Europe offers tourists the same rewards but with new coronavirus customs to navigate

I’m in the Italian resort of Grado, where it’s the usual picture of indulgence. Yet venture out of the hotel and you discover many differences, writes Simon Calder

Masks are mandatory in public spaces in many countries (Reuters)

The future is a foreign country. They do things differently here. The Adriatic is sparkling, the sky above it clear. The horizon ripples with the foothills of the Dolomites and the urban punctuation of Trieste in Italy and Piran in Slovenia.

I have the good fortune to be in the Italian resort of Grado – another fragment of empire, now devoted to tourism – and specifically beside the rooftop pool of an Art Deco palace that has seen better days.

From the top of the Grand Hotel Astoria, the summer of 2020 looks the usual picture of indulgence, with bathers and boats larking around in the sea and the streets lined with cafes whose tables spill out haphazardly.