Europe and Middle East

Exclusive guide to the best holiday destinations in Europe and Middle East. independent reviews from award-winning travel writers

Karlovy Vary. Film and facials.

11/02/2015 by .
Karlovy Vary Czech

These days it may be better known as a spa destination, or for its famous annual film festival, and considering it was once one of the most sought after destinations in Europe and a veritable magnet for the rich, famous and downright aristocratic, Karlovy Vary (or Carlsbad as it’s otherwise known) owes its very existence to sheer fluke.

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Brilliant Guide to the carnivals of Frankfurt Rhein-Main

10/02/2015 by .
Guide to the carnivals of Frankfurt Rhein-Main

it is carnival season again, and this year TripReporter offers up a Guide to the carnivals of Frankfurt Rhein-Main a German region comprising one of the biggest collections of carnivals in Europe.

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Emilia-Romagna Italy’s Jewish heart

02/02/2015 by .
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A lone bell tolls from somewhere close by, not an unfamiliar sound when you’re in Italy, but at this moment it’s rather more poignant. I’m inside Ferrara’s ancient synagogue, still going strong in the heart of the former medieval ghetto, nearly 600 years after it was built. Tonight though  it’s completely rammed, standing room only for the Friday night service and Rabbi Luciano Caro is beaming from ear to ear. Is Emilia-Romagna Italy’s Jewish heart? This region is a veritable treasure trove of Jewish history, and the cities of Bologna, Cento and Ferrara in particular, owe their very existence to their Jewish communities.

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My favourite street in Rome

26/01/2015 by .
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I think it might have been the way the sunlight reflected off the water under the talking statue, or perhaps the glimpse of the Spanish Steps still visible in the distance, or maybe it was just the time of day and the people around me. But whatever it was, the Via del Babuino is my favourite street in Rome and will always have a place in my heart.

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Weekend in Monaco

23/01/2015 by .
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Tucked between The French and Italian Riviera, Monaco may be the second smallest country in the world, but it more than makes up for a lack of size with style, glitz, and glamour. So a weekend in Monaco is a perfect short break destination.

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A terrific culinary and cultural weekend in Vienna

22/01/2015This entry was posted in Austria, Europe and Middle East, Newsletter, Vienna and tagged on by .

Les Angles ski resort

13/01/2015 by .
Enfants Bruno Longo OT Les 2 Alpes

I’m sitting outside a restaurant in Les Angles ski resort, surrounded by snow, 7,000 feet up a mountain and the sun is boiling hot. Not so strange really when you consider that this particular region of the French Pyrenees, gets over 300 days of sunshine every year, but it’s a region that’s remained undercover for years, enjoyed in the main by French and Spanish locals.

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Weekend in Vilnius

13/01/2015 by .
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I’m in Vilnius’ Vingio Park with over 100,000 other people watching a wonderful sight; over 10,000 participants of all ages in national costume on a massive stage in front of me singing their hearts out for Lithuania. I’ve got tears in my eyes, not quite what I imagined for a weekend in Vilnius, but the sound is extraordinary and I don’t understand a word they are singing, but I’m having an emotional moment just the same.

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Avignon at Christmas

17/12/2014This entry was posted in Avignon, Europe and Middle East, France, Newsletter, South of France and tagged on by .
marché Noël Ville dAvignon JP Campomar 8

Avignon celebrates catholic festivals the same way it celebrates its gastronomy and culture, with a genuine reverence for its past and a real enthusiasm for modernity. Next time you fancy a Christmas market with a soul, Avignon at Christmas is the place. 

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Insider Guide to Antwerp

11/12/2014 by .
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Antwerp is not chocolate box beautiful  like Bruges, nor does it have that busy   pick and mix’ selection combination of transient Eurocrats and tourists you taste in Brussels. Belgium’s second city is more ‘urban  praline’  so in Isabel’s Insider Guide to Antwerp, you can look forward to savouring a luscious centre wrapped up in delicious outer coatings.

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