olive travels: where to visit in July

Plenty of country pubs and restaurants with rooms are nestled into Hampshire’s villages of red-brick and thatched cottages. Within 30 minutes’ drive of Hambledon vineyard, Bel & the Dragon in Kingsclere (from £115 per night, check availability at booking.com) manages to feature both a gastro dining room and the feel of an authentic local pub, with plenty of Hampshire ales on draught. Or Whitchurch’s quintessential country pub, Bourne Valley Inn (from £85 per night, check availability at booking.com), boasts nine elegantly decorated rooms and a garden that runs down to the River Test, home to wild trout. Other excellent lunch options range from modern flourishes on traditional pub food at village pub The Purefoy Arms, to Skye Gyngell’s elegantly simple seasonal dishes on the terrace of perfectly manicured estate, Heckfield Place (from £350 per night, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com).

Fresh produce and pale rosé in Provence

Hop on the Eurostar from King's Cross St Pancras and ride it all the way down to Provence, through miles of lavender fields in glorious purple bloom and rows of vines ripening in the southern French sun. Multicultural coastal city, Marseille, makes an excellent first stop for eclectic dining experiences, from calamari with Espelette pepper at lively seafood joint La Boîte à Sardine, to pistou soup with courgette flowers at contemporary bistro Madame Jeanne and Patisserie Sylvain Depuichaffray's green tea and strawberry mille-feuille. Bask in the early evening sun with an apéro (pair pastis with spiced chickpea fritters) on the pavement of Café de l’Abbaye, perched above the Vieux Port.

Drive further into the countryside to take in July’s heady aromas of herbs and abundant fresh fruit and veg piled high on market stalls in tiny, honey-hued villages. Base yourself at La Bastide de Gordes, a five-star hotel built into the ancient ramparts on the side of the gorge in dramatic, cliff-top town Gordes. Book a table beneath The Orangery's leafy awning for an elegant Sunday brunch with vast views of the Luberon Valley’s vineyards. Make the most of the Eurostar baggage allowance and stock up on dry and floral viogniers, crunchy, fruity cabernet sauvignon and iconic pale rosé from smart boutique vineyard La Citadelle.

Alfresco dining in Ljubljana

Slovenia’s bike-friendly capital city comes alive in the summer, with restaurant and café terraces spilling onto the embankments of the Ljubljanica river. Taste through Šuklje's 200-strong list of Slovenian wines, sip on the country’s best-loved brews at contemporary pub Lajbah, and tuck into brunch eggs and wild asparagus fritters at EK Bistro, complete with a backdrop of forest-blanketed hills. The city’s cobbled streets are also home to plenty of sun traps – Vigò churns gelato to rival that of neighbouring Italy, sycamore trees provide pleasant shade to enjoy TaBar’s Slovenian tapas and orange wines, and the perch outside funky hole-in-the-wall coffee shop, Črno Zrno, is an ideal people-watching spot for a cold brew.

Every Friday in July (and throughout the summer), Pogačar Square comes to life as the city’s Open Kitchen Market. There’s a festival atmosphere beneath the shadows of the green-domed Ljubljana Cathedral, and all manner of vendors, from farms to gourmet restaurants, sell dishes and drinks for visitors to graze on. Sample vibrant pumpkin seed oil and Broken Bones gin (distilled with linden flowers and rosehip from Slovenia’s Karst region), or tuck into dishes from the country’s top restaurants – Gostilna Mihovec, Vander and JB Restaurant.

Hot chicken, biscuits and fireworks in Nashville

Visit Nashville during 4 July celebrations to soak up the festive atmosphere. Tennessee's capital hosts a spectacular firework display that's free for the public to attend (check out the best viewing spots here), accompanied by live music, baseball games and food trucks. Get a slice of Music City's artist talent while hopping round some of the best restaurants in town. There's a flourishing Japanese food scene, with upmarket Locust featuring in New York Times's best restaurant list last year. Also on the list is Audrey, a unique southern-style restaurant inspired by the Appalachian roots of chef-owner Sean Brock, who also runs ingredient-led tasting menu experience, June, and elegant American fine dining restaurant, The Continental. Luxury hotels are popping up all over, with branches of Four Seasons, The Ritz and Conrad in the centre. Or opt for boutique hotel, Bobby, where you can duck in to the onsite bar and feel the energy of the city. Every corner pulses with live music and street food – tuck into The Grilled Cheeserie’s famous cheese toasties or sample from the eclectic range of cuisines at Assembly Food Hall in downtown Nashville. Biscuit Love is where to head for buttermilk biscuits topped with the likes of spicy fried chicken, local sausage gravy or berries and butter toffee syrup. Before you leave, Nashville hot chicken is a must. Get it at Hattie B's, where the extra brave dare to try the ‘shut the cluck up!!!’ spice level.