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Lisbon

I’ve been posting a series of “Canada Shorts” that provide a glimpse into great destinations for people without a lot of time on their hands. Today it’s my first “Europe Shorts” item, looking at lovely Lisbon. The city is built on a series of small hills, so you’ll find great views almost everywhere you look. There are tons of terrific cafes, many of them situated in parks overlooking the city below. You’ll also get fab views from the top of the arch in the main Comercio Square near the Tagus River. Be sure to take the city’s famous No. 28 Read more

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Europe can get mighty crowded in July and August. Solution? Go in May or June, when museum line-ups are shorter and restaurant reservations much easier to get. Here are four cities you should check out before the summer crowds arrive. LONDON   This city can be frighteningly expensive. But I’ve found some fun and affordable neighbourhoods, including my new, favourite part of the city. The area around the Southwark tube station is a thriving region on the south side of the Thames River, but only a short walk or subway ride to the main attractions of London, including The Globe Read more

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Two travel groups have come up with different lists of the most romantic cities in Europe for Valentine’s Day. Research by Catamaran Charter Croatia ranked Europe’s capital cities based on their number of romantic restaurants (as described on TripAdvisor) and hotels per million residents. A Canadian travel company, redtag.ca, also listed five top romantic cities in Europe and came up with somewhat different results. Here’s the top 10 from Catamaran Charter Croatia: Lisbon Monaco Paris San Marino Rome Andorra La Vella, Andorra Amsterdam Athens Prague Reykjavik, Iceland I’m not so sure about San Marino or Andorra as I’ve never been. Read more

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American Express Travel today released its 2023 Trending Destinations list, which features the 10 most popular places for travel in the next year based on Card Member booking data. It’s a mix of tried-and-true and lesser-known destinations around the world. The 2023 Trending Destinations are: Copenhagen, Denmark; Florida Keys, Florida; Istanbul, Turkey; Lisbon, Portugal; Mexico City, Mexico; Montenegro; Paris, France; Sydney, Australia; Woodstock, Vermont; and Yakuve Island, Fiji. American Express travel consultants have helped narrow down the top places to go and what to do with 3-day weekend itineraries for each of the 2023 Trending Destinations, highlighting where jet setters Read more

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To celebrate the return of Pride around the globe, Airbnb is revealing the top 50 worldwide Pride celebrations this summer.  Three Canadian cities made the list. Toronto finished seventh, Montreal was 25th and Vancouver 28th. This ranking is based on total nights booked over respective Pride weekends worldwide, looking at bookings made on Airbnb from January to May 2022. The list uncovers nights booked in each respective city over their Pride weekends this year, with bookings hitting a significant milestone: tens of thousands of nights have already been booked over the top 50 Pride weekends for this summer, bringing Pride weekends in Read more

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