'And that’s why you shouldn’t drink, boys and girls': 24 of the best celebrity travel quotes from 2017
We round up the most memorable stories and moments from celebrities' travels this year.
1. Ricky Wilson
I once checked into a Paris hotel around midnight, but was checking out at 6am. In my room, they left me a bottle of champagne. I only had hand-luggage, so I couldn’t bring it with me.
So instead, I got into the shower, sprayed it all over myself, and had one glass before going straight to bed. It fulfilled a life-long dream of mine.
Read the full interview with Ricky Wilson
2. Bear Grylls
Salmon cooked over a camp fire with President Obama in Alaska; a special moment for me. I also have a recipe for Everest stew. On the British Everest expedition I was part of some years back, we became all too familiar with this sort of stew-cum-risotto. It was a dish we ate almost solidly for three months. One yak makes 90 stews.
It was -4F (-20C) outside, so you’d just leave a leg outside the tent and it would freeze. It wasn’t a bad dish actually.
Read the full interview with Bear Grylls
3. Julia Stiles
Exercise and sunshine help your body clock adapt, as does adjusting your eat/sleep schedule to that of your destination in advance. But Coca-Cola also helps; it’s hydrating, and the sugar and the caffeine pep you up after a long flight.
Read the full interview with Julia Stiles
4. Katherine Jenkins
Swimming with sharks in South Africa had never appealed and I was quite fearful. But one of the girls in my group wanted to do it. It had been her lifelong dream, so I joined her.
When we got into the cages, she was really nervous and froze whereas I had a great time. It was amazing how close up you could get to the sharks.
Read the full interview with Katherine Jenkins
5. Tinie Tempah
My parents are from Nigeria, they had me in London, and I really wanted to go to Africa. I had been to South Africa and Kenya and then I read about Cape Verde. I went and fell in love with the place. They have a mantra, printed on the T-shirts and hats – “No stress”. And there is no stress there.
Read the full interview with Tinie Tempah
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6. Jason Flemyng
I tell my kids the scars across my back are from when I was attacked by a shark. The truth is I was paralytic after a night out drinking with Johnny Depp while filming From Hell in Prague. I woke up to something like the bloody severed horse head scene in The Godfather. I’d collapsed through the glass table and passed out.
There was so much blood I had to pay for a new mattress. And that’s why you shouldn’t drink, boys and girls.
Read the full interview with Jason Flemyng
7. Eleanor Tomlinson
Bristol has such a creative vibe, good nightlife, and so much culture. Sergio’s in Bristol is a cute and romantic Italian restaurant and one of my favourites. Both London and New York are brilliant for theatre. For clubs, it has to be Bristol.
Read the full interview with Eleanor Tomlinson
8. Melanie C
There was something so warm and reassuring about Nelson Mandela when we met back in 1997. He put everyone at ease and the funniest thing of all was his quote that meeting us was one of the best days of his life. I suspect that was just a little bit tongue-in-cheek.
Read the full interview with Melanie C
9. Iwan Rheon
It’s a bit weird and OCD but whenever I fly I have to be wearing something red. My girlfriend also tucks little notes into my suitcase saying, “Good luck when you fly”, so I never take them out.
I don’t want to change the rules, otherwise something terrible might happen.
Read the full interview with Iwan Rheon
10. Chris Hadfield
The deep trench in the ocean floor called the Tongue of the Ocean, which comes between the islands, is the most beautiful deep indigo colour.
Read the full interview with Chris Hadfield
11. Alessandra Ambrosio
I need the sunshine ocean for a perfect holiday in places like Florianópolis, a beautiful island in the south of Brazil, where I have a summer house. My entire family congregates there for the holidays.
Read the full interview with Alessandra Ambrosio
12. Irvine Welsh
When I was about 17, I went to Benidorm with a bunch of 20 guys and it was a completely crazy, debauched holiday. It was a sort of “idiots abroad”-type trip with a lot of drinking and partying. I’m surprised we came back alive!
Read the full interview with Irvine Welsh
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13. Tori Amos
...driving along the Rio Grande river from Santa Fe in New Mexico. I love the south-west of America, especially the Arizona and New Mexico area. I also love Hawaii - it has a spiritual feel. The Big Island is believed to the home of Pele, the goddess of the volcanoes, and I’ve always had a soft spot for the island.
Read the full interview with Tori Amos
14. Twiggy
I was surprised by Berlin when I visited a few years ago to do a German TV show. It has such a buzz – the arts scene is enormous and amazing.
Read the full interview with Twiggy
15. Newton Faulkner
It sits in the middle of the sea, called the Pelican Bar. It’s unbelievably peaceful, surrounded by crystal blue waters and you can only just about see the land from the bar.
It's a far cry from where I live - the cultural desert of east London that is Bow, where I have to get on a train to get a proper cup of coffee.
Read the full interview with Newton Faulkner
16. Dougray Scott
Bulgaria as a whole is still below the tourist radar. But the architecture, art galleries and museums are fantastic. I took my son Milo and he was enthralled by the stuffed animals in one of the galleries.
Read the full interview with Dougray Scott
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17. Tom Aikens
...like when I ran for days in 45C (113F) heat through the Sahara Desert for the Marathon des Sables – the “ultra-marathon” [the equivalent of about six marathons] in Morocco. But seeing the beautiful desert landscape was really special, especially at night when the sky was lit by shooting stars.
Read the full interview with Tom Aikens
18. Don McCullin
I was once flown to the Hotel du Cap in Antibes on the French Riviera with some other famous photographers – but it was so luxurious that I actually threw up. I just couldn’t handle all the rich French cuisine and champagne. But my favourite city is Kolkata.
It's a city of chalk and cheese where the drama of survival is still played out before your eyes. I used to like New York for the same reason, but it has been tidied up and sanitised and has lost a lot of its edge.
Read the full interview with Don McCullin
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19. Victoria Pendleton
In Costa Rica I saw how the world would have been if we hadn’t ruined it. The protected Nosara beach there was truly a sight to behold – totally unspoilt with only trees, shrubs and wildlife, and the water warm with bright-green waves.
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Read the full interview with Victoria Pendleton
20. Jeffrey Archer
I travelled with Margaret Thatcher on a tour of Japan, just after she’d resigned, which was a terrific fortnight of speeches, visiting parliament and the emperor - she was on top form.
One night I prepared her room at the Imperial Hotel to make sure everything was just the way she liked it, with the minibar stocked with her favourite whisky, before she arrives after a full day’s work on the tour. But when she came in and slumped down into a chair, rather than request her usual whisky, she said: “I’ll have a double gin and tonic.” That was ‘very Margaret’ - she loved to tease you.
Read the full interview with Jeffrey Archer
21. Jessica Ennis-Hill
It has the most beautiful scenery, with lots of lovely hills, as does Lake Garda in Italy.
Read the full interview with Jessica Ennis-Hill
22. Hugh Dennis
...where you’ll see these reserved polite locals who then go bonkers on rum. Earlier this year I also did a car rally in the Japanese Highlands from Fukuoka, on Kyushu island, down to Kyoto, which was a beautiful contrast to the bright lights and consumerism of Tokyo.
Read the full interview with Hugh Dennis
23. Lee Child
The views of the Wyoming mountains are great, but the total emptiness of it is hard to fathom. You could fit the whole of the UK into it, but it has only the population of Leicester.
Read the full interview with Lee Child
24. Karren Brady
We stayed at the Le Touessrok in Mauritius about 10 years ago, which was the best family holiday we’ve ever had. I actually cried when I left. The service, the food and the weather were fantastic and I loved spending quality time with my family.