Author Archive for Michael Edwards

Short stay: Jumeirah Hotel, Frankfurt

Short stay: Jumeirah Hotel, Frankfurt

By on Sep 27, 2018 in Accommodation, Europe, Featured, Germany, Hotels, Regions, Western Europe

Ninety-nine metres of aspirational floor-to-ceiling-plate glass windows and steel soars into Frankfurt’s sky. The Jumeirah is an opulent hotel power-dressing in a dynamic city which hosts both the German Stock Exchange and the European Central Bank. Centuries-old traditions of hospitality are celebrated by Jumeirah Hotels which originate from the sands of Arabia. Chilled juices are […]

Lugano’s closer now: 8 reasons why you should visit

Lugano’s closer now: 8 reasons why you should visit

By on Sep 19, 2018 in Attractions, Europe, Going Out, Rail Travel, Regions, Road Travel, Speciality Travel, Switzerland, Western Europe

The Swiss Alps have always protected Lugano from the extremes of European weather and hordes of visitors. Movie idols Clark Gable and Sophie Loren knew they could relax and enjoy Lugano’s cafe society without being mobbed back in their day. Although a 57 km tunnel through the Alps opened in 2016, reducing the rail journey […]

Frankfurt: 10 reasons to visit this power city

Frankfurt: 10 reasons to visit this power city

By on Sep 12, 2018 in Attractions, Cruises & Boat Travel, Europe, Events, Food and Drink, Germany, Going Out, Regions, Speciality Travel, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

You don’t get a soaring aspirational Skyscraper Skyline without earning it, without packing a punch. Nick-named Manhattan-am-Main, or Mainhattan, Frankfurt’s been at the heart of Europe for many, many centuries. Big deals are signed at the Frankfurt Book Fair – don’t even think of getting a hotel room then – and many Germans read the […]

Belgravia: 10 reasons to visit the village thriving in Central London

Belgravia: 10 reasons to visit the village thriving in Central London

By on Aug 01, 2018 in Europe, Food and Drink, Regions, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Within a few miles of Oxford Circus, Paddington, Heathrow and any deafening maelstrom of London chaos you care to mention, Belgravia surprisingly has the aura of a peaceful country village from a bygone era. With artisan bakers, book shop, chocolatiers, delicatessens, jewellers, tailors and vintners on Belgravia’s cobbled streets it seems like nostalgic time-travel. In fact, […]

Aarhus: 10 reasons to visit Denmark’s 'Capital of Cool'

Aarhus: 10 reasons to visit Denmark’s ‘Capital of Cool’

By on Jul 22, 2018 in Accommodation, Attractions, Denmark, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

In 2017, Denmark’s second city, grabbed our attention as a European Capital of Culture. Compact with a population of just 300,000, cultured and quirky Aarhus continues to pull in visitors. Aarhus is Denmark’s Oxford with students comprising 20% of the population, that gives the place a Bohemian twist but still structured with Scandinavian efficiency. Many […]

5 luxurious English country hotels

5 luxurious English country hotels

By on Jun 30, 2018 in Accommodation, Europe, Hotels, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Baronial sweeping staircases, the scent of rose gardens, cucumber sandwiches, croquet lawns, stern portraits of 19th century gentry, gin-and-tonic on a terrace overlooking a lake: we all love a relaxing weekend at an English Country House. For a few short days we can play the aristocrat, luxuriating in four-poster beds and waking to the smell […]

10 reasons to visit Switzerland's Poschiavo

10 reasons to visit Switzerland’s Poschiavo

By on Jun 16, 2018 in Accommodation, Attractions, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Switzerland, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

With a beautiful valley, serene lake and small-town charm Poschiavo is some package. The North – South valley, a finger of Switzerland, is surrounded by Italian mountains. Italian language, a love of pasta and risotto make Poschiavo seem a part of Italy but the people are proud of their Swiss efficiency. When the trains, running from Italy’s […]

London's secret village: Seven Dials

London’s secret village: Seven Dials

By on May 22, 2018 in Attractions, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Regions, Travel Miscellany, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Creating an elite village in the heart of London was Sir Thomas Neale’s ambition when King William lll gave him a generous plot of land, near Covent Garden, back in 1690. Only recently has Seven Dials justified this 17th century Property Developer’s confidence. Now it is a quirky mix of 95 premises: including independent cafes, eateries […]

8 reasons why you should visit Cordoba

8 reasons why you should visit Cordoba

By on Apr 23, 2018 in Attractions, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Regions, Spain, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

One thousand years ago, Cordoba was Medieval Europe’s powerhouse, its cultural leader. And the tolerant Islamic caliphate was surprisingly modern: architects recycled Roman ruins for the Mezquita, liberal thinking Caliphs had both men and women in their harems. Whilst Western European peasants worried that their wattle-and-daub might not see out the winter the Cordoba folk were […]

7 reasons to visit Geneva's free art party

7 reasons to visit Geneva’s free art party

By on Apr 13, 2018 in Europe, Events, Regions, Switzerland, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

It is one of the world’s great free arts events: a rare chance for artist and audience to meet face to face. Geneva’s Quartier des Bains, once mundanely named as its public baths were the most noteworthy feature, is now Switzerland’s stylish response to New York’s arty SoHo. Three times a year in March, May […]

8 reasons to visit Augrabies Fall National Park in South Africa

8 reasons to visit Augrabies Fall National Park in South Africa

By on Mar 31, 2018 in Adventure Travel, Africa, Leisure Travel, Regions, South Africa, Speciality Travel

Don’t worry about lions, hippos, rhino and scorpions. This is one National Park where you can clamber down from the bakkie and explore independently, giving you’re the opportunity to bike and hike amongst the 54,000 hectares of this diverse National Park that borders Namibia. Augrabies is 800 km from both Capetown and Johannesburg. More conveniently […]

Meerkats aren’t such nice guys... and 12 other Kalahari facts

Meerkats aren’t such nice guys… and 12 other Kalahari facts

By on Mar 21, 2018 in Adventure Travel, Africa, Botswana, Leisure Travel, Regions, South Africa, Speciality Travel

First of all, the Kalahari isn’t all sand-dunes-and-camels desert. Much of the world’s biggest nature reserve, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, that takes in huge chunks of South Africa and Botswana, is arid scrub, officially semi-desert. It’s a vast red-sand expanse of Lion King sunrises, bigger than Wales. Meerkats love burrowing in this huge dry terrain […]

London: Capital of the World?

London: Capital of the World?

By on Mar 03, 2018 in Europe, Regions, United Kingdom, Western Europe

Ask the well-travelled, over a late-night drink, for their nomination for the world’s favourite city and you’ll be surprised how many back London. After another drink, some even start promoting dynamic London as The Capital of the World. It’s easy to put together an ABC claim for London: Adele, Boris bikes, Carnaby Street boutiques, Dickensian […]

9 reasons to visit Valletta, European Capital of Culture, in 2018

9 reasons to visit Valletta, European Capital of Culture, in 2018

By on Feb 15, 2018 in Attractions, Europe, Food and Drink, Going Out, Malta, Regions, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

Malta’s tiny capital, Europe’s smallest, takes you back to the 1570s. Built on a rocky peninsula – as the ultimate bastion-and-fire-power defence against a Turkish empire rampaging through the Mediterranean – Valletta was the first planned city in Europe. European Capital of Culture 2018, with hundreds of cultural events planned, is the best of times […]

Austrian mountains’ Summer paradise: cut price luxury and adrenaline adventures

Austrian mountains’ Summer paradise: cut price luxury and adrenaline adventures

By on Jan 30, 2018 in Austria, Europe, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, Western Europe

Ultimate luxury at bargain prices. Temperatures breaking 30 Centigrade. Dare-devil thrills for adrenaline junkies. Hundreds of miles of biking and hiking trails. So, why do the herds head for the Med in summer? No queues at the ski-lifts, no jostling crowds at the bar, no battling for restaurant tables with a view. Civilised airports, lower […]

Where did Lady Gaga go in India?

Where did Lady Gaga go in India?

By on Jan 25, 2018 in Asia, Celebrities, India, Regions, Travel Miscellany

Almost as soon as she had landed in India’s capital, Lady Gaga made for Dilli Haat. When Hillary Clinton visited Delhi, she too visited this open-air market. For Dilli Haat is India’s showroom, a magnet for artists and traders from as far north as Himalaya to the far south of Goa: India united. It is a intensely […]