Horatio Nelson married a local widow here in some haste in 1799

Horatio Nelson married a local widow here in some haste in 1799, and their marriage certificate is displayed in St John's Figtree Anglican Church, built in 1860. Alexander Hamilton, George Wa shington's first secretary of the Treasury, was born here in 1778 - the site now turned into a museum. Heavy cannon and overgrown ruins, relics left by the British, Spanish, Dutch and French who coveted the island's strategic position, litter the coast.Favourite Hotels? The tiny, historic Nisbet Plantation, prices from £1,265 for a week, half board; the new Four Seasons (bristling with activities), from £1,130 but no meals, both including air fares.Elegant Resorts: 01244 329671ISLE OF SPICES Zanzibar, the Isle of Spices, is one of Abercrombie & Kent's new island destinations, usually combined with a wildlife safari holiday in Kenya or Tanzania. In the sometimes dusty and ramshackle capital, Zanzibar Town, the most exotic spot to stay is the Stone Town, the old Arab quarter, a place of narrow alleys and overhanging balconies, where market stalls offer silver jewellery, copper pots and carved teak chests.

Two small hotels there have been converted from original Zanzibar houses,the Dhow Palace and Tembo House on the waterfront.Other highlights incude a spice tour (best at harvest time), the Jozani Forest, last habitat of the rare red Collobus monkey, the fishing village at Nungwi, and the Mangapwani slave caves where the dreadful trade continued after it had been declared illegal. Two weeks, including a week's safari, from £1,599 (most meals). For independent travellers, return flights cost from £519 from STA.Abercrombie & Kent: 0171-730 7795; STA: 0171-937 9962GREEK DELIGHTS Unusual properties on off-the-beaten-track Greek islands, ranging from studios, town houses and country cottages to castles, are a feature of the small, family-run Greek Islands Club. And on each island, activities such as olive harvesting, walking and learning about the local cuisine can be arranged. On Corfu, Petros House is in a beautiful hamlet of old Venetian houses, with panoramic views; it has been carefully renovated by its owner to combine modern comfort with traditional styles, and costs £396 for each of six people per week, including air fare.

For those seeking character rather than luxury, the Gothic-style castle on Skopelos has no electricity, though there are gas and oil lamps, a gas-powered fridge and cooler, and it affords stupendous views from its battlements. The castle's secluded location will delight lovers of peace and quiet. Price £512 each for a week, for four people, including fares.Greek Islands Club: 01932 220477WHALES TO WINE-MAKING The tour operator Island Holidays offers a range of special-interest holidays in its collection of islands. There is a week's tour exploring the heritage, scenery and birdlife of the Faroes; another looking at the natural history ofShetland or Orkney; whale watching in the Inner Hebrides; birdwatching in Cuba; grape harvesting (and even treading ) in the Azores; study of traditional crafts in Crete; and painting in Madeira Expert tutors accompany small groups. Prices are fully inclusive; a week's tutored painting in Madeira costs £780.Island Holidays: 01764 670107Look and learnThe specialist company Ace offers a wide range of study tours for those who want to holiday in earnest.How about a seven-day trip to the Danish island of Bornholm, midway between Sweden and Germany, plus an extra night in Copenhagen? Bornholm, with its granite cliffs, wide beaches, runic stones, and its fortified Romanesque church with towers to help to fight off invaders, is a microcosm of Scandinavia.

The capital, Ronne, even has a museum with a large collection of locally made grandfather clocks.Accommodation is in the small town of Svaneke - where the water tower was designed by the architect of the Sydney Opera House - on a half-board basis, and the tour costs £855 including flights.The future of the English country home is studied under the direction of Francis Cheetham on a tour based at the Hotel Nelson in Norwich. At Holkham Hall, visitors will examine the place of the country house as part of an estate, while at Langley Park near Loddon, which has been converted to a school, the topic will be the changing role of some of the properties.The cost of this three-day tour is £195, including half-board hotel accommodation, all entrances and services of lecturer.There is a wide choice of study tours, both in this country and abroad.Ace: 0223 835055Thailand by ox cartThe culture and traditions of indigenous hill tribes in Northern Thailand are the subject of the anthropologist John Davies's tours, which aim to bring visitors close to the people and the countryside The aim is to talk to the people, not to gawp at them. Mr Davies takes groups of eight guests to visit families, to learn how batik is made, to have tea with a witch doctor and to travel by ox cart over the mountains. Tourists stay in a simple, traditionally styled guest house in Lisv.The two-day Chiang Mai Safari costs £175, the Spirit of Northern Thailand tour £290, both departing from Chiang Mai. These tours can be combined with other beach and city holidays in Thailand.Asia World: 01932 820050Discover AndaluciaThis has been declared The Year of Granada - the Andalucian Legacy, and the city is investing £22 million to promote cultural tourism in Granada and other provinces within Andalucia.

Ten extensive exhibitions on the Moorish influence on the region are planned, to run between April and July. Twelve commemorative routes are planned, enabling the traveller to retrace the steps of the Moors and Arabs who left their marks centuries ago.The route of Leon el Africano, from Almeria to Granada, is one of the oldest of the Moors, and takes in the Marquesado de Canete and Guadix, two of the strongholds which were eventually surrendered to the Catholica monarchs during the reconquest. The route of the Ibn Al Jatib, from Murcia to Granada, was created in 1347 by the Arab vizier and writer, and takes in Lorca, Velez Rubio, Albox, Baza and Guadix, all of which boast mportant Arab monuments.Spanish National Tourist Office: 0171-499 0901Glories of PersiaSwan Hellenic's Art, Treasure and Natural History Tours programme offers visitors to Iran a dazzling architectural itinerary, from the tomb of the great Cyrus at Pasargadae, to the ruins of the sculptured palace built by Darius and Xerxes and burnt by Alexander the Great.Nearby, cut into the cliff at Naqshi-i-Rustam, are the tombs of Persian kings who dominated western Asia for 3,000 years. The 16-day tour costs £2,295.Other new long-haul destinations include Burma and Ghana, natural history tours to Uganda, and a bird-watching tour to Sri Lanka.Nearer home, a new eight-day Auvergne tour includes visits to Lyon, Le-Puy-En Velay, Clermont Ferrand and Riom, a judicial centre built in black volcanic rock £1,175). Tours are almost fully inclusive, and parties are accompanied by an escort and expert guest lecturer.Swan Hellenic: 0171-800 2300Medici magnificenceThe art tours from Marin Randall Travel include a seven-day exploration of the major Medici villas and gardens in Tuscany, accompanied by specialist lecturer Dr Anabel Thomas. Accommodation is at the four-star Paggeria Medicca, a 17th-century building, once part of the adjacent Medici Villa Artimino. Dates are from 28 September to 4 October, and the tour costs £985 with flights, £845 without.In Holland, Caroline Knight leads a five-day exploration of lesser-known country houses and gardens, from base at the four-star Berghotel on the outskirts of Amersfoort.