\n By Saga Magazine | Published – 17 Jun 2026
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Dame Elaine Paige is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest singers in musical theatre history. She created the role of Evita in 1978 and went on to sing Memory in the first production of Cats before also appearing in Anything Goes, Sunset Boulevard and Piaf.<\/p>\n
She lives in central London, plays a lot of tennis and presents a weekly show on Radio 2.<\/p>\n
From Rome\u2019s timeless beauty to six-week cruises across the Pacific, Elaine\u2019s travels span the globe \u2013 and come with a few hard-earned lessons along the way.<\/p>\n
What is your favourite city to visit?<\/p>\n
Rome. I\u2019ve been there many times, first with my parents Eric and Irene when I was 17 years old. It never ceases to amaze and knock me sideways. There is so much to see of great significance, and oh, the beauty of the place! <\/p>\n
I was there last May to celebrate my friend Rick\u2019s 80th birthday with a fabulous luncheon party at the Mirabelle Restaurant on the seventh floor of the Hotel Splendide Royal. Splendide it was! Not only is the food out of this world, but there are the most extraordinary views across the Villa Medici.<\/p>\n
Rome has so much history, all the pasta you might want and men who still admire you. One still feels seen! Once I was on the Spanish Steps in a beautiful white silk blouse. My boyfriend bought me an ice cream cone. As we descended the steps, I took a lick and the ice cream fell all over the front of my new blouse! Embarrassing.<\/p>\n
I was lucky enough another time to be able to take a private tour of the Vatican. I saw the Pope\u2019s private chapel, with a secret door for when the lift transports him there. The colours of pale blue, grey and gold were outstanding and inspired me to refurbish my apartment in the same colour palette.<\/p>\n
Ten years ago I sang in Rome as part of a concert called Music for Mercy held in collaboration with UNESCO, Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi and the Teatro dell\u2019Opera di Roma. We performed outside in the Fori Imperiali, part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site. I sang with Andrea Bocelli, Carly Paoli and David Foster on piano, with a philharmonic orchestra. It was magical and beautifully lit.<\/p>\n
While there, I visited the Villa d\u2019Este Gardens, which are 16th-century Renaissance water gardens with stunning trees and terraces and statues everywhere<\/p>\n
What\u2019s your favourite country to visit?<\/p>\n
That\u2019s a difficult one. I discovered cruising after my breast cancer surgery in the Nineties. A couple of friends invited me to sail around Southeast Asia. It was the most wonderful restorative holiday and the start of many adventures on the high seas.<\/p>\n
When cruising, one can see so many countries over a matter of weeks or months.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been lucky enough to visit places I would never go to otherwise. This year I sailed across the South Pacific Ocean from Los Angeles<\/a>\u00a0to New Zealand<\/a>. It took six weeks. We watched the movie South Pacific, of course, and kept singing all the Rogers and Hammerstein songs.<\/p>\n I swam in the sea, which is not something I ever usually do. I hate cold water, but this was so warm, clear and aquamarine blue. Add in the swaying palm trees, and it was just paradise.<\/p>\n