At the foot of South Africa is a spectacular 150 mile journey through the narrow band of land between the Indian Ocean and the mountains. Travellers are seduced by a floral paradise, sands that are wide and white, the double majesty of elephants on land and whales close to the shore, a world record bungee… Continue reading
Browsing Category Six things…
From the Beatles to le Carré – the lure of lively Hamburg
Hamburg, the green-blue gem of North Germany, spangled with parks, lakes and canals, is one of the New York Times’ 52 places to go in 2017. Introducing the city, writer David Farley lists the latest things – Zaha Hadid’s meandering promenade along the Elbe, the 19th-century Warehouse District, given Unesco World Heritage status in 2015. The other notable… Continue reading →
Costa Rica’s conservation ethos driving it up green tourism league
Costa Rica is emerging as a leading destination for green tourism. The extensive rainforest will play a vital part in counteracting global warming, serving as a vast bio-sink to soak up carbon dioxide. Tourists create CO2 by flying. But they are an important part of the solution. They provide the cash, and the incentive, to… Continue reading →
Much more to Bayeux than a famous date
It’s one of the most familiar dates in history, when the Normans invaded England and won the Battle of Hastings 950 years ago, on October 14 1066. I visit William the Conqueror’s handsome, historic hometown in Normandy, where the British have favourite visitor status, and track down the links to 1066, the D Day landings, Camembert,… Continue reading →
Football success gives Iceland tourism boost money can not buy
Close to economic melt-down in 2009, Iceland is staging a remarkable come-back. And on June 22nd, this nation of 300k reached the knock out stages of Euro 2016 in France. Forget all the financial computations on the level of improvement in the economy, this single event has done more to promote Iceland positively to the… Continue reading →
Lille – French city transformed by high speed train
Lille and Lens The Euro 2016 football venue is the small industrial town of Lens, centre of the swirling carnage of the First World War, which was happening here exactly 100 years ago. Today the pre-eminent attraction is the new Louvre-Lens gallery, opened in 2012 as an offshoot of the great Paris museum to display some… Continue reading →