5 surprising reasons to visit Cannes in France

With summer in full swing, Cannes becomes its own festival, long after the last end credits have rolled at the city’s annual film fête. The Croisette is abuzz, restaurants packed and designer stores brim with the latest in resort luxe. It’s hard to find better settings for enjoying la belle vie than a Cannes beach club, where celebrities have long come to see and be seen/snapped, the seaside menus menus offer rosés chilled and fish grilled to perfection, and views from the sun lounger take in the yacht-strewn Bay of Cannes. And just before summer slips into fall, the always highly anticipated Yachting Festival (September 12-17, 2023) comes to town.

If you didn’t know that Pablo Picasso had spent a sizeable amount of time in the Cote d’Azur village of Mougins, you’re made aware of it walking through the main square, site of a large and pretty realistic sculpture of his head. The nearby café and ice cream shop, named, respectively,Pablo and Paloma, give a hint as well of this past resident who spent the last 12 years of his life here. As the region celebrates the artist, marking the 50th anniversary of his passing, there are Picasso related sites and exhibits on view here through October including an exhibition of photos of the usually glowering artist in lighthearted moments with his famous artist friends. But that’s not the only reason to come to Mougins.

In an overhaul of its travel advisory system, the U.S. Department of State recently assigned every country in the world a travel safety rating. The safest places are ranked Level 1, while the places that Americans are advised to avoid are considered Level 4:

Mass Vegas, anyone? If you’ve ever wanted to go to a ritzy Las Vegas casino without actually having to go all the way to The Strip, Boston’s newest nightlife behemoth—the Encore Boston Harbor—might interest you. It’s the first non-Vegas Wynn casino and resort in the United States.

Italy’s Riviera di Ponente, or Western Riviera, has long attracted travelers—in the late 19th century new rail connections made it easier for well-heeled and titled English and Russians to escape their dreary winters, but before and after WWII, destinations on the Côte d'Azur and Riviera di Levante (the Eastern Riviera), like Rapallo, Portofino, and later, Cinque Terre, stepped into the spotlight, drawing celebrity names and eventually flocks of tourists.

Pristine sandy beaches, red-roofed vacation homes, and French influence attract travelers to Gustavia, a town on the Caribbean island of Saint Barthélemy.

Liv Cycling, official partner of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift and sponsor of the white jersey for the “Best Young Rider Classification” is hosting a global series of watch parties to get more viewers engage with the race, now in its second year. Founded in 2008 by Giant executive Bonnie Tu as part of the Giant Group, Liv is the only comprehensive cycling brand in the world dedicated solely to women. Liv’s sponsorship of the race aligns with the brand’s mission to empower all riders, from beginners to pros, and to get more women and girls on bikes. The Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift is an inspiring showcase of the awesome athleticism of some of the world’s best cyclists.

Tucked away on a quiet street in the heart of Paris’ fashionable Le Marais neighborhood, Maison Proust has become one of the city’s most spectacular gems. Opened at the start of the year, the 23-key boutique hotel pays homage to one of France’s literary legends while simultaneously celebrating La Belle Époque. And once you pass through its discreet doors, it’ll feel as though you’ve been transported back to the late 19th century, in all of its brilliance and intimacy, but without any pomp and circumstance.

After a foodie pilgrimage along the northern Spanish coast, Ros Walford shares some of her edible highlights of the Camino del Norte.

Just outside Buenos Aires, Argentina is one of South America ’s most unexpected landscapes – the Paraná Delta. Part of the continent’s second largest river system, it is accessed via a Victorian-style toy train and the town of Tigre, an idiosyncratic cross between England’s Henley-on-Thames and Italy’s Venice.

Travel booking site Hoppa have just released a list of the most expensive cities to visit in Europe. Looking at the cost of hotels, food, drink, transport and entertainment, they've analysed the affordability of 48 European cities.

Situated at the northern and southern extremes of this long, thin country, Vietnam’s two main cities lie more than one thousand kilometres apart.