English+Channel travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises spa and resorts

Mont Saint-Michel is close to the border of Brittany, which has led to Breton claims to the mount. Originally the Couesnon formed the border between the two duchies, and every so often the river would shift its bank, leading to ownership of the mount shifting between them. The river’s bed has now been fixed and Mont Saint-Michel is now firmly in Norman hands.
It is home to the unusual Benedictine Abbey and steepled church (built between the 11th and 16th centuries) which occupy most of the one-kilometer-diameter clump of rocks jutting out of the waters of the English Channel. The church is crowned by a gold leaf statue of St. Michael by Emmanuel Frémiet, reaching a height of 155 metres (510 feet) above the sea.
A UNESCO World Heritage site, the island has deservedly become one of France’s most popular tourist destinations, with all the baggage that comes with that status. You may struggle to find a bargain bite to eat in the atmospheric old town but you’ll be surrounded by some outstanding Gothic architecture, so it’s a workable trade-off.

Continue reading The beauty of Mont Saint Michel

Valencia
All eyes will be on Valencia later this year when the Spanish city hosts the coveted America’s Cup, the world’s biggest and most prestigious yachting event. Valencia is the first city in Europe to stage the race, despite the event’s long history. Already a popular short break destination with savvy travellers, Valencia benefits from a great location a short hop from the resorts on the Costa Blanca and is well served by no-frills airlines. But it is a charming city in its own right, home to the original paella, and it offers an exciting mixture of old and new, with cutting edge modern architecture and traditional baroque barrios. Check out the futuristic looking Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias (the City of Arts and Sciences) designed by local architect Santiago Calatrava, featuring Europe’s largest state-of-the-art marine park, complete with a 30m- (98ft-) long shark tunnel, a dolphinarium, huge fish tanks, a colony of Humboldt’s penguins, and a very surreal underwater restaurant . The harbour area, Europe’s largest urban regeneration project, will be at the centre of the action during the Cup.

Continue reading Top hot destinations 2007

Do you mention to visit Nepal? If yes you will be probably satisfied to learn some brief information about the top 20 rated tourist attractions there. Here i have gathered a list with some info about them.

Continue reading Top 20 rated tourist attractions in Nepal

A trip to the Galapagos Islands will be the journey of your lifetime. Located 1,000 km from the Ecuadorian mainland, the archipelago consist of 13 major islands, of which 5 are inhabited. This geographical isolation enabled Galapagos Island creatures to slowly change into new versions of themselves, ones that are found nowhere else on earth. Famous examples include the marine iguana and giant tortoise. The islands were the catalyst for the evolution theory developed by Charles Darwin in the early 1800s.

The archipelago has been known by many different names, including the “Enchanted Islands” because of the way in which the strong and swift currents made navigation difficult. The first crude navigation chart of the islands was done by the buccaneer Ambrose Cowley in 1684, and in those charts he named the islands after some of his fellow pirates or after the English noblemen who helped the pirates’ cause. The term “Galápagos” refers to the Spanish name given to the Giant Land Tortoises known to inhabit the islands.

Continue reading Journey of a lifetime at Galapagos Islands