- view
- (2340)
-
At the end of the #8 bus route (free using the travel card given you by the hotels), you walk about half a mile into France and then go up to the top of 1000m Mont Saleve by cable car.
Spectacular views and walks. People para-glide from here which is worth watching as well.
End of number 8 bus route from Geneva
Slope Head is the most southerly point on mainland New Zealand which was cold, wild and waterlogged but provided a photo opportunity next to the signpost pointing to Antarctica in one direction and the Equator in the other, before heading for Bluff and half a dozen of its famous oysters and a pint of Guinness. Actually it was the end of June, and the only place advertising this delicacy was closed.
The coast road between Invercargill and Dunedin.
Avalanche Peak can be climbed from the road at Arthurs Pass in just a few hours. There's some scrambling involved but it's not difficult. Report to the rangers station before you leave especially if there's snow. And unlike some of the great walks, such as the Queen Charlotte Track, you're above the tree line so the views are great.
Half way between Greymouth and Christchurch, South Island.
The Pacific Highway drive from Whakatane through Opotiki, Kakumoa, East Cape, Waioka Gorge, Matawi, to Gisborne in my opinion knocks Victoria's Great Ocean Road into a proverbial cocked hat.
Take care on the unsufaced roads around East Cape or you'll end up on the rocks. At Kakumoa, The Beach Hostel is literally on the beach.
It's on the map!
My nephew and his family and I were in Queenstown in December 1999. At the edge of the town, we saw a cardboard sign tied around the trunk of a tree with 'Glenorchy' written on it and pointing in its direction.
We drove to Glenorchy and it was the most breathtaking drive I had ever taken. We stopped every few minutes, got out of the car to just take in the unspoiled beauty of the place. It was one time, I wished, I had a camcorder so I could record the whole drive. Do not miss it if ever in Queenstown.
The best part of Atlanta is all the neighbourhoods. I recommend funky little Five Points and East Atlanta, the boho chic Virginnia Highlands, the cottages of Grant Park, the Victorians of Inman Park, the 1920s grandeur of Ansley Park, and yuppie Decatur.
Atlanta is becoming a mini-LA, with cities within a city, and looking better every year.
You'll need a car to get around but the neighbourhoods are really not that far apart. Most of these neighborhoods are off Midtown.
Persuade a taxi driver to take you up into the Ngong Hills. The view over the Rift Valley is exactly as it should be - stupendous. The land simply drops away and the sight of the vast valley made me feel as though I was on the edge of the world.
On the way you can take in the tranquil house of Karen Blixen (Out of Africa).
It is a beautiful retreat set way up in the cedar forests above Lake Naivasha. Luxury camping. Scrummy Italian food cooked to perfection. Impeccable service. Gorgeous cottages with beds and furniture handcrafted from fallen cedar. Horseriding, trekking, hot spring plunge pool, forest walks. Highly recommend it.
A great little restaurant with fantastic views and great ambience, as well as good food! Less well-known (and less expensive!) than its big brother on Porthminster but up there with it.
Porthgwidden Beach
St.Ives
Cornwall
Don't miss Neil Island and Long Island, particularly Long Island which has a small community of 400 people and beautiful Lalaji beach.
Use the Eurostar deal with Belgian Railways to travel on from Brussels at no extra cost.
Take the Luxembourg bound train to Libramont and then the bus number 8 to Bouillon on the River Semois. Stay at the Hotel Panorama overlooking river, town, castle and hills.
Listen to the town carillon play the Ode to Joy. The walking in the river valley and on wooded hills is wonderful and the food in the town is excellent. Return, if you can, on bus 45 to Bertrix for spectacular views of the Semois, tiny villages and the hills. Take the train from Bertrix to Libramont and then back to Brussels.
An older version of the Taj Mahal, on the other side of the Yamuna river. It's made of brown stone and marble, and is about 100 years older.
When we went, there were only three other visitors - all Indian. Not in such perfect condition, but lovely gardens and very peaceful with beautiful views over the river. Properly, it is the tomb of Itmad-Ud-Daulah, but every taxi driver will know it as Baby Taj.
According to their website, the DNT is Norway's largest outdoor activities organisation. Their work includes maintaining a fantastic network of marked hiking trails and running 144 mountain lodges, linked by these (and other trails).
We have just returned from a week hiking in Jontunheimen and cannot praise the DNT highly enough. I have never seen such an organisation so successful at making the wilderness accessible with minimal disturbance to the natural environment.
The trails are well-marked and maintained and where we used trails not maintained by the DNT, staff were nevertheless able to advise on them. The level of service at the fully staffed lodges we used was extraordinary and not too expensive (by Norwegian standards!). And how good is it to come off a mountain, knowing that a comfortable bed, three course meal, hot showers, and effective drying room are waiting for you? The DNT prides itself in never turning anyone away.
We were walking as a family with two under twelves, so didn't undertake any really major climbs, but the DNT also organises tours of the high peaks etc.
All the activities we undertook, we could have done as non-members, but joining the DNT meant serious discounts on accommodation costs as well as the ability to secure beds when the lodges were nearly full. If you are venturing deeper into the mountains and staying at unstaffed lodges, I think you need to be a member to get a key to the lodges.
Walk the star-studded esplanade of Kowloon waterfront at night and look over at Hong Kong island in all its laser beamed glory! It's the best way to see the skyscrapers of Hong Kong Island.
Fabulous views around Carbis Bay and going into St Ives.
St Ives or Penzance station
Lovely bus ride - if a little hair-raising! Great coast walk - much better than driving to Land's End.
Ok, this is actually in Vina del Mar, Valpo's more modern sister city a ten-minute drive up the road. However, Cerro Castillo is a must visit for anyone interested in the history of this part of Chile.
The area is known as Cerro Castillo because:
-it's a hill
-there are numerous old houses built like castles
It's a quiet residential area - no cafes, no restaurants, no toilets - but is Vina's poshest address. Some of the houses are spectacular -tudor houses nestle next to gothic mansions and there are the eponymous castles dotted around the place, the most notable being the local police HQ. The Presidential Palace is also to be found on Cerro Castillo.
It was on Cerro Castillo that Chile's wealthiest families from Santiago and Valparaiso had their seaside residences in the country's most elite Balneario. It shows in the architecture.
At the foot of the hill is the Club Arabe-Siria and opposite is the Castillo Wulf, now the town council. Also just around the corner is the Cap Ducal, a restaurant and hotel right on the water and shaped like a cruise liner.
The new Sheraton is also at the foot of the hill.
From the new Sheraton or Castillo Wulf and Cap Ducal there are steps or a road leading up to the hill. From the other side, there's access from the beginning of Calle Valparaiso.
The 9th Floor café in El Corte Ingles department store in Placa Catalunya. Snacks. Coffee. Beer. Reasonable prices and even better views.
One of the best views of Avignon is from Villeneuve les Avignon, across the Rhone. It is a lovely, quiet spot with a hotel, a fantastic tower and a well-preserved monastery (or charterhouse).
Canter through farms, rivers and rice terraces, followed by the magical El Misti, the view of which you still can't capture the wonder and awe of, even with three joined-up shots on a panaramic camera.
Half day trips from Arequipa.
Is this your business?