Heraklion Altstadt ☀ Die besten Tipps für die Hauptstadt ➤ Anfahrt & Parken ✓ Sehenswürdigkeiten & Shopping ✓ Hotels & Restaurants ✓ Strände
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A guide on the very best things to experience when spending a day in the Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa
Curated travel guides to cities across the globe - best restaurants, hotels, shops, and experiences. Plan and book your perfect trip with travel tips.
Die besten Köln Tipps für Sehenswürdigkeiten, Shops, Restaurants und Cafés. Echte Geheimtipps abseits der Touristenpfade!
Live Well, Travel Often
This new hotel in Saint-Germain-des-Prés is deeply smart and comfortable, and the perfect place to stay as you explore the neighbourhood's many shops, galleries and restaurants
There are a lot of diamonds in Antwerp. In fact, I could probably say it’s the diamond capital of the world. So when I was invited to visit Antwerp to celebrate the city as being part of the diamond trade worldwide for more than 500 years, I could hardly say no, could I? This year there are a number of initiatives to celebrate the history of diamonds in Antwerp since 1447. So I flew over to Antwerp as part of a press trip with the tourist board Visit Antwerp to find out more. Those of you who have been readers for a while may know that I used to own a third-generation family jeweller and that is how The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover blog came about. So with my love of diamonds and also travel I was in the lucky position to be chosen for this trip. So a quick 55-minute flight to Amsterdam from Cardiff and then a two-hour journey on the train to Antwerp meant it was almost quicker to get to Antwerp than to go to London by car for me from South Wales. There are flights direct to Antwerp from London City Airport so if you live in this part of the world it is even easier to get there, and of course, you can also get there from London on Eurostar. Did you know Lonely Planet's Best In Travel 2018 named Antwerp as one of northern Europe's best-kept secrets? So I was excited when I arrived for my two-night stay. I got to Antwerp late on a Saturday night and walked the short 15-minute journey to my hotel. I felt totally safe walking to the hotel, but I obviously kept my wits about me in an unfamiliar place. My stay for the trip would be at Hotel Franq. This boutique luxury hotel really has the wow factor when you enter. A gorgeous lobby with beautiful flowers, comfortable sofas and chic decor greets you. Check-in was quick and efficient and before long I was in my room. The rooms at Hotel Franq are well-appointed and exceptionally comfortable. A large king-sized bed graced the room, which also had a desk and chair, as well as a comfortable armchair. The bathroom had double sinks, a rainfall shower and luxury toiletries as well as a large flat-screen TV. Little touches in the room such as complimentary water, an espresso coffee machine and a Marshall Bluetooth-enabled radio set the room apart from other boutique hotels I have stayed in recently. The decor was simple but very well done, and the quality of the furnishings appeared to be exceptional. A dash of colour added some vibrancy to the room which was in muted shades of cream and beige. That night I slept well and in the morning went down to breakfast. Hotel Franq prides itself on using high-quality and local ingredients in its restaurant. Continental breakfast was included and involved a variety of bread, homemade jam and homemade granola, whole yoghurt, meat and cheese, boiled eggs, and fresh orange juice with tea or coffee. If you wanted something more substantial then you could choose from avocado on toast, smoked salmon and other delights at an additional charge. If you want to read more about my review of Hotel Franq be sure to check it out. The morning was at leisure so I decided to just wander the city and to take in some of the sights. When people in the UK think of Belgium we often think of Bruges with its magnificent architecture or Brussels being the centre of the EU, well I know I do, but Antwerp appears to have some great sights too and gorgeous architecture. One of my first stops was at the Grote Markt in the heart of the old city. This large public square is lined with picturesque traditional buildings including the City Hall. The City Hall is listed as a Unesco World Heritage site. In front of the City Hall is a statue of Silvias Brabo. Legend has it that Silvius Brabo put an end to a giant that was terrorising Antwerp by vanquishing the giant and casting his hand into the river by way of revenge. According to the legend, this is where Antwerp got his name ‘hand werpen’ literally meaning “to throw a hand”. A fountain and statue in front of the City hallmark the importance of this story in the founding of the city of Antwerp. As I strolled around Antwerp, I came to the main shopping street called Meir. As it was early on a Sunday most shops were closed. However, the shopping area looked great and contained a number of household names such as Zara, and H & M. Just behind the main shopping street, I came across a large open-air market selling all manner of items, from fresh produce such as fruit and vegetables to stalls selling delicious smelling waffles and distinctive smelly cheese, as well as clothes, bags and other items. Belgium is known for its waffles so I was keen to try these out later in my trip. Close to this area was the world-renowned Rubens House, a museum of the artwork of Peter Paul Rubens, known for his Baroque style of art. Admission costs 8 euros to get in for adults 25-65, concessions are 6 Euros and free for certain groups. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to visit but I thought the cost was reasonable. Time to return to the hotel before meeting everyone for lunch, but on my way back I saw the most wonderful chocolate shop called The Chocolate Line. It certainly looked like THE place to go for artisan chocolates. I mean look at the cake above and the chocolate frog below! A leisurely stroll back to the hotel and before I knew it I was back. Sylvia and Anja from Visit Antwerp had arranged to meet the press here and had arranged lunch for us all. Lunch was seafood bisque that was full of flavour followed by poached salmon in a light hollandaise sauce, which was utterly delicious and beautifully presented. All finished with a selection of petit fours, all utterly delectable in their own way. After our lunch, we took a short 15-minute walk to the MAS Museum. The MAS Museum otherwise known as the Museum aan de Stroom is a museum located along the river Scheldt in the Eilandje district of Antwerp, Belgium. It opened in May 2011 and is the largest museum in Antwerp. We were here to visit the newly open Dazzling Desire exhibition, which looks at how diamonds are linked to our emotions. Diamond boots are believed to be the world's most expensive valued at 3.2 million dollars in 2014 Designed by Belgian fashion label AF Vandevorst Themes of status, power, love, eternal life and wealth are woven throughout the exhibition. Stand-out pieces include Mary of Burgundy’s engagement ring, the impressive Our Lady’s Jubilee crown, and the Cartier tiara worn by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. Some beautiful original pieces also included these diamond boots above believed to be the most expensive in the world. C.B. II by Subodh Gupta, 2009. Materials: Stainless steel, stainless steel utensils, neon, lightbox, fibreglass Private Collection Switzerland With a mix of original precious diamonds as well as models of diamond jewellery, showing incredible detail, this exhibition is well worth visiting if you have an interest in fashion, jewellery or diamonds. The admission price of between 8 and 10 euros is affordable too. Catch it when you can until 14th January 2018. Crown of the Infant Jesus, Antwerp, 1899 Gold, Emerald, pearls, Ruby and diamond Cathedral-Chapel of our Lady of Praise Antwerp While you are here you can also see the other permanent exhibitions, and don't forget to go to the top floor and take a panoramic photo if the weather is good, which unfortunately wasn't when I visited. A quick stop next to the Brilliant Foodies festival with stalls of street food, then back to Hotel Franq. That evening we ate at the restaurant RAS. This modern chic restaurant is perfectly positioned overlooking the water and was designed by leading architect Bon Van Reeth. My starter was croquettes which are a speciality of the restaurant, made with tiny brown shrimps, onto a prawn linguine in a tomato sauce and then Creme Brulee. The food was delicious, tasty and well presented and I have to say I really enjoyed my meal. The ambience of the restaurant was lovely too. Upscale but relaxed. It was busy but service was efficient and the staff were welcoming, helpful, and explained any queries we had with smiles all around. As I was in Belgium I had to try the local beer too! Considering I am not a beer drinker it went down well and was a great end to the meal. pin for later So it was with full stomachs, that our party returned to our hotel to rest before day two tomorrow, where we would visit a high-end jeweller and the Antwerp Diamond Centre as well as hear about the new Diva diamond exhibition. There was so much to see in Antwerp in one day, so be sure to catch my day two very soon on my blog. Speaking of which, if you are interested in finding out more about diamonds, Beyond4Cs.com is a fantastic resource to check out. *I was a guest of Visit Antwerp. Silvius Brabo statue CC Wikimedia
Osaka in Japan ist eine wunderbar verrückte Städte! Die besten Osaka Sehenswürdigkeiten und wichtige Reisetipps findet ihr in diesem Beitrag.
This is the Hotel Danieli, which is absolutely lovely, as you can see. They were really nice about me taking photos around with my tripod, which was great. I was here with my friend Rene, and we were keen to get up on the rooftop restaurant to take photos. We were more than happy to actually have a full dinner and everything too! Anyway, we stopped at the concierge to make reservations. He said it was booked solid for a week. We were just up there and it was 90% empty! He then pretended to call upstairs and said the line was busy, sorry. It was really silly… We did finally come back and have dinner, but we had to come back under an assumed name like criminals! Venice, Italy
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A guide on the very best things to experience when spending a day in the Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa
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Keine Sorge, heute wird es nicht komplett zoologisch. Aber was dem Hamburger sein Mövengeschrei ist dem Berliner sein Pelikangeklapper – kann ich jetzt aus eigener Erfahrung sagen. Denn ich habe neulich mal eine Koje im Hafencity gegen ein Bett mit Zooblick im Urban Jungle des 25hours Bikini Berlin getauscht. Wenn man dann das Glück hat, so lange poofen zu dürfen, dass die Fütterungszeit im Berliner Zoo um 9:00 Uhr naht, kann man auch schon mal von wildem Paviangekreische geweckt werden. Aufwachen mit Dschungel-Feeling deluxe mag ich, deswegen gibt’s heute auch diesen Berlin Hotel Tipp. Nun, das “Almost home” stimmt in diesem Fall leider nicht ganz. Denn ich schaue zwar aus unserem heimischen Schlafzimmer auf eine Menge Bäume, aber Paviane springen da dann doch nicht herum. Aber ich habe trotzdem gleich zu Hause gefühlt – und wie! Ins geschichtsträchtige Bikini Haus Berlin – erbaut von Architekten Paul Schwebes und Hans Schoszberger und ein damaliges Symbol des neuen von Freiheit, Optimismus und Konsum der Wirtschaftswunderzeit geprägten Lebensgefühls – hat es mich ja schon öfter verschlagen. Freilich zum hemmungslosen Konsumin der der außergewöhnlichen, vor 2 Jahren eröffneten Shopping Mall mit ihren Concept Stores und Pop-Up Boutiquen jenseits des üblichen Einkaufseinheitsbreis. Im dazu gehörigen 25hours Bikini habe […]
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A guide on the very best things to experience when spending a day in the Warwickshire town of Royal Leamington Spa
Osaka in Japan ist eine wunderbar verrückte Städte! Die besten Osaka Sehenswürdigkeiten und wichtige Reisetipps findet ihr in diesem Beitrag.
