Visitors flock to Venice year-round, and who can blame them?
09.02.2024 - 19:25 / lonelyplanet.com
There's more to Grand Cayman than beautiful beaches, five-star resorts and financial services.
The largest of the three Cayman Islands, this Caribbean idyll sets the bar high when it comes to captivating cultural, culinary and natural attractions. Untamed hiking trails, handsome heritage sites and otherworldly marine encounters number among many memorable experiences in Grand Cayman.
Prepare to go beyond the magnificent yet mainstream Seven Mile Beach with these unmissable activities.
Cayman is a popular pit stop on Caribbean cruises, and the capital, George Town, is almost always the first sight passengers see. It is extremely photogenic, with wooden buildings in jewel colors lining the waterfront. They house a mishmash of venues, from duty-free stores selling perfume and diamonds to cool cafes serving up Buddha bowls, vegan brownies and almond milk lattes. You'll also spot the Cayman National Museum along the waterfront: it's worth popping in for a lesson on local history.
Planning tip: Whether you're searching for things to do during a port of call or visiting the island independently, plan to spend an hour or two exploring this tiny city.
This offbeat locale is the polar opposite – both geographically and figuratively – of the tidy capital. The Mastic Trail weaves its way through a protected mangrove forest on the island's east side, offering a taste of Cayman in its most natural state.
High humidity and a deluge of bugs make walking the 2.3-mile linear trail a reasonably non-touristy thing to do in Grand Cayman. If you're happy to slap on some insect repellent and pull on comfy shoes, you'll be greeted by an array of lush local flora and fauna. A lucky few might even get to glimpse the elusive (and endangered) blue iguana crashing through the undergrowth.
A rare trace of Cayman Islands history, Pedro St James is Grand Cayman's oldest stone structure. Its 18in-thick walls and imposing design have earned the structure the nickname "Pedro's Castle."
The 18th-century plantation house sits beyond Spotts Bay and once served as the residence of the island's first governors. Nowadays, it's a fantastic heritage museum, complete with a traditional outdoor kitchen. As you tour all three stories, take note of the handsome mahogany interiors and the sweeping views of the Caribbean Sea from its multiple verandas.
Planning tip: Pedro St James also hosts regular and one-off events. Check out the rum tasting or, if you're visiting in February, attend the annual Coco Fest.
Search for the best things to do in Grand Cayman, and this will probably come up as number one – with good reason. Stingray City refers to a sandbank in the island's North Sound that has become a gathering point for dozens of stingrays over the years.
Visitors flock to Venice year-round, and who can blame them?
Before it was developed into a seaport and garrison, the area now known as Chennai comprised a cluster of small villages on India’s Coromandel Coast. The largest of these, Madrasapattinam, inspired the city’s original name of Madras before being renamed Chennai in 1996. This history has resulted in a sprawling metropolitan area with no clearly defined downtown core although the region between the Cooum and Adyar rivers generally defines the tourist zone.
Walk the streets of Memphis and you can almost feel the bones of this mid-size city rise up from the pavement. There’s a reason this place has an outsized impact on American culture.
Stretching along the sinewy curves of the Douro River, Porto is a city of hilly cobblestone lanes, avant-garde museums and grand architectural monuments that date back to the Middle Ages.
Beyond the hippy days and techno raves, the best things to do in Ibiza can be attributed to the island's staggering natural beauty of windswept beaches, coves, rocky red cliffs and pine forests. Spend your days swimming and snorkeling, hiking, or renting a boat to explore hard-to-reach bays. Away from the beaches, visit the cute villages and town squares that make this Balearic Island beat, each with its unique vibe but full of local cafes, restaurants, and shops. With a Phoenician settlement founded in 654 BC, much of the island is steeped in history, with UNESCO heritage sites of ancient settlements dotted around. Spend some time traipsing around Ibiza Town, a labyrinth of bustling shops and restaurants with an ancient past seen in its cobbled stone streets and castle that looms large over the island. Here, we share a snapshot of things to do in Ibiza, including what to see and explore to get to know this mythical island.
Québec City is known for its enchanting architecture and historic vibe – a French-Canadian city that feels European, with a side of deliciously gooey poutine.
With charming cobblestone streets and beautiful architecture around every corner, Québec City looks wonderful no matter the season.
Forget Paris in spring: Rome is both warmer and cooler in the first few months of the year. The locals are in their winter black rollneck jumpers, accessorised with equally noir-ish sunglasses. With an average of 17C by March, it’s warm enough to sit outside cafés and bars, but not hot enough to fall foul of the “no shorts” rule enforced in Rome’s oldest churches.
It's hard not to fall in love with Hong Kong at first sight, a disarmingly high-rise metropolis in the dreamiest of island settings. Then you start to discover just how memorable the food scene is, how vibrant the nightlife is, how incredible the shopping is – and game over, you're smitten.
Vermont—home of the Green Mountains, fantastic cheese, and Noah Kahan. The state is a haven for artisans, makers, and bona fide New England yankees looking for a quieter pace of life, and a rich tapestry of well-known scenery and hidden gems to explore. Ask ten visitors which part of Vermont they love most and you’re likely to get ten different answers—but pretty much everyone can agree that in the winter, it’s all roads lead to Stowe.
Barcelona is Spain's most visited city, and it's not hard to see why – the historic capital of Catalonia is packed with galleries, museums, attractions and an incredible food scene.
No matter where you go in Japan, you’ll find it’s an easy, fun, safe place to travel with kids.