It’s shaping up to be another “Summer of Europe,” with more flights than ever for both Canadians and Americans and a surging demand. Here are five of fave, mostly lesser-known places to explore. CIRQUE DE GAVARNIE, FRANCE The drive to get here is nice. But nothing prepared me for the moment when I came around a corner and was confronted with a truly massive, craggy circle of stone and ancient rock rising up at the end of an impossibly beautiful, green valley. There are jagged edges and smoothly worn bowls and patches of snow in shady pockets in Read more
Europe
Air Canada is building its European service for summer, while Porter Airlines is betting big on summer flights within Canada. Canada’s largest airline today (March 31) announced it is adding a new route and boosting frequencies to popular Europe destinations for the upcoming summer travel season. New summer services from Montreal to Edinburgh will complement the carrier’s existing summer services from Toronto to the Scottish capital city. The carrier is also adding close to 1300 weekly seats to Paris and Athens, and is also extending its peak Toronto to Rome schedule until October. (Here’s a story I wrote about Edinburgh Read more
I’ve become acquainted with Marie-Pier Germain from the Germain Hotels Group over the past couple of years. We met in Montreal during the COVID-19 crisis and have spoken by Zoom or on the phone a couple times since then. Each time we spoke, I would gently ask her when her group, which runs sensational hotels across the country, would finally make an appearance west of Calgary. Germain, who’s ever so accommodating and delightful to speak with, would always look or sound pained when the question came up. “Jim,” she would say, and I’m paraphrasing here. “You KNOW we want to Read more
The Canadian government has new travel advisories up for citizens and residents who plan to visit the U.S. or China. Ottawa recently updated its travel advisory site to say that residents of Canada and other foreign nationals visiting the U.S. for longer than 30 days must register with the U.S. government. Canadians haven’t had to register with the government of the U.S. prior to this. U.S. President Donald Trump in January signed an executive order called “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” The order requires all foreign nationals, including Canadians, to register with U.S. Customs and Immigration Services if they Read more
Hilton Hotels is constantly adding new properties, and fixing up existing ones. Here are some highlights for the next few months. The debut of Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts brand in Japan and Costa Rica, with Waldorf Astoria Osaka and Waldorf Astoria Costa Rica Punta Cacique opening in April A new all-inclusive resort inspired by the Taino culture, Zemi Miches Punta Cana All-Inclusive Resort, Curio Collection by Hilton, will open in June in the Dominican Republic Hilton’s first luxury hotel in the heart of Paris will arrive with Sax Paris, LXR Hotels & Resorts this spring I’m also excited about Read more
