Return home from your travels with more than great memories – use your time away to learn a skill, develop new interests or explore fresh perspectives on life.

The world’s top chefs share their culinary secrets in classes that are both informative and fun. The renowned schools of cookery at Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons, Villa San Michele and Sazon at Casa de Sierra Nevada, impart gems of gastronomic wizardry alongside ample opportunities to savour local ingredients and matching wines.

What could more inspiring for lovers of fine wines than to discover the finer points of France’s greatest vintages while travelling through vineyards with grapes ripening all around. As the luxury barge Napoleon cruises through Burgundy, a resident expert introduces the region’s 33 Grand Crus, with stops at celebrated chateaux and cellars along the way.

Exceptional artworks decorate the walls of many hotels: at Peru’s Hotel Monasterio, for instance, the fascinating world of Cuscanian paintings awaits discovery. Or learn how to create artworks of your own: Ubud Hanging Gardens resident artist has a wealth of inspirational ideas while Reid’s Palace offers botanical masterclasses to capture the island’s fabulous flora in watercolours. 

Learn to sail at Maryland’s Inn at Perry Cabin or perfect your swing at Keswick Hall’s renowned golf club. Stay on the ball with La Residencia’s tennis ace or learn to scuba dive with experts at La Samanna. Going on holiday can offer the chance to work out with the professionals – and return home raring to go.

Discover the art of wellbeing in surroundings that cannot fail to calm the spirit. Learn how to pamper your partner with a massage class for two at La Résidence Phou Vao, Laos. Maroma Resort and Spa teaches yoga on a tower beside the beach while tai chi takes place in the verdant gardens of Jimbaran Puri Bali.

Support the local community and enrich your holiday experience by joining the initiatives taken by every Orient-Express property to help the people and landscapes that surround it. Whether donating equipment to a school in Burma, contributing to a training programme for disadvantaged youngsters in St Petersburg or getting involved in projects to promote traditional crafts in Mexico, add an extra dimension to your stay - and make a positive impact on the destination.