Simon Busch
Journalist, editor and broadcaster
Writer on travel, architecture, social affairs and the arts for the Independent, Financial Times, Guardian, BuzzFeed, the BBC and CNN
BBC
From Our Own Correspondent - Evacuation from Gaza - BBC Sounds
Popular tourist cities around the world are keeping a watchful eye on Venice’s experimental access fee – a ticket into the city that’s meant to deter day-trippers. But this new initiative is being met with mixed reviews by locals, as Simon Busch discovered – my latest piece for the venerable BBC World Service and Radio 4 From Our Own Correspondent programme (last segment).
The Financial Times
‘We market ourselves on dating apps, surely we can sell our own houses’
No estate agent? No estate agent fee . . . with the current challenging landscape for selling a flat, one frustrated homeowner took matters into his own hands
BBC
The Ayatollah and Israel
My piece for the BBC's From Our Own Correspondent programme on the 50th anniversary of Portugal's Carnation Revolution. I speak to some of the brave former resistance members about their struggles against the dictatorship, the torture they suffered and what their fight means for Portuguese society
discover.silversea.com
Iceland’s Amazing Landscapes: Touring the Land of Trolls and Tolkien
Northern Europe
It’s hard to think of a country in which it’s easier to believe in myths than Iceland. After all, the Nordic country’s landscape is shaped by glaciers, lava fields, geysers and rivers whose banks forever shift and slide. It even inspired writer J.R.R. Tolkien to create the fantastical territory of Middle Earth, which features in his widely admired novels.
Perhaps Iceland’s geographical location can be credited for both its starkly beautiful terrain and the folklore woven aroun...
Ebookers
10 of the world’s greatest travel books
“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page,” said Saint Augustine.
BBC
Malaysia's Political Drama
Broadcast on post-Communist fashion for BBC ‘From Our Own Correspondent’
dailymail.co.uk
A dishy Greek retreat! Walk off the culinary delights of Sifnos along its dreamy trails
The island, one of the triumphs of the Cyclades, has for years been a refuge for pleasure-seekers. My sister is one of them...
blog.atairbnb.com
Force of nature: discovering the Azores
Simon Busch on a region of Portugal – in the middle of the Atlantic – where the islanders dwell in dormant volcanoes, the pineapples are the sweetest on the planet and locals in the capital are fashioning their own hyper-creative downtown before your very eyes
loveexploring.com
6 things Istanbul does better than anywhere else
Simon Busch on fresh-fish burgers on the banks of the Bosphorus, one very old cistern and a heavenly dessert...
Ebookers
12 tips to fake travel pics shot by a pro
Here’s how to keep your head above the water of photographic mediocrity and impress friends, family and – perhaps most importantly – yourself with creative shots of this incredible world.
The Independent
Tbilisi: What to do on a weekend break to Georgia's capital
This under-the-radar Caucasus jewel just got more accessible, says Simon Busch – here's how to make the most of every minute there
Ebookers
Tbilisi is sizzling right now: 8 reasons to visit the Rome of the Caucasus
Independent travellers have long been in the know, keeping the arty, tasty, cheap and – shall we say – liquid pleasures of Georgia’s capital to themselves. But with direct Georgian Airways flights from London to Tbilisi launching last year, this Caucasus jewel has become a lot more accessible.
Ebookers
10 ways to be a smarter solo traveller
How to make the experiment of single travel all about joy and personal enrichment, rather than loneliness or risk.
travelsupermarket.com
North Cyprus: The Med's last unspoiled paradise?
Simon Busch explores one of the few places in the Mediterranean to remain fairly untouched by rampant tourism… so far