My life in travel: Alan Cumming

'I don't think I ever arrive; life is a constant journey'

(Getty Images)

First holiday memory?

A rainy caravan site in Dunbar, Scotland with my mum, dad and brother.

Best holiday?

Taking time off to go to my house in the Catskills, in upstate New York. I love the fact that I can get completely away from it all and no matter how long I'm there, I come back rejuvenated. The longer I stay, the less I want to leave.

Favourite place in the British Isles?

Kyle of Lochalsh, on the west coast of Scotland, because it's breathtakingly beautiful. I can even forget about the midges.

What have you learnt from your travels?

That everyone is really the same, they just talk funny.

Ideal travelling companion?

My husband, because he's always up for an adventure.

Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?

I like to dabble in all three. You should never say never, and always be open to new experiences.

Greatest travel luxury?

Flying first-class is great: Virgin Upper Class is amazing because they give you manicures, and on Cathay Pacific they tuck you in when they make up your bed. I also love Silverjet because the whole plane is business class, so you don't have to feel ashamed as the economy passengers troop past you while you're slugging back champagne!

Holiday reading?

It's usually scripts, because being on holiday tends to mean that I am about to start a new project. However, I love a good biography of someone fascinating. It's nice to peer into someone else's life.

Where has seduced you?

I could easily live in Barcelona. It's so beautiful and the people are relaxed and sexy.

Is it Better to travel or to arrive?

I don't think I ever arrive; I think of life as a constant journey.

Worst travel experience?

On a United Airlines flight from LA to Sydney. The plane started to reverse from the stand but the jet bridge hadn't been pulled back, so it scraped along the plane and made this awful noise. We had to get off the plane and stay the night at a hideous LAX hotel. It was so late that there was nowhere to eat, and I had to walk three huge blocks at 2am to get to a drive-through burger place. It was hardly the first-class experience I was expecting.

Worst holiday?

It wasn't so much the holiday, but the crazy, angry person I was going out with at the time. We went on a driving holiday around Tuscany and it was a nightmare. I think bad holidays are mostly to do with people, whereas good ones are more to do with the circumstances.

Worst hotel?

A hotel in Cambridge that I stayed in years ago when I was making The Last Romantics for the BBC. They would call up and say, "This is your 6.15am wake-up call" – 15 minutes late. The nuts in the minibar were also well past their sell-by date.

Best hotel?

I love the Chateau Marmont in LA. It almost doesn't feel like a hotel – but more like a really cool person's apartment who has gone away and let you stay in it. I also love Claridge's in London, because it is so old-school and luxurious and not at all stuffy.

Favourite walk/swim/ride/drive?

I love walking along the South Bank in London very late at night, when it's really quiet. All the lights are shining and you can hear the river, and there aren't any crowds to get in your way. I also love driving across the George Washington Bridge, leaving NYC on my way upstate. The city looks stunning and I know I am about to get away from it all for a little bit.

Best meal abroad?

White-pudding suppers from any good chippy in Edinburgh. It sounds shallow, but it's what I miss most about Scotland.

First thing you do when you arrive somewhere new?

Unpack, check out the room service menu, then go out for a little wander.

Dream trip?

I'd love to go on the Trans-Siberian Express. I am obsessed with the idea of taking long train journeys. There's also The Ghan in Australia, that goes from Darwin all the way down to Adelaide. I was so looking forward to doing it, but then my filming schedule changed and I couldn't go.

Favourite city?

New York City. It never fails to surprise and delight me.

Where next?

As far as I know, it goes like this: LA, New York, London, France, Austria, Scotland and then back to New York. That's until July and after that, who knows?

Alan Cumming plays Glitch in 'Tin Man', starting tomorrow at 8pm on the Sci Fi Channel