The world’s most famous city sign is turning 100 years old. The iconic letters for the Hollywood Sign have stood as an American landmark for 100 years, perched atop the Santa Monica Mountains overlooking the City of Los Angeles. The sign is synonymous with the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown and emblematic of a century’s worth of Hollywood history, from the notable to the notorious. Today, the sign is an enduring symbol of Los Angeles, beckoning travelers to come experience a place where magic is possible and dreams come true. “From the Golden Age of Hollywood to the beating heart Read more
Europe
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
U.S. News and World Report has come out with a list of the top 25 hotels in Canada. It’s a pretty good one, but a couple of things leave me curious. The publication put the Rosewood Hotel Georgia in Vancouver, B.C., at the top of the list, which is quite reasonable. It’s a gorgeous hotel with massive rooms, beautiful bathrooms, and lovely, historic touches all around. The next four were the Ritz Carlton, Montreal, 1Hotel Toronto, The Hazelton Hotel in Toronto and The Four Seasons Whistler. I quite like the 1Hotel Toronto, which has a very cool lobby bar and Read more
Intrepid Travel has launched an emergency appeal and committed $100,000 AUD through their not-for-profit, the Intrepid Foundation, to support immediate relief, aid, and rescue efforts in Turkey (the preferred name now is Türkiye) and Syria following the devastating earthquake. Intrepid Travel has further committed to donating all profits from bookings made on trips in Türkiye until April 30, 2023, to support the appeal. The Intrepid Foundation has partnered with Australian Red Cross to ensure funds are effectively allocated to provide immediate and longer-term relief to communities affected by the earthquakes. This will enable Red Cross and Red Crescent partners to Read more
I don’t always agree with magazines that publish top destination lists. Sometimes they seem rather contrived, as if they’re trying to show off. But the latest one from Conde Nast Traveler hits the mark pretty well. The magazine asked travel experts to name the top island getaway places in the world, and they listed a half-dozen of my personal faves. Vancouver Island was cited for whale watching and other activities. “There’s far more to Vancouver Island than Victoria. One of my favorite places on the island is Tofino, a small town on the far west coast about halfway up the island Read more
