Travel Agenda: Brighton Festival; coolplaces.co.uk; Villa Armena

Tomorrow: Book now to be at the Brighton Festival (2-31 May). This year's event has been guest directed by Vanessa Redgrave. Highlights include a multi-sensory reworking of the music of Joy Division, the chance to watch Mariella Frostrup film The Book Show, and a talk on "the world's most mysterious continent", Antarctica, with Caroline Lucas MP. (brightonfestival.org).

Next week: The founders of Rough Guides and the Cool Camping series have launched a new website with a list of cool places to visit in Britain and activity ideas, from snorkelling in the Isles of Scilly to unusual art galleries in Cambridge (coolplaces.co.uk).

In the diary: The Villa Armena opens near Siena on 15 April after a €4.5m conversion from a 16th-century Tuscan house to a plush 10-room hotel. Expect an Italian restaurant and gardens, a luxury spa and pool (bit.ly/villaarmena).