Category Archives: Tourism

Travel: The Top Places To Stay In Normandy, France

Honfleur
Honfleur

The Times and The Sunday Times (June 15, 2023) – The most popular way to access all this from the UK is via the ports of Dieppe (ferries from Newhaven; dfds.com), Le Havre, Caen and Cherbourg (from Portsmouth and Poole; brittany-ferries.co.uk).

Le Tribunal, Mortagne-au-Perche

Le Tribunal, Mortagne-au-Perche

Hotel in the Perche region’s main hub
Southern Normandy’s Perche region is a succession of gentle hills clad in beech and oak. Much of it is designated a natural park. There is great diversity here, in landscape and architecture, which come in a palette of colours thanks to different building materials. Its main hub is Mortagne-au-Perche, a market town of cobbled streets, antique shops, magnificent mansions and its famed black pudding.

Pays d’Auge

Domaine de la Cour au Grip, Repentigny

Rustic retreat in cider country
The Pays d’Auge, to the east of Caen, is an unhurried, painterly landscape, mixing oak and hazel woodland with cattle-filled orchards where morning mists lie low in the valleys and the autumn colours are magnificent. This is cider country, and there are still 20-odd cider makers on the 25-mile Cider Route. The former farm of Domaine de la Cour au Grip is on that route in the village of Repentigny, not far from Beuvron-en-Auge, one of the prettiest villages in France.

Le Landemer, Urville-Nacqueville

Le Landemer, Urville-Nacqueville

Restaurant with rooms west of Cherbourg
Not every ferry traveller wants to hurry home. Le Landemer, barely ten miles along the coast from the ferry port of Cherbourg, is for those who like to linger. This designer conversion of a coastal house is as much an eating as a sleeping place, with five traditional rooms in the main house, and four yacht-style rooms — more modern with big picture windows — smuggled away in an adjacent building.

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Travel Guides: A Tour Of Geneva, Switzerland

Attaché Travel Films (June 12, 2023) – What a great time we had filming in Geneva, Switzerland. I’m joined by my dear friend Paul Papadimitriou, a native Genevan, as we explore everything Geneva has to offer.

Video timeline: 00:00 – Intro 00:59 – Transport 07:10 – Sponsor 08:09 – Food 16:40 – Money

Paul offers many insider tips for making the most of your time in this Swiss city, including all the delicious food offerings that Geneva has to offer; Swiss chocolate, fondue, and…bison?!

Travel: Top Places To Visit In French Polynesia (2023)

Ryan Shirley Films (June 11, 2023) – I recently returned from exploring the islands of French Polynesia and I want to share with you my favorite places & experiences, from the towering mountains of Mo’orea to the overwater bungalows in Bora Bora.

The archipelagoes of French Polynesia are the Society IslandsTuamotu ArchipelagoGambier IslandsMarquesas Islands, and Tubuai Islands. The capital, Papeete, is on Tahiti, French Polynesia’s largest island, in the Society group.

Travel: A Guided Tour Of Accra, Capital Of Ghana

DW Travel (June 10, 2023) – TV-host KMJ guides you through his city, Accra — from the old fishing district of Jamestown to the hip Osu Oxford Street. Of course, KMJ also shares tips on where to eat delicious food and shows you the best place in Accra for chilling by the sea.

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:25 Labadi Beach Hotel 01:25 Legon Botanical Gardens 02:23 Azmera restaurant 03:50 Jamestown with the arts center 04:22 Osu Oxford Street

Accra is the capital of Ghana, on the Atlantic coast of West Africa. Kwame Nkrumah Memorial Park honors Ghana’s first president, who helped lead the country to independence. The park contains Nkrumah’s mausoleum and a museum charting his life. Makola Market is the city’s vast, colorful bazaar. Popular seafront spots Labadi Beach and Kokrobite Beach offer golden sand and high-energy nightlife. 

Travel: The ‘Chic Magic’ Of The Island Of Ischia, Italy

From a rooftop you look over a village, with a strip of sand with a beach on one side and a harbor on the other, leading to a small rock island.

The New York Times Travel (June 9, 2023) – The Italian island, long in the shadow of its fashionable neighbor, Capri, is newly chic, but remains deeply authentic, with rocky harbors more likely to dock fishing boats than megayachts.

This Is Ischia’s Moment in the Sun

By Ondine Cohane

A red-walled building with white crenellation and black shutters on the windows stands on a cliff above the sea.
The Hotel Mezzatorre is perched on a finger of land with a view onto the bay of Naples and the beach of San Montano below.

Ischia is one of a trio of islands (known as the Phlegraeans) off Naples that also includes Capri and Procida. Capri’s size and popularity with day trippers means it can easily feel overrun and overexposed. Procida is the smallest of the three and has never gotten the attention of its siblings (although it too is worth a visit for its pastel villages and artisan workshops).

A face in a stone wall spouts water from its mouth into a pond with lily pads surrounded by vegetation.
La Mortella gardens in Forio were created by the renowned garden designer Russell Page. 

Ischia’s magic is that it’s suspended between the newly chic — with the recent overhaul of the Mezzatorre Hotel by the hotelier Marie-Louise Sció, who brought a crowd that had never heard of the island but were fans of her über-photogenic hotels — and the authentic. There are simple bars, beach clubs and harbors more likely to dock fishing boats than megayachts. With a surface area of almost 18 square miles, the island is home to a number of charming villages to explore like Forio, Ischia Ponte, Sant’Angelo and Casamicciola, among others. Add in natural thermal spas, lush vineyards and deserted coves, and it’s easy to see why Ischia is quickly become one of Italy’s rising destinations.

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Travel Guide: What To See & Eat In Sintra, Portugal

ILLUSTRATION BY CLARE COLLINS

The Times and The Sunday Times (June 6, 2023) – Don’t be fooled by its modest size.

Sintra town square

For centuries Sintra was the favoured summer retreat and hunting ground of Portuguese nobles, and their legacy is a veritable jewel box of palaces, castles and candy-coloured mansions.

The traditional retreat of Portuguese nobility provides the perfect mix of palaces and pastries

The Unesco-listed cultural landscape of domes and turrets seems to be straight out of a fairytale — no wonder it has fired the imaginations of literary luminaries from Hans Christian Andersen to Byron. Deserving of far more than a day trip from Lisbon, 20 miles away, Sintra is even more magical at the day’s end. Once the coach parties have departed, the few who linger have the run of all those lofty viewpoints and quaint pestico bars.

Casa Piriquita

Casa Piriquita
There’s more to Portuguese pastry craft than pasteis de nata, as this traditional bakery that dates from 1862 proves. Treat yourself to a signature queijada, a type of cheesecake, or the sugar-dusted puff pastry “cushions” called travesseiros, which are filled with almond cream.

Incomum by Luis Santos
Incomum is one of Sintra’s smartest dinner spots, with a Mediterranean menu that ranges from carpaccio and truffle-laced risotto to Iberian pork filet mignon and lobster bisque — and a signature olive oil pudding to finish. Handily, there’s a wine bar next door for an aperitif or post-dinner glass of port.

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Travel: A Guided ‘Green City’ Tour Of Copenhagen

DW Travel (June 7, 2023) – Did you know that Copenhagen is one of the greenest cities in the world? Transport, urban planning, food – the Danish capital is committed to sustainability in all areas. DW’s Aisha Sharipzan shows how your next trip to Copenhagen can be sustainable AND tons of fun.

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:40 Rent a bike 01:42 Public Transport 02:13 Free kajak tour at the harbour, collecting trash 04:19 Vesterbro and Nørrebro 04:48 BaneGaarden 05:40 Kødbyen 06:19 Harbour in Nordhavn 07:07 Danish Architecture Center 10:25 CopenHill 10:37 Park’N’Play 11:36 Reffen Street Food Market

Copenhagen, Denmark’s capital, sits on the coastal islands of Zealand and Amager. It’s linked to Malmo in southern Sweden by the Öresund Bridge. Indre By, the city’s historic center, contains Frederiksstaden, an 18th-century rococo district, home to the royal family’s Amalienborg Palace. Nearby is Christiansborg Palace and the Renaissance-era Rosenborg Castle, surrounded by gardens and home to the crown jewels

#copenhagen #sustainabletravel #sustainability

Hiking Trails: ‘Shetland Way’ To Open In Scotland

The Times and The Sunday Times (June 5, 2023) – Seabird colonies, Viking ruins and untamed wilderness await walkers on the new Shetland Way — via a new direct flight from London Heathrow. Simon Parker explores the new hiking route.

The route covers approximately 80 miles and run through up the ‘spine’ of the islands linking Shetland’s natural, cultural and community assets, opening them up to walkers and potentially cyclists too.

Travel Guide: The Best Things To Do In Rome

Travel + Leisure (June 2, 2023): In this video, join Stacy Leasca as she shows you the best places to stay and play on your Italian vacation to Rome.

Video timeline: 0:00 Introduction 0:20 Hotel Eden 1:21 Faro 2:04 Studio Cassio 2:40 Casa Manco 3:25 Access Italy 4:28 Retro Bottega 5:16 Outro

Hotel Eden is the picturesque place to stay with its top notch service, beautiful views, and dining options for every meal. Have an insider’s experience with Acccess Italy as they show you behind the scenes of Rome’s most popular attractions, as well as their favorite quiet spots in the city.

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#Travel #Leisure #Budget #Vacation #Tips #Rome

Travel Guides: Top Places In Manchester, England

DW Travel (May 31, 2023) – For Lonely Planet, Manchester is one of the top travel destinations in 2023: “The one-time engine room of the Industrial Revolution is now driven by invention, discovery and progress; Manchester is a brilliant place to visit.” Is Manchester really worth a visit? DW’s Hannah Hummel shows you around!

Video timeline: 00:00 Intro 00:37 Ancoats district 01:01 Castlefield Viaduct 01:26 Manchester Jewish Museum 04:57 Mayfield Park 06:32 Band on the Wall 10:09 Craft Beer

#manchestercity #uk #manchester