Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast

What makes a great city? The man who knows is top geographer David Gilbert, Professor of Urban and Historical Geography at The Royal Holloway Centre for the GeoHumanities. He tells me the key virtues of cities, and kindly takes part in a quickfire round in which he has less than a second to decide whether a city is great or not. You may be surprised by some of his answers ...This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Captain David Sanders, who has a long and distinguished career in aviation, tells me how passengers could help themselves by turning up on time and not drinking to excess; the joys of flying; and the most beautiful flightpaths.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

It's Travel Desk Tuesday, and cruise writer Marc Shoffman is bringing me up to speed on the joys of river cruising – in Europe and beyond.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

Sharon Cleator has been travelling to the lovely south coast of Portugal for 40 years. She knows the Algarve like the back of her hand, and now offers a travel concierge service that you can track down online at Sharon’s SolutionsThis podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

The Trevi fountain in the Italian capital has been overrun by tourists for many years, and now the Roman authorities are seeking to impose some order. But top Rome cultural guide James Hill is unimpressed.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In the second part of my conversation with Buenos Aires local Stephen Melton, we discuss the highlights of Argentina beyond the capital.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

In the beautiful wrought-iron market of San Telmo in Buenos Aires, British teacher and all-round Latin legend Stephen Melton has been telling me about the Argentinian capital – what to see, and what to watch out for.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

That’s the title of a challenging event being organised by campaigning group Flight Free UK. Director Anna Hughes talks to me about exploring Europe by rail, bus and ferry rather than taking to the skies – ahead of an online event on Thursday 5 February that anyone can attend.https://www.tickettailor.com/events/flightfreeukThis podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.

The first UK tour operator to China in the 1970s was Regent Holidays. Neil Taylor, now a tour leader and travel guide writer, was the man behind the trips behind the "Bamboo Curtain". He contrasts then with now, and offers advice for anyone seeking to take advantage of the new visa-free status of British holidaymakers.This podcast is free, as is Independent Travel's weekly newsletter. Sign up here to get it delivered to your inbox.