It’s almost Valentine’s Day, and that means it’s time for romance. The folks at Ubuy.com looked at TripAdvisor data to score each European capital city for romance. The criteria included the number of fine dining restaurants, 5-star hotels, and romantic tours. A romantic tour only gets one point, which I don’t understand. I also would put more emphasis on a five-star hotel than an expensive restaurant, if only because you’re likely to have more time to enjoy a hotel than a restaurant. It’s a tad arbitrary, and it doesn’t take the look or feel of a city into account. But Read more
Athens
Air Canada today announced significantly expanded service to Europe for next summer, including a new, year-round route between Montreal and Madrid, expanded service to Italy and earlier seasonal start-up flights between Toronto and Edinburgh, Scotland. Canada’s largest airline said it plans to operate 100 per cent of its peak summer 2019 trans-Atlantic capacity next year, taking full advantage of the robust recovery in its largest international market. Air Canada will begin its seasonal flights between Toronto and Edinburgh on March 1, 2024. I’m scheduled for an AC flight from Pearson to Edinburgh a week from today, actually. “Air Canada saw Read more
Heat warnings have become a regular occurrence in Europe this summer, with scorching temperatures in Athens, Rome and other cities. Here are some pro tips on how to stay cool and survive the Europe heat wave this summer. Toronto-based travel agent Wendy Davis, owner of Zebrano Travel, a member of the Virtuoso Luxury Travel Network, said knowing your hotels and your geography can help you battle record high temperatures in Europe and other destinations. Davis said she thought it might be a hot summer, so she’s been booking families into hotels with swimming pools so they can stay cool. “Cities Read more
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
It’s National Trivia Day, which means I have an excuse to publish a few fun geographical/travel questions. Here goes with 10 questions (answers below). QUESTIONS 1. Which is further west, Los Angeles, California or Reno, Nevada? 2. True or false: St. John’s Newfoundland in Canada is closer to Ireland than it is to Vancouver. 3. Everyone knows (or should) that Mt. Everest is the tallest mountain on the planet. What’s the second tallest? 1. Mount McKinley. 2. K2 3. The Matterhorn 4. China and India are by far the most populous countries on earth. What country is third in population? Read more
