Author Archive for Michael Edwards

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 […]

St Malo: rock around the rocks

St Malo: rock around the rocks

By on Jan 13, 2018 in Attractions, Europe, Food and Drink, France, Going Out, Regions, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

St Malo is France in an oyster-shell. A Francophile’s dream – art galleries, beaches, café society, casino, crepes, haute couture, macaroons, patisserie, shellfish and wine.  Stylish Bretons treat it as a Parisian cat-walk in front of a dramatic Gothic backdrop. French gastronomy with an invigorating sea breeze.  St Malo is the very essence of France. […]

The world's greatest theme park - Xcaret?

The world’s greatest theme park – Xcaret?

By on Dec 23, 2017 in Attractions, Family Travel, Going Out, Mexico, North America, Speciality Travel

Imagine a rip-roaring Indiana Jones’ day-out. Swimming along a subterranean river, walking rope bridges high in a steamy jungle of touchwood trees, swimming with sharks and perilously hanging onto a rope across the ocean. Slammin’ down Tequila shots if you choose. If you’ve taken the chaotic horn-blaring road south from Cancun for 35 miles, you will have […]

10 reasons why Oman is more luxurious than Dubai

10 reasons why Oman is more luxurious than Dubai

By on Dec 05, 2017 in Attractions, Going Out, Middle East, Oman, Regions

Oman is more Arabia than Armani, more Lawrence of Arabia than Levi jeans, more Sultanate than Starbucks: a dreamy destination increasingly on discerning travellers’ wish-lists. South of brash and glitzy Dubai, Oman is the quiet good-living neighbour. Sultan Qaboos, the Mr Nice Guy of the world’s absolute rulers, who deposed his father in a coup […]

Extreme Christmas shopping: 7 luxurious shops in Carouge, Geneva

Extreme Christmas shopping: 7 luxurious shops in Carouge, Geneva

By on Nov 30, 2017 in Europe, Food and Drink, Leisure Travel, Regions, Speciality Travel, Switzerland, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

An original Superman cartoon? A hand-crafted dress? A Swiss clock with a 35,000 Swiss Francs price tag? Bespoke millinery? Pink pepper chocolates? How original will your gifts be this Christmas? And how deep are you pockets when it comes to stocking-fillers for your nearest and dearest? Strike off mundane items on your Christmas shopping list […]

10 reasons why Occitanie may be the new Provence

10 reasons why Occitanie may be the new Provence

By on Nov 24, 2017 in Accommodation, Attractions, Bed & Breakfasts, Europe, Food and Drink, France, Going Out, Hotels, Regions, Travel Miscellany, Western Europe

Looking out from Toulouse the map looks invitingly blank. For Occitanie is the “other South of France”, intensely French, a sun-warmed countryside where livestock outnumber people. Occitanie? It’s the administrative replacement for Languedoc-Rousillion and Midi-Pyrenees bureaucratically butchered at midnight on 31st January 2015. As Provence’s country sister, Occitanie does decadence in its own bucolic way – enjoying […]