Online Travel Vietnam: The London Symphony Orchestra is topping the bill, the Jerusalem Quartet is playing a Shostakovich series, and among the operatic productions are La Clemenza di Tito, Handel’s Acis and Galatea and La Traviata.
Aix-en-Provence for the Festival
The main series of concerts and operas in this first-class music festival doesn't start until July 7, but technically it opens on June 22 with an exhibition of eight short films by the South African artist William Kentridge. I'm including it in the June listing because it's best to book tickets sooner rather than later. The London Symphony Orchestra is topping the bill, the Jerusalem Quartet is playing a Shostakovich series, and among the operatic productions are La Clemenza di Tito, Handel's Acis and Galatea and La Traviata. For online bookings see www.festival-aix.com.
Chicago for the Blues Festival
The Windy City claims this is the world's largest free blues festival and expects more than 500,000 people over the three days at Grant Park. Beginning on June 10, performances from the guitarist Dave Specter and the vocalist Shemekia Copeland, as well as many lesser-known bands, take place on five stages, and many from the audience retreat to downtown bars and clubs for evening and late-night gigs (www.chicagobluesfestival.us).
Hatfield House for history and Henry Moore
Robert Cecil built this splendid red-brick mansion in 1611 to replace an earlier Tudor palace, and it rings with memories of the Royal connections of the Earls of Salisbury.
Many British monarchs have stayed there; Elizabeth I, whose Rainbow portrait is still in the family collection, heard of the death of Mary and her own succession while sitting under an oak tree in the gardens.
As it celebrates its 400th anniversary this summer, the most important royal guests are Henry Moore's seated King and Queen - one of 15 monumental sculptures lent by the Moore Foundation and placed in the formal and woodland gardens in what is the first major exhibition of his work in the grounds of a country house. It's an unqualified success. Until September 30, admission to house and gardens: £18.50 (www.hatfield-house.co.uk).
Hatfield is one of the few stately homes you can visit easily by rail: it is five minutes' walk from Hatfield station, which is barely half an hour from King's Cross.
St Petersburg for the white nights
Henry Moore aficionados have a double reason to head to Russia after visiting Hatfield. First, this is the best time to visit Russia's most beautiful and most cultured city. For most of June and July, it never quite gets dark - and you can easily dance the night away because the sun rises at about two in the morning.
Second, the Hermitage Museum, a world-class collection in its own right, is holding an exhibition, Blitz and Blockade, to coincide with the 70th anniversary of the ending of the Blitz in London and the 70th anniversary of the beginning of the Siege of Leningrad. Moore's sketches of the Stygian half-light in the tube station air-raid shelters have a special resonance at the Hermitage, where thousands sheltered from German shelling in the basements.
Three of Moore's monumental works have also been placed in the courtyard. Blitz and Blockade continues until August 28 (www.henry-moore.org; www.hermitagemuseum.org).
Norway for the midnight sun
For a fully-fledged experience of the midnight sun, you need to head farther north. The Norwegian city of Tromsø is a good base, with access to the spectacular Arctic coastal landscape. You can try walking or glacier climbing in the Lyngen Alps or take a boat trip out to the island of Ryøya, with its coral shoreline, sea eagles, seals and dolphins. If you can't make it to Norway, an exhibition at the National Gallery in London of Norwegian landscapes will give a taste of what you are missing. (Forest, Rocks, Torrents, June 22-September 18, admission free, www.nationalgallery.org.uk).
Stonehenge for the summer solstice
The earliest the sun rises in England is 4.52am on June 21, and the most popular place to see it is at Stonehenge in Wiltshire. After years of fighting off the Druids, English Heritage now provides "managed open access" to the stones. Car parks open at 7pm on June 20 (sunset is at 9.26pm); the site closes again at 8am the next day. For details, see www.english-heritage.org.uk.
Belfast for the Telegraph Hay Festival
The Telegraph Hay Festival Belfast takes place yearly during the same dates as the Hay Festival in Wales (May 26-June 5), and brings a selection of highlights from the programme in Wales to Northern Ireland. Events in 2011 will be announced on the website shortly (01497 822 620; www.hayfestival.com).
Florence for art history
Two highly contrasting exhibitions bring an extra dimension to a weekend break in Florence this June.
The Palazzo Strozzi, which has curated some highly original exhibitions recently, is exploring the "origins of modern art" with works by the Spanish avant-garde of the early 20th century: Picasso (pre-Cubism), Miró and Dalí (pre-surrealism) (www.palazzostrozzi.org, until July 17). On June 14, the Uffizi Gallery opens an exhibition celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of Giorgio Vasari (1511-1574) and his patron Cosimo, the Medici duke who built the Uffizi in 1559. Vasari, the Uffizi and the Duke runs until October 30 (www.polomuseale.firenze.it).
Hong Kong for the Dragon Boat Festival
Oxford and Cambridge have a lot to learn. For a real rowing spectacular, come to Hong Kong: colour, drama, flags, costumes, on-board drummers, and rice-dumpling parties. June 6 sees the starting volleys in Sha Tin, Stanley and several outlying islands. The main event, however, is the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Carnival from June 17-19, which features the International Dragon Boat Races at the Tsim Sha Tsui East Promenade at Victoria Harbour (www.discoverhongkong.com/uk).
England for the Roses
England's rose gardens are at their best this month and many have special events and weekends to celebrate. I have picked three of the best. Mottisfont Abbey Garden, near Romsey, Hampshire (01794 340 757; www.nationaltrust.org.uk), is a 12th-century priory housing the national collection of old-fashioned roses.
On June 13 and 14 it has a "Summer with Roses Photography Trail", offering a day of photography tuition (beginners and improvers welcome) including brunch at £75 (booking essential on 01794 344020). RHS Garden Hyde Hall near Chelmsford (0845 6121 253; www.rhs.org.uk) is holding a "Rose Weekend" on June 18 and 19 with experts on hand to advise on all aspects of growing and arranging.
Normal garden admission of £7 applies; booking not required. Finally, Pashley Manor near Wadhurst, East Sussex (01580 200 888; www.pashleymanorgardens.com), has a "Rose Weekend" from June 17-19). The normal admission price of £8.50 applies. More than 90 different varieties of roses will be on display, including two new varieties, Highgrove and Leah Tutu.
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