FLORIDA FOR £28.50? Virgin Holidays has bought Travel City Direct - formerly part of XL, which went bust last September - and is offering two-week Florida breaks from £399 for March. This works out at £28.50 a day, with flights and hotel included.

RED TAPE USA From Monday, British citizens eligible to travel to the United States on the visa-waiver programme will need to register online with a new Electronic System for Travel Authorisation 72 hours prior to departure. Go to https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov

HAYDN HOORAH To mark the 200th anniversary of the death of Joseph Haydn, there will be a series of concerts in Vienna this year. Haydn House, where the composer wrote many works, is reopening later this month after a refurbishment.

SHIRTY Airport officials and JetBlue Airways have paid £160,000 in compensation after asking a passenger to cover a T-shirt with Arabic script and the slogan “We will not be silent” at New York's JFK Airport. Officials originally said it was like going into a bank wearing a T-shirt saying “I am a robber”.

Who says that the South Africans, Indians and Aussies have to dominate cricket? Bring on...the Nepalese. Some English City boys are planning the world's highest Test match at Everest base camp in April to raise money for charity. The sight of 22 men turning bright pink in the midday sun could be just the thing to spur the locals to form a league. Details: www.theeveresttest.com

Slovakia said goodbye koruna, hello euro on January 1. Not great news for the wallets of British visitors, you would think, but there are still Bratislava bargains, according to Jurate Kuodyte, of Regent Holidays (www.regent-holidays.co.uk). “You can pick up opera tickets from as little as €6 each and ballet tickets from about €4,” she says. “Even the best seats at the Slovakian National Theatre sell for no more than €30 and a beer is just €1, so compare that to London!”

Tip of the week

If you're heading to Sydney for Australia Day (January 26) but don't fancy paying £88 for the Harbour Bridge climb (www.bridgeclimb.com), you could always try the more budget-friendly alternative - the Harbour Bridge pylon lookout for £5 (www.pylonlookout.com.au). It's not as high as the middle span, but at 87m (260ft) above the harbour you still get a good view.

High notes

James Blunt will be headlining the Barbados Jazz Festival (www.barbadosjazzfestival.com), which starts on Monday. Look out in OK! and Heat next week for pics of Mr B cavorting in the Caribbean waves in teeny-weeny, skin-tight Speedos - well, we're assuming that's how he hits those high notes. Harlequin Holidays (0845 2773398, www.harlequinholidays.com) has availability next week and can arrange seven nights (room only) at Settlers Beach from £1,195pp, including Gatwick flights and transfers.

Site of the week

www.snow-forecast.com

No prizes for guessing what this site does. You can subscribe (£3.95 a month), which gives more in-depth analaysis, but the free six-day forecast for more than 2,000 resorts worldwide, along with piste maps, will satisfy most people. Last-minute skiers will like the “snowfinder” button for locations of imminent dumps, and there are resort reviews, too.

READ

Paris Métro Style by Mark Ovenden

Art Nouveau entrances, Art Deco signs, and that nostalgic scorched-rubber smell make getting around Paris by Métro a joy for visitors. This highly illustrated, beautiful book charts the underground system's 100-year-plus history, including the evolution of the distinctive Métro map, and colourful examples of unofficial maps produced by shops and banks.

£29.95, www.capitaltransport.com

WATCH

Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)

The splashy romance that launched half a century of mini-breaks to Rome, and swarms of hopefuls tossing coins and making wishes at the Trevi fountain.

Channel 4, Monday, 1.35pm

PACK

T-Mobile G1

Along with GPS and Google maps, this new mobile gives you pop-up information on tourist attractions simply by pointing the camera. The ShopSavvy device tells you where to buy your souvenirs for less. Great for UK holidays, but beware the cost if you use it abroad. Free phone with £30-a-month contract, www.t-mobile.co.uk

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