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travel guide

Provence Travel Guide

by Katie Bryant on March 13, 2010

Provence is in Mediterranean southeastern France bordering Italy. Provence is distinguished from the rest of France by incredible history, amazing topography, unique culture, local culinary specialities and the pleasant climate, courtesy of the cooling Mistral wind. All this contributes to making it one of the most popular regions of France for visitors.

Paleolithic sites and other areas of archelogical importance can be found throughout Provence. Near Nice, cave drawings date from 900,000BC and include images of bison, horses and even penguins! Younger, but still impressive sites date from between 600,000 and 19,000BC. In more modern times, Provence was conquered and held by the Greeks, Celts, Phocaeans, Gauls and, of course, the Romans. The Holy Roman Empire dominated culture until the 13th century and their legacy still stands with an amazing collection of cathedrals and abbeys. The mix of cultures over time leads to a rich artistic and cultural history.

The 17th century farming and industry (tanning, pottery and ship building) led to late 18th and 19th century prosperity, when Marseilles and Toulon gained grand opera houses and boulevards. The Cannes Film was launched in September 1939, only to be cancelled after the opening night due to the outbreak of the Second World Ward. The Film Festival resumed in 1947 and is now important date on the calendar for the global film industry. The Avignon Theatre Festival was created in 1946, offering performances in venues as diverse as palace courtyards and in the street.

The painters of Provence make for an impressive role call: Paul Czanne, Vincent van Gogh, Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Pierre Bonnard and Claude Monet all hail from here. A highlight of a Provence trip would certainly be the wooden ceiling of Frejus Cathedral, with amazing paintings including a demon with the tail of a snake and images depicting scenes from the Bible.

Provences food is heavily influenced by the sea: fish soup (Bouillabaisse) or grilled rouget or loup fish finished off over grapevine charcoal remain two favourites. Escabeche — marinated sardines — can be found both poached or fried. The wines lean towards rose, while Pastis — a traditional anise liquer — is also a delicious aperitif.

A post on Provence attractions was published in Top Travel Content Europe, which is a great resource for the best in European travel.

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Fulfill Your Wishes in Barcelona!

by Derek Beaumont on March 5, 2010

Its always worth to travel to Barcelona, as the city never sleeps and offers nice temperatures during the whole year. Due to its great location at the sea there are millions of tourists arriving every year to enjoy the great flair and special ambience of the city. Most of them are amazed by the beauty and the wide range of cultural offers and a lot of them come back and visit Barcelona again.

You absolutely must visit the architectural works of Antoni Gaud: The Sagrada Familia: Gaud spent ten years working on the designs for his masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia, which is in the heart of the city. To find it, take the Metro L2 or L5 and leave at the Sagrada Familia station. You’ll find yourself standing right in front of the cathedral! You can gaze at this masterpiece from either of two parks. Although the cathedral was Gaud’s life’s dream, he died in a tragic traffic accident in 1926 and was not able to see his project finished. Optimists expect that the construction will finally be completed in 2026, the 100th anniversary of Gaud’s passing.

Once you enjoyed Gauds masterpiece you should continue with Parc Gell, a garden in the north of the city constructed by him as well. From there you have a beautiful view over the whole city and the sea and can relax on the big terrace called Sala Hipstila that made this park famous. Gaud intended this to be a market place like a central point and used thousands of mosaics to decorate the inner and outer walls of the seating. You should go down the stairs and take a photo of the famous salamander that is just at the bottom of the stairs and welcomes the visitors at the main entrance. Best is to leave the metro at Vallcarca because then you can use the escalators up the steep hill. Another spotlight is the Gaud museum in the park, it is the house the artist lived in for a couple of years.

If you’re a Gaud enthusiast now and want to see more of his work, visit Casa Mila and Casa Batll at the Passeig de Gracia in the city center. They might remind you of the houses of Hundertwasser. Paying the entrance fee allows you to learn far more about the details of the architecture. Gaud used no right angles in these buildings; he liked to use shapes from nature.

When you’re ready to buy a souvenir and see the sights:Travel down the Passeig de Gracia, where you will find Spanish shops and all the important designers. Heading south, you will discover Placa Catalunya, a huge square and the center of the city. Then continue with the Rambla, the most famous street in Barcelona until you reach the 197-foot-tall Columbus Monument. It marks the spot where Christoffel Columbus arrived in 1492 after his discovery of America. You might also enjoy exploring the Maremagnum, a shopping center that is especially good for rainy days, and the neighboring Aquarium (one of Europe’s largest), which contains 8,000 fish and 11 sharks! Then when you’re ready to relax, enjoy Barcelona’s 4 km of downtown beaches!

Plan ahead to have the time of your life in progressive, innovative, intriguing Barcelona! A city like no other, it is loved by millions of visitors and continues to be one of Europe’s most popular destinations. Whether you’re seeking fun, culture, adventure, or relaxation, Barcelona can fulfill your wishes in abundance!

Before you rent anything online, make sure you do your Barcelona apartments rentals research, and take a look at www.waytostay.com

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Exactly Why Are These Last Minute Flights So Costly?

by Ramon van Meer on March 1, 2010

You just woke up, you get a phone call and you need to get your butt on a plane right away, because you just received terrible news. You go look online to get some cheap international flights and you fall of your chair after you see the prices. Strange when all you consistently see are all the websites advertising about their cheap airline tickets and now that you look, you are greatly disappointed.

Exactly why is that? Is it because by the time these people invest millions of dollars in advertisement, they can’t manage to drop the prices any longer, or is it that they know you need that seat and hike it up just enough so you cannot walk away and say the hell with it.

Well fortunately there are several neat ways of getting prices lower than the average shopper. There are sites in which you can get cheap international flights as cheap as they were when they just came out. On average you can acquire seats 330 days before your date of departure, however usually that is not really when it is the cheapest.

There is certainly a period where airlines know it is time to decrease the rates to get the most of revenue. Those prices can also be available ONE DAY prior to your flying date, however , you cannot usually locate on the normal websites a person cruise on. So how can you discover these hidden treasures? Where and how can you get these cheap international flights???

I won’t keep you longer in suspense; I will tell you where you can get them. Ever heard of consolidators? Indeed, they are still competent at obtaining them. You don’t notice them frequently and many people chuckle when I say I book my tickets with Travel agencies; however this is The best place where you can get cheap international flights.

If you have an emergency or need to travel out as soon as possible, contact your tour operator, simply because they work with several consolidators at the same time.

Learn more about Cheap International Flights. Stop by the website: Lets Fly Cheaper where you can find out all about Frankfurt Cheap Flights.

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3 Important Travel Tips for Having a Budget-Friendly Vacation

by Jon Moreno on February 26, 2010

“All work and no play makes Johnny a dull boy,” as a saying goes. Well, that’s true. So, if you find yourself too overwhelmed with work, you must find a way to relax and relieve yourself from stress. And you know what’s one effective way of doing this? It’s by traveling.

Traveling, whether it’s just for a few days or weeks, can get your mind off work and relieve you from stress. That’s also true to full time housewives and moms. If you’re among them, indeed it helps to get a break every once in a while. Don’t worry about your budget because with these travel tips, you can very much take a grand vacation without overspending.

First, you have to note that making reservations online is a lot cheaper than going for a travel agency in your locality. Why? Because one, you don’t have to gas up just to be in their office. Two, since they don’t rent an office and hire more staff, they pass on their savings on overhead cost to the consumers by offering cheap travel deals. And three, the competition is tough on the Internet, so you can expect to find more affordable deals and even discounts and promos via the web.

Use cash when paying during travel. Your credit card should just be used during emergency purposes. If you still have cash, use it when paying and stay on your budget to avoid the temptation of using your credit card.

Third, if your schedule permits, make sure to book your travels during off-peak season. Often times, airlines and hotels offer really low rates during this time. Try to compare the rates during off-peak and peak seasons. And you will notice that hotel and airline rates increase up to 30% during peak season.

So these are the three important travel tips that you should follow to experience a budget-friendly vacation. Traveling does not really have to be expensive if you just keep these tips in mind. So, where do you plan to travel?

Check out these travel deals before buying anything online. Read this travel insurance tips to know your options.

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Travel Tips – Important Things to Remember When Shopping for Last Minute Airfare Deals

by Jon Moreno on January 22, 2010

Most people make travel arrangements when they plan to go out of town or out of the country. But there are a few who just decide on last minute and so they also cram in finding deals that would not be too hard on their budget.

If you are in the same scenario, you might find yourself having a real bad headache getting last minute flights. But hey, why go through so much hassle if you can find last minute airfare deals the easy way? For the solution, check out these travel tips.

1. The first deal you lay eyes on may or may not be the best flight deal that you can find. So, to be sure that it’s the best, take your time visiting sites that offer last minute airfare. The Internet is a wide source, so why not take advantage of it? Try to search for deals using flight search engines, and in no time you’ll be looking at hundreds, even thousand of results more than you could ever imagine.

2. As much as possible, get a package that includes airfare and hotel instead of airfare alone. This often costs cheaper and is more convenient on your part since you don’t have to search for hotel deals separately. Take note, however, that this type of package often means double occupancy. So, if you’re going alone, better check on other deals.

3. Remember to search for deals during Saturday morning and book flights that are scheduled in the middle of the week. The reason: the biggest waves of fresh fare releases tend to be on Saturday mornings especially when airfare analysts make mistakes over the week and that it’s often more expensive to travel during weekends when most people are off from work.

Shopping for last minute airfare deals does not have to be stressful if you just keep these important things in mind. To learn more travel tips and travel guide, check out www.travelcrowd.net.

Check out these travel deals before buying anything online. It is very important you read these travel insurance tips to avoid any problems.

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Disney Savings Guide: A Review of the Most Popular Disney Travel Guides

by Nancy Bobby on January 16, 2010

I can remember planning our first family trip to Walt Disney World like it was yesterday. Our daughter was 7 at the time, and when we told her that we were “going to Disney World” the squeals probably lasted for hours. We had scrimped and saved, and were so excited that we were finally able to take our dream vacation. It was a great trip, and I learned a lot about the best way to plan a Disney vacation. One of the most important lessons I learned was that if you want to save money on your trip to Walt Disney World, you have to do your research and plan ahead. Having a Disney savings guide can be enormously helpful in helping to have an affordable Disney family vacation.

But, with so many Disney travel guide available, it can be challenging to know which one to choose! Each looks enticing with all those great pictures of happy families in the happiest place on earth. Which are the best to help you save money on your Disney vacation? In this article, I will review a few of the most popular ones and provide my thoughts on what each offers.

Let’s start with Birnbaum’s Walt Disney World. This is the classic, Disney-approved, travel guide that you see everywhere. I bought this for our first trip and found it to be quite helpful to start. It has great pictures, good maps to help you get comfortable with the layout of the parks, and some good guidelines for the rides and attractions. What it does not have is a lot of detailed information on how to save money: as the “official” Disney vacation guide, it does not discuss in any detail non-Disney options for food or lodging. With this in mind, while a nice little guide to start the planning process (especially if it is your first visit), it is not my first choice for a Disney savings guide.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World may be the best-known of the many Disney World vacation guides. And at over 800 pages, it is certainly the most comprehensive. With the author covering nearly every aspect of a trip to central Florida, this is an informative, and very detailed guide. Many people also like the fact that it is completely unbiased in a way that Birnbaum’s guide is not, and so offers other points of view beyond Disney. What is especially helpful is that there are a number of options for saving money throughout this book, making it a useful Disney savings guide. It is important to realize however, that with the amount of information presented, this is not a little guide that is quick and easy to refer to. Think “phone book”.

The travel guide that I have found to be the most useful in terms of saving money on a Disney vacation is the Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide. This is actually an e-book that was written by a former Disney castmember, and I have appreciated the “insider” information that has been very helpful in planning an affordable Disney vacation. The author shares a great deal of cost-savings tips and ideas that can potentially save the Disney vacationer hundreds of dollars. This book provides the money-saving strategies that make it an excellent choice for a Disney savings guide. Now if an e-book is a new concept for you, let me just say that I love the flexibility that an e-book offers: being able to download it immediately, reading through, and then printing out only what I need/want to take to the parks with me for reference.

It is difficult to choose, of the many Disney World travel guides, which is the best. But in my opinion, the ease of use, combined with the author’s lifetime access to her website for the most current Disney updates, and the hundreds of money-saving tips, ideas, and strategies make the Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide my top pick for a Disney savings guide.

Nancy Bobby has been planning, and enjoying, affordable Disney family vacations for over a decade. Read more about the Ultimate Disney World Savings Guide and begin planning your Disney vacation with her free guide filled with information and helpful tips, by visiting www.theaffordablemouse.com.

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Why travel to Vienna?

by Jonathan Asher on January 15, 2010

One of Europe’s most intriguing and historically rich cities, Vienna, sits in a central position that gives travelers easy access to Eastern and Western Europe. It is home to some truly awesome architectural design such as the gothic St. Stephen’s Cathedral and the modern Haas House. Vienna and its surrounds have enough for you to do and see to occupy you for a few days or a few weeks.

Vienna may be somewhat confusing to navigate around due to changing street names, however ring roads with multiple names are often close to main attractions. Mariahilfer Strasse heads west up to the main train station, the Westbahnhof which is central to a lot of eateries and hostels. From there you can make your way to the Rathaus, the Museumsquartier, the Opera and a variety of parks and squares.

What would travel be without trying the local fare – Wiener schnitzel, Sachertorte, strudel, sausages and kebabs are just some of the foods that Vienna has to offer. Vienna also has a strong coffee and caf culture where guests are welcome to stay as long as they like and read the paper.

There is so much to see in Vienna, that you will want to do your research before you go. Should you spend your time at the Schnbrunn Palace, The Vienna Opera House, Vienna’s MUMOK or St. Stephen’s Cathedral. If time permits, hopefully you will see them all, however a travel guide will give you insight into these locations and hopefully give you an idea if they fit your style or not.

Europe on a Shoestring (Lonely Planet Shoestring Guides) is a well-used travel guide but for a guide that goes into more depth take a look at The Rough Guide to Vienna – it’s the newest, and most popular Vienna guide book. The Moleskine Vienna Notebook is a pocket-sized travel guide that is also very well-liked.

For more information about Vienna check out the Vienna travel guide first and then take a look at the travelling Europe guide.

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Travel Sydney, Australia

by Mark Edwards on January 12, 2010

Bondi Beach, possibly the most famous beach in Australia, alongside Bells Beach and Kirra point, is a popular place to soak up the sun, sand and water, located in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. Bondi is also one of the most tourist filled area’s in Sydney. Whilst spending a few hours or even days in Bondi should be atop your ‘things to do’ list whilst you’re in Sydney, there are several other similar beaches that won’t be as crowded or touristy.

Coogee Beach, just south of Bondi is like the Sydney beaches’ little brother and often gets overlooked. Coogee offers plenty of space to spread out on with large grass and sand areas to enjoy.

The upper north shore of Sydney exhibits less popular, yet equally brilliant beaches that are often smaller and quieter. Palm Beach and Whale Beach are top picks located north of Sydney’s city centre.

If exploring the food and beverage scene is one of your preferred things to do whilst travelling, you’re in luck because Sydney is home to some of the best restaurants and provides many quality budget options as well. There are plenty of bars, cafe’s, restaurants and pubs around the city. Italian restaurant Kuleto’s in Newtown is a quality establishment, while Melt Bar in Kings Cross provides an interesting night scene. The Roxbury in Glebe is an example of a typical Australian pub with entertainment and comedy events regularly. Historic centre of Sydney, The Rocks, hosts a range of interesting things to do, including markets by moonlight, all in a colonial setting overlooking the Harbour Bridge.

Food is an integral part of travel. Having the opportunity to try new things relates to local foods as much as anything else. Sydney is home to restaurants that focus on numerous international cuisines whilst delivering modern Australian cuisine that is sure to delight. The only problem is that there are so many options that travelers and locals may be spoilt for choice.

Here is a list of some of the best restaurants in Sydneythat will feed you well for an average of $20 per person, while you check out more things to do in Sydney.

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Auckland City travel guide

by Jonathan Asher on December 26, 2009

Auckland, the “City of Sails” is the largest city in New Zealand. Surrounded by water and studded with volcanic hills, it’s an excellent city to travel in. Auckland City recently ranked fourth equal in the Worldwide Quality of Living Survey 2009.

It’s a large city geographically, roughly equal to LA, but it hosts a tiny population of under one and a half million people. There are currently four regions in Auckland (City, North Shore, Waitakere city and Manukau city) but this infrastructure is being replaced by the “super-city”.

Because of the large area and small population, the public transport network struggles to remain efficient. Current improvements to Auckland’s train network and talk of integrating the ticketing system give some hope for the future. If you are travelling from main suburban centres to the city centre, you’re fine but I would recommend hiring a car if you want to see any real sights.

Most people fly into the Auckland International Airport in Manukau. Transport options from there into the city are all quite expensive. Options are taxis, public busses and airport shuttle services. The Airbus is convenient and reasonably priced for someone travelling alone, but two or more people will find it cheaper to split a taxi.

If you use Auckland’s public transport, you’ll probably be catching the bus. You can buy tickets from the driver; prices vary depending on how many stages you’re travelling through. You can buy bus cards from various outlets, which you can prepay your journeys on. This normally works by buying 10 journeys or getting a monthly pass. Auckland’s train network has improved recently, and is undergoing constant improvements and upgrades at the moment, but destinations are still very limited.

Auckland hosts a number of free events through summer, with Christmas Parade, street lighting and the massive concert, Christmas in the Park held in late December. After that, Music in Parks kicks off with small community concerts being held around the city and Symphony under the Stars bringing classical talent to a large outdoor crowd. Cricket and watersports makes up most of the summer sporting schedule, but make sure you visit in 2011 for the Rugby World Cup, the second most-watched sporting event in the world.

New Zealand summer was the feature story in the latest Indie Travel Podcast travel magazine. You can also download a free Auckland travel guide from http://indietravelpodcast.com.

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Family Vacation Resources

by Jamison Findley on December 21, 2009

Each summer the family and I head out on a vacation – assuming everyone can agree on a destination. We’ve done the standard trips to the Grand Canyon and Disneyland, so this year we were having some trouble deciding on where we wanted to go. A few of us wanted the beach, the other wanted the mountains. Personally I thought southern California would have been good, because we might get the best of both worlds.

I went online to try and find some good information that would help us make the decision. I came across a website that offer some great travel ideas and ordered a lot of pamphlets and brochures from them because they were all free. I got some information on places from southern California to New York City. The kids weren’t interested in that one, but it was a place I thought they should see someday.

Ordering free travel brochures online was actually pretty easy. The site had all 50 states listed. All I had to do was pick the one that interested me, order the travel brochure, and then get packing and get going.

There are so many great places to visit across the country; I didn’t realize how many activities there were to do depending on where you want to go. You can go river rafting in southern Utah, or skiing in Colorado. You can go to Disneyland in California or Cedar Point in beautiful Sandusky, Ohio!

Wherever you decide to go, I’m sure that they have a travel brochure for it. I thought it was kind of fun to search different places around the country that I would have never thought to vacation. Looking through the different places, I realize that this country has a lot of hidden gems.

When I received the pamphlets, we went over all of them with the family and narrowed down the choices of where we are going. The kids are the ones holding us up. They would rather go to an amusement park than a national park.

This site had travel pamphlets for nearly anywhere you could imagine going on vacation. It doesn’t matter if you prefer the indoors or outdoors, all you have to do is log on and find the pamphlets that have the details you need.

After viewing all the brochures and seeing all that there is to see around the country, I think that the decision is going to be tough for us to decide on just one place. It’s a good thing that there is many more summers to come so we can plan many more vacations.

Are you interested in learning how to get free california travel guides? Then follow the guidance of Jamison Findley. He has all the know how of how to get california travel guideswith no cost to you.

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