From The Sunday Times Travel Magazine

Did you really leave your heart in San Francisco?

That’s become my signature song – I sang it for six American presidents. It really comes from the heart. When you arrive in San Francisco, you have a feeling that this is it. I think it is one of the most civilised cities in America. It’s beautiful.

Does that mean it’s your number one city?

My hols: Ewan McGregor

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• My hols: Ricky Gervais

My hols: Willie Walsh

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My Hols: Anastacia

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• Frequent flyer: Erin O'Connor

BACKGROUND

• My hols: Phil Daniels

• My hols: Roger Moore

• My hols: David Mitchell

• My hols: Tracey Emin

• My hols: Colin Firth

BACKGROUND

• My hols: Ricky Gervais

• My hols: Sam Robards

• My hols: Jimmy Carr

• My hols: Johnny Vegas

• My hols: Moby

No, that would have to be Rio. It has a great spirit. The people there really live life and know how to enjoy themselves. Even though it’s a very corrupt place, that 30km stretch of beach seems to have the potential to wash away troubles.

So, how do you like to see new cities?

I paint wherever I go and that gives me a different way of looking at the world. I carry a set of watercolours in my hand luggage and, even in the most remote backwater, I’ll always find something that catches my eye. It could be anything, from a woman waiting at a bus stop, to a shadow on the side of a building. Little things like this reflect the real life of big cities.

And where do you most love to paint?

My father was Italian and I first went to Italy about 15 years ago and fell in love with the country. Now I try to go every summer and stay in a villa in Tuscany. It’s an inspirational place.

Do you feel at home in Italy?

I love Calabria, where my father was born. It’s gorgeous, with little fishing villages looking out towards Sicily. But I feel more at home in the Italian cities. I was dining in Rome once, when four waiters came in singing Happy Birthday. They sounded like four Pavarottis. I felt embarrassed to call myself a singer.

Anything else you do to relax on holiday?

Apart from painting? Tennis. I was staying in London, when the jazz pianist Gentleman John Bunch persuaded me to have a go, and I was hooked. I thought we went to his local park for a knock up, but later discovered we’d been playing on the Centre Court at Wimbledon.

Think you’ll ever tire of seeing the world?

I’m lucky – I’m still doing what I love doing for a living and get to do it in some of the world’s greatest playgrounds. I get to spend the day painting in the sun and then sing in the evening. What could be better?

Tony Bennett’s latest album, Duets: An American Classic, is out on Sony BMG