Whether you’re taking a spa break, or spicing up your love life, Ryanair fl ies to a host of kicking destinations, so you can start trading places right now, says Mike Peake

When the Wright brothers fl ew their plane for the fi rst time back in 1903, their only dream was to get to their neighbour’s fi eld quickly so they could ask him to keep the noise down. Crossing continents, aerial transport for all and far-fl ung adventures on foreign shores were the last thing on their mind – it took a war for people to realise that their rickety wooden birds could actually go places. Fast-forward a century, and multi-million pound jets offer some of the most sophisticated technology on the planet, providing affordable travel to just about anywhere within anyone’s grasp.

And travel means opportunity – the chance to swap one set of circumstances for another. With this in mind, and faintly remembering an old British TV show called Swap Shop from the 1970s, we’ve scoured the Ryanair fl ight schedule and started doing some trades of our own. If you want that special trip, here’s how.

GOT: Girlfriend
WANT: KINKY WEEKEND

Well, there’s kinky and there’s kinky. And you have to ask yourself: “Is Amsterdam’s red light district appropriate material for an infl ight magazine?” A little less in-your-face is Seville, frequently touted as Spain’s sexiest city – imbued with passion and fl amenco dancing and just the spot to get your temperature rising. Take in a bullfi ght if you’re so inclined – the primal, pulsating atmosphere may just tip you both over the edge, as could the heat, which can reach 50ºC at the height of summer. Barcelona always scores highly on lists of Euro sexy cities, as do more predictable perennials like Paris and Rome.

But, if it’s privacy you’re looking for, you can’t beat an eye-poppingly cool hotel room with a view; and the olde-worlde splendour of the Four Seasons Hotel Gresham Palace in Budapest (www.fourseasons.com/budapest) is just the ticket. Overlooking the city, the Danube and the hills of Buda, it’s the ideal spot to tuck yourself away for two nights – plus it comes complete with sophisticated piano bar, Italian restaurant and infi nity pool. Prices from €270 a night, with breakfast.

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