Sarah Jessica Parker

Sex and the City actress and style icon Sarah Jessica Parker talks travel. Photo: Rex Features

“THERE IS THIS MISCONCEPTION ABOUT me that I am like one of those New Yorkers who would never leave the city, probably from my role in Sex and the City. Nothing is further from the truth. I love travelling, and I am so grateful that a big part of my job involves this. Luckily, my husband also loves travelling, so we like to visit new and different places as much as possible as a family.

“London has been a city I have dreamed about since I was a child. Being from the US, it was a fantasy city for me, with all its history. I had a very romantic view when I was growing up. Now I often come to London for film premieres and work commitments, and my view has not changed. It’s a fantastic town.

“My family visit me on set when they can now, but last year when I was filming in Morocco my two girls were just six months old and too young, so I could not really bring them along. It is very tough in my job to be a mother too, and to have to spend long periods away from home filming – but as an actress I have to sometimes.

“It may sound like a real cliché, but I am such an enthusiastic traveller that every time I see a new destination I think it’s the most beautiful place on Earth and I won’t see anything more beautiful again. For instance, a few years back my husband Matthew and I did a two-week trip to France by car, travelling from north to south before going down to Rome. The landscape was so different, and I really thought I was not going to see anything more fascinating. Then Matthew told me: ‘Wait until we get to Rome.’ And he was right. The city blew me away; the historical centre is so monumental on one level, but on another it feels like you are in a small village with the little streets and their charming, characterful shops and restaurants.

“If we all travel together, I try to avoid modern communication as much as possible. Once my mobile didn’t work for two weeks in Europe and I was perfectly fine. That’s the point of holidays right, getting away from it all!”

INTERVIEW BY: FRANCESCA LOMBARDO

SARAH JESSICA PARKER’S LATEST FILM, DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE MORGANS?, IS OUT IN CINEMAS NOW. SEX AND THE CITY 2 WILL BE OUT IN MAY.

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