bespoke trips.

And, at home, London’s Admiralty Arch, originally built as a memorial to Queen Victoria in 1911, will open as a hotel, designed by Giorgio Armani (armanihotel.com). Room rates not yet available.

JULY: Tree house in Brockloch Farm in Dumfries and Galloway

JANUARY: Visit Chicago’s iconic bean sculpture while staying at the Virgin Hotel

Picture: FRANZ MARC FREI/Getty

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AUGUST: A delightful evening in Fethiye, Turkey