Sometimes you have to travel far to understand what you’ve left behind. Fifteen years ago, on a granite slab in the Rockies, a local climbing guide turned to me and said, “Ever heard of a place called Anglesey?”
10.08.2023 - 20:23 / forbes.com
Ottawa, the charming capital of Canada, is a cultural destination often seen as the city of museums. This makes perfect sense with so many unique and educational museums and galleries to explore. In fact, Ottawa is home to seven of Canada’s nine national museums and visitors can experience the entire country in one city and immerse themselves in Canadian history while exploring top attractions. Ottawa has now turned popular points of interest into 156 Unofficial Museums across the region to inspire your next trip.
Located along the Ottawa River in the province of Ontario, this family friendly destination is easy to access. Downtown Ottawa is just a 20-minute drive from Ottawa International Airport and there are flights from most major cities in Canada, the United States, and Europe. Living in Toronto, my son and I have traveled to Ottawa a dozen times either by car, train, or a short flight. Many Americans visiting Toronto extend their vacation and drive the four and a half hours to Ottawa to explore this vibrant city. Here are five unofficial museums to get your journey started.
The city of Ottawa is located within the traditional Anishinàbeg Algonquin territory.
For epic views of the city and a thrilling outdoor adventure, take a guided rafting excursion with Ottawa City Rafting, the unofficial museum of bumpy rides. My son and I arrived at Britannia Beach and after a safety briefing were on our way with other participants in matching yellow helmets and life vests. There are three sets of rapids during the two-and-a-half-hour excursion and they are calm enough for families to enjoy. There are also three sets of cliff jumps along the route should you be daring enough to leap off them into the Ottawa River. My son flew from the highest cliff at 22 feet but there are others not as dramatic. Views of the Parliament Buildings are picture perfect and the journey ends with a natural lazy river float. If you are lucky you may even see a beaver as you drift down the river, how Canadian.
Just a 15-minute drive from downtown Ottawa is the unofficial museum of unplugging at Nordik Spa-Nature. This was certainly the perfect place for us to unwind seeing as it’s the biggest spa in North America. The beautiful wellness center focuses on thermotherapy and relaxation techniques and offers multisensory experiences. If you are not familiar with thermotherapy treatment, it involves alternating between hot and cold temperatures based on 2000-year-old Nordic traditions. After sweating in the sauna to relaxing music my son plunged right into the refreshing (and frigid) pool while I slowly dipped in. There is also a saltwater flotation pool called Källa where we experienced weightlessness among 10 tons of Epsom salt, a
Sometimes you have to travel far to understand what you’ve left behind. Fifteen years ago, on a granite slab in the Rockies, a local climbing guide turned to me and said, “Ever heard of a place called Anglesey?”
Google Flights has introduced a new feature to help travelers answer the perennial question: “Should I buy my flights now or wait and hope the price decreases?” The tech company has long offered users insight into whether the airfares they’re looking at are low, typical, or high compared with historical price averages for that particular route. Now, Google is offering users data on what time frames have traditionally been the cheapest for the route they’re searching so travelers can make more informed decisions about their booking.
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Atlanta is a great food city, home to fine dining from James Beard Award-winners (Chai Pani, Lazy Betty and more) and Top Chef contestants (Gunshow), as well as some of the best burgers you’re ever likely to try (Vortex, Slutty Vegan). Many British visitors simply pass through Hartsfield-Jackson airport en route to other US destinations, but food alone is reason enough to spend the weekend.
Aiming to be a top adventure tourism destination, the Indian tourism minister recently spoke about focusing on infrastructure development to boost this segment. However, India would need more than just infrastructure development. Quality standards, regulation and oversight would be needed for India to become a leading adventure tourism destination. Most guides, operators and instructors in the country fail to meet basic safety requirements as there are over 5,000 unregistered adventure tour operators in the country, said Vaibhav Kala, founder of New Delhi-based Aquaterra Adventures, told Skift. Highly specialized activities are operated by non-specialized operators due to lack of guidelines and limited skilling facilities. “We need a uniform nationwide regulatory system with ease of registration, training institutes and licensed guides to offer quality and safe experiences to tourists from around the world,” said Kala. Tourism in India lacks legislative backing and is therefore, a state subject. The Centre doesn’t have a mandate to enforce approved regulations and guidelines on the states. States like Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and West Bengal have all been working on adventure tourism standards and guidelines — but in total isolation. Pradeep Murthy, director of Kerala-based MuddyBoots Vacations, highlighted to Skift how several unregulated adventure bucket shops which provide low-quality equipment severely impact safety. “Many operators use plastic helmets for bungee jumping and white water rafting which are otherwise used for scaffolding work in construction,” he said. It’s important that consumers understand and find out if the right adventure equipment is being used — which should ideally be tested in proper laboratories and certified to international standards. “Operators would be forced to adopt regulatory practices only if customers start demanding for licensed operators. The government should therefore, look at educating consumers on a mass level,” added Murthy. India also needs to have a proper mechanism for evacuation and rescue so that tourists are airlifted to safety.
El Cosmico, in Marfa, Texas, has been synonymous with a free-form lodging experience and a place where art and counterculture combine with high desert hospitality. A campground-meets-hotel, the property has grown from the imaginative vision of Texas-based hotelier Liz Lambert. Through the years, it has attracted wanderers seeking a confluence of the extraordinary and the rustic, the real and the surreal.
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