Chisinau International Airport and Aviation-Event will host the prestigious Aviation-Event 2024 RMO, uniting global aviation leaders in Moldova to address key industry challenges and innovations.
03.05.2024 - 10:59 / lonelyplanet.com / Jules Verne / Pablo Picasso / Mark Twain
It can be hard to know where to start on a trip to the Swiss Alps, such is the region’s abundance of unmissable scenery, exhilarating activities, nerve-shredding alpine roads and high-altitude accommodation that makes you feel like you’re sleeping in a cloud.
Yes, you’ll want to see the Matterhorn and the Eiger – and you absolutely should – but make time for some lesser-known sights and activities too and you’ll come away with a well-rounded picture of Switzerland’s magnificent natural playground. Read on for a selection of the best things to do in the Swiss Alps.
There’s something hallowed about a mountain pass – an alpine route established centuries ago by traders, pilgrims and farmers – and the Gemmi Pass is among the most accessible. It became a tourist draw in the 19th century, when Thomas Cook brought his first ever package tour group here, and famous visitors such as Jules Verne, Pablo Picasso and Mark Twain have all trodden its path.
Follow in their footsteps by hiking up from Leukerbad to the start of the pass, or – much easier and faster – take the leg-saving Gemmibahn cable car. From there, it’s a 3-hour hike to Sünnbuel, where another cable car whisks you down to the Kandersteg Valley. Along the way you’ll pass barren peaks, turquoise lakes, flower-laden meadows and the Hotel Schwarenbach, dating from 1742, where you can stop for a restorative drink.
Detour: Make time to explore the villages on either side of the mountain pass. Ogle the mountain view from the warm waters of Leukerbad’s thermal baths, and don’t miss the jewel-like Oeschinensee, a lake accessible by cable car from Kandersteg.
Around half of Switzerland’s electricity comes from hydropower and Emosson is one of the most interesting dams to visit because getting here is part of what makes the experience so special. From Martigny, take the Mont Blanc Express to Châtelard, where you jump on the Verticalp funicular, built 100 years ago for workers constructing the original dam. At the top, a toy-like mountain railway trundles along a cliff edge to the base of the concrete behemoth, from where a smaller funicular takes you up to the level of the reservoir.
Take time to gawp at the sheer expanse of the dam, the vast volume of water it holds back and the dizzying views over the edge, before hiking up through tranquil scenery to a second, older dam, the Vieux Emosson, where a mountain hut offers snacks, drinks and souped-up views.
Planning to see more of Switzerland? Here are the best places to visit
With their snaking hairpins and otherworldly landscape, Switzerland’s mountain passes are a sight to behold and a thrill to navigate. Experience three in one go by driving or cycling a circular route that takes in the Grimsel, Furka and
Chisinau International Airport and Aviation-Event will host the prestigious Aviation-Event 2024 RMO, uniting global aviation leaders in Moldova to address key industry challenges and innovations.
After a remarkable development in travel & tourism, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are committed to build consistency across the region while remaining unique and authentic, as shown by Connecting Travel Insight Report 2024, powered by Mabrian travel intelligence.
Family vacations are the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones and strengthen family bonds. One study found 40 percent of parents planned to spend more on international travel with their families this year. There is also a growing trend of multiple generations traveling together.
Beyond the Netherlands’ biggest and best-known cities, a patchwork of farmland, fields, villages and towns laced by canals, polders, dykes and windmills unfolds across the flat, low-lying Dutch landscapes.
It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of things to see and do in Sydney—especially if it’s your first time visiting. It’s not exactly easy to get to Australia so it only makes sense to want to squeeze in as many “must-see” spots as possible during your trip.
If you ask someone to rattle off Austria’s unmissable attractions, they’ll probably rave about Vienna and its lavish feast of palaces, coffee houses, concert halls and galleries, and the heart-racing trails and slopes traversing the Alps that ripple across half the country.
Brussels is one of the coolest cities in Europe—and it doesn’t even have to try. The Belgian capital is a hub for foodies and pop culture fiends alike but it also has its fair share of outdoor things to see and do, which particularly come alive in the spring time.
It was a sunny afternoon in February at the height of the high season on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, but my partner, Aaren, and I were far from lounging on a white-sand beach, snorkeling over a coral reef or strolling among the Easter-egg-colored buildings of Willemstad, Curaçao’s capital and a UNESCO World Heritage site — typical activities for travelers to this former Dutch colony.
Part of the and specialising in ranch holidays across the US and Canada, leading tour operator American Round-Up is thrilled to announce a fresh lineup of captivating Western adventures for 2024. The list includes Ranchlands’ new Paintrock Canyon Ranch, the stylish glamping retreat located at the base of the Big Horn Mountains in Northern Wyoming, and The True Collection’s latest Yellowstone ranch pop-up, the historic Blackwater Creek Ranch only 15 miles from the east gates of America’s first ever national park.
There’s something quite particular about small but perfectly formed Assos – butterscotch and rose-pink houses line a horseshoe bay, with Venetian ruins scattered between the narrow alleys. There are two small beaches, but the real joy is to rent a motor boat and discover the small bays and coves that fringe this part of the Cephalonian coast. Walkers can follow the path out on to the headland to the ruins of Assos’s 16th-century castle; there’s not a huge amount to see, but the views make the walk worth it. Roi Suites is a bougainvillaea-clad cluster of well-equipped studio flats in a waterfront neoclassical building, with gorgeous sea views from the pool terrace. Doubles from £117 (minimum seven nights), roisuites.com
Washington’s headline act is its natural environment.
The Netherlands is a treasure chest of exquisite art-filled cities and towns, canals, windmills and tulip fields, along with shiny-new sustainable urban environments, and glorious natural landscapes, coastlines and islands. While it’s one of Europe’s smaller nations (you can cross the entire country in a handful of hours), choosing where to spend your time takes planning.