Cape+Town travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Catalonia’s other face lies to the south, beyond the stirring monasteries of Montserrat, Poblet and Santa Crues and right in the middle of the overbuilt, unexciting Costa Daurada. Tarragona’s outstanding Roman monuments are a reflection of the ancient capital being the largest and oldest Roman settlement in Iberia, described by the poet Virgil as “the most pleasant spot for resting”. That was a few decades BCE, but the same epithet could be applied today, as Spain‘ s deepest port retains a sleepy air that relates more to southern Spain than to the focused dynamism of Barcelona.

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Located at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, in the centre of Romania,  Brasov is one of the largest and most charming cities of the country. Founded in 1211, it is one of the best preserved cities in all of Europe. Brasov is home to a very pointy Orthodox church and one of the narrowest streets in Europe. Called “the Prague of Transylvania”, the old city was thoroughly restored to the delight of an increasing number of tourists.

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Newport is the quintessential playground of American aristocracy with its summer cottages the size of palaces and its century-old status as a yachting capital. Still, this harbor town is more than model ships and mansions. The waterfront has spectacular views of wide, tentacled Narragansett Bay and is still Newport’s soul, and the estates along Bellevue Avenue haven’t lost their Gilded Age glamour. But in a town that seems, on the surface, so untouched by time, there’s an undercurrent of youthful rebelliousness. Ambitious upstart restaurants, a boisterous night life and a beachy surf culture belie Newport’s staid reputation.

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Located in central Shanxi Province, the city was founded in the 14th century. This tiny city was the main banking center in China during the Qing Dynasty in 19th century. There is no charming landscape. No green mountain or clear waters. But Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city. Pingyao was added to the UNESCO‘s World Heritage List on December 31st, 1997.

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Castello di Bagnolo is a cozy villa with 5 apartements fully furnished in total respect of the ancient country style. Wide, peaceful greenspaces in the over 30 hectares of the estate, woods, prairies, vineyards, beautiful landscape and surroundings of highly turistical value. A nice to swim enormous swimming pool. Private visits to the Park and the Castle on request.

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The Alphen Hotel Constantia is a National Monument offering more than just accommodation. The historic Manor House offers winelands and country accommodation in the heart of a former Wine Estate. The hotel is situated in the Peninsula and at the gateway of the Constantia Valley and Wine Route. This Constantia accommodation is ideal for business or leisure and is close to Cape Town CBD and the Cape Town International airport. A spectacular setting amidst the dappled shade of ancient oaks offers both tranquility and easy access to the many splendors of the Cape. 

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Neethlingshof Estate is a place of rare beauty, where man and nature strive together to produce the finest wines. The vine roots there stretch back to the earliest years of winemaking at the Cape – grapes were already being produced on the farm by 1705. Despite being steeped in history with its thatched Cape-Dutch homestead and outbuildings it has also remained in the forefront of new trends and developments, and has become a leading exponent of the drive to balance nature and winegrowing in the Western Cape. 

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Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden is known as one of the great botanic gardens of the world. Few gardens can match the sheer grandeur of the setting of Kirstenbosch, against the eastern slopes of Cape Town’s Table Mountain. The gardens cover five of South Africa’s six different biomes. The garden includes a large, indoor greenhouse exhibiting plants from a number of different regions, including savanna, fynbos, karoo and others. Outdoors, the focus moves to plants native to the Cape region, highlighted by the spectacular collections of proteas. Kirstenbosch enjoys great popularity with residents and visitors.

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Villa Amata is a traditional ligurian villa from the beginning of the 1900s.It is located on the green hills surrounding La Spezia,Cinque Terre,Italy.It offers amazing vistas of the Golfo dei Poeti, of part of the town and over the promontories that make up the southern border of the Parco Nazionale delle Cinque Terre – a nature reserve and an essential sightseeing trip for its wonderful little villages and romantic pathways.

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This amazing large holiday house and its gardens are located on a hillside with 2 hectares of land on the outskirts of Todi,Umbria,Italy.

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