A new report from hotels.com finds Canadians are looking for trips to Spain, as well as football rivalry games and cool, Nordic adventures. For the upcoming Civic Holiday (Aug. 1-3), searches for Mallorca are up 85%, while searches for Madrid are up 45%. Domestically, searches are up 40% for the London, Ontario ribfest and up 20% for the 50th annual Festival of Friends in Hamilton, Ontario. For Labour Day, searches for Reykjavik, Iceland are up 100%, while searches for Copenhagen have jumped 90%. On the domestic front, Regina has seen a 330% increase in searches ahead of the iconic Labour Read more
Madrid
A new list of the top cities in the world for international travelers from the U.S. gives the inside edge to Portugal, with Spain coming in second. Coming in at number one (a tie, actually) were Lisbon, and Porto, Portugal. I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Porto, but I love Lisbon, which has fabulous food and great neighbourhoods to explore, including the vibrant Aflama district. There also are great beaches. Spain had two cities in the top 10; Madrid and Seville. Sadly, I haven’t been to either. The authors created a list of 40 major cities around the world, Read more
Canada Day is a week away, and that makes it great time to explore some of what this great country has to offer. Here are some tips from a guy who’s been to all ten provinces and the Yukon. VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA – This is a tremendous and underrated Canadian city, with a lovely waterfront, beautiful parks and excellent food offerings. The James Bay neighbourhood is a fun place to check out little fairy houses that locals have built. Top hotels include the venerable Fairmont Empress Hotel and the fine Magnolia Hotel and Spa. WATERTON LAKES N.P., ALBERTA – Banff Read more
Okay, I’ve just about had it with some of these travel lists going around. The other day I noted a list of the nine most beautiful countries in the world that somehow omitted the United States, which might have more amazing scenery than perhaps any country on the planet. Today I’m taking umbrage, as well as great offence, at a list of the “most romantic countries” in Europe. I found this on MSN.com, courtesy of Icelandair, and I’m stupefied. The list contains 15 fine European cities. But it’s ridiculous that Paris, perhaps the most beautiful city in the world and Read more
Here’s an interesting list; a look at the top cities in the world for seniors/grandparents. The folks at All Clear Travel, a company based in the UK, looked at a variety of factors, including crime/safety, walkability, weather and the number of accessible hotels. Europe took every spot in the top 10, with the Netherlands sweeping the 2-4 positions. North America fared relatively well, with seven spots in the top 30. The best in NA was Sacramento, an underrated city that’s relatively easy to navigate and has pretty good weather most of the year. Also cracking the top 30 was Boston, Read more
