“Home sales to Americans in Europe keep growing”; “The number of Americans living in European countries is increasing”; “Americans relocating to Europe is a trend.”
15.08.2023 - 18:13 / lonelyplanet.com / Louis Xiv XIV (Xiv) / Claude Monet / Paris
Paris' wealth of architectural icons, monumental museums and unmissable dining experiences makes it difficult for visitors to contemplate straying beyond the city limits. Yet on Paris’ doorstep are magnificent châteaux, exquisite gardens, medieval cathedrals, and rambling forests, which can add a new dimension to a holiday in the French capital.
Whether you want to walk in the footsteps of Monet in Giverny, tuck into a medieval banquet in Provins or keep the kids happy at Disneyland, here are seven of the best day-trip destinations within around 90 minutes' travel time from central Paris.
Travel time: from 45 mins to 1hr 30 mins
Between April to October, when the key sights are open and the gardens are in bloom, a trip to Giverny is a must. The tiny village was home to impressionist Claude Monet from 1883 until his death in 1926. His rose-pink, green-shuttered house and the flowering gardens he planted and painted – including his Japanese bridge and water lily pond – are now the Maison et Jardins de Claude Monet. You can also visit the painter’s final resting place, his tombstone is located on the eastern side of Giverny's L'église Ste-Radegonde.
For more artsy activities, stroll the galleries of the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny for an overview on all things related to the Impressionist movement, with lectures, readings, and concerts taking place regularly. Worked up an appetite? Enchanting Michelin-starred inn Le Jardin des Plumes serves sublime modern French cuisine (which almost resemble works of art), while La Capucine Giverny offers staple dishes in a lovely garden setting.
How to get to Giverny from Paris: Giverny is 46 miles (74km) northwest of Paris and can be reached in roughly 1 hour and 30 minutes by car. Trains run from Paris’ Gare St-Lazare to Vernon (45 minutes to 1 hour, up to 15 daily), which lies 4 miles (7km) to the west of Giverny. Shuttle buses link Vernon with Giverny in season; alternatively, you can walk, cycle along a dedicated track or take a taxi.
Travel time: 40 to 45 mins
Strolling through the lavishly adorned 700-room baroque palace Château de Versailles – transformed from a hunting lodge by Louis XIV in the mid-17th century and serving as the seat of the royal court until 1789 – gives you an up-close appreciation of the French monarchy's disproportionate wealth and power that eventually sparked the French Revolution (which ultimately led to the then-king, Louis XVI, being unceremoniously guillotined in the French capital).
The most striking features include the opulent Grands Appartements du Roi et de la Reine (King’s and Queen’s State Apartments), and the 246ft-long (75m-long) ballroom Galerie des Glaces (Hall of Mirrors), with 17 massive mirrors opposite 17 windows
“Home sales to Americans in Europe keep growing”; “The number of Americans living in European countries is increasing”; “Americans relocating to Europe is a trend.”
This summer’s travel boom is showing no signs of slowing down during the Labor Day weekend, especially for the growing number of Americans looking to vacation overseas.
I don’t know about you but in my mind there’s nothing sweeter than the last few weeks of summer: The days are warm but by no means brutal, we’re truly at peak corn and tomato season, and languorous fried-chicken-and-Champagne picnics at the park are still an acceptable way to pass a sunny Saturday afternoon.
Spain’s rail operator Renfe has begun testing two new cross-border high-speed rail routes to France that could begin carrying passengers by summer.
Big ticket sporting events will go hand-in-hand with -style tourist experiences next year, as the International Olympic Committee and U.S. event specialist On Location team up to launch a new e-commerce website to sell tickets with hospitality packages.
Central Asian airlines are seizing opportunities from Russia’s closed airspace, with airline traffic into the region booming in the year since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, executives and analysts said.
U.S. motorists face a repeat of last summer’s high gasoline prices, analysts warned on Wednesday, with fuel stockpiles heading towards multi-year lows ahead of the peak summer driving season that begins in two months.
The idea behind the family-owned boutique hotel brand, Maisons Pariente, when it launched in 2019, was to create intimate luxury hotels — each in extraordinary places. “Rather than build vacation homes, we designed homes that have everything to make you feel like you’re invited to a friend’s house,” said Kimberley Cohen, co-founder of Maisons Pariente.
India’s domestic air traffic has hit a record high with 456,082 passengers flying on a single day, the civil aviation ministry said in a tweet. The ministry’s data shows a total of 456,082 passengers flew via 2,978 flights on April 30 and there were a total of 5,947 flight movements. “Indian domestic air travel hits new high, surpasses pre-Covid average,” it tweeted. The ministry referenced the May 1 numbers, said 448,248 passengers had taken to the skies via 2,936 flights. The rebound in India’s aviation industry comes after heavy losses faced by the industry in the past Covid-hit years. The global airline trade body, the International Air Transport Association’s latest market analysis report shows India is in the process of becoming a key global aviation market outpacing other thriving markets like the U.S., China, and Japan in passenger load factor at 81.6 percent in February 2023. With India’s air passenger traffic expected to reach 395 million in 2023-24, the country seems to have solidified its position as the world’s third largest aviation market. Credit rating agency ICRA had also recently revised its outlook on the Indian aviation industry to stable from negative due to the fast-paced recovery in domestic passenger traffic. Indian airlines have witnessed an annual growth of 51.7 percentin passenger traffic during January-March 2023 as compared to the corresponding period last year, according to Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Domestic airlines carried 375.04 lakh passengers between January-March 2023, as against 247.23 lakh in the same period last year.
Accor held a day of presentations on Tuesday in Paris for investment analysts, offering an array of insights into strategy at the $8.7 billion hotel group.
Always dynamic, Tokyo shows a new side to its character with each passing season. There's really no bad time to visit. Spring and fall bring great weather for sightseeing and seasonal changes in foliage – hanami (flower viewing) in spring and momijigari (leaf-viewing) in autumn – that are followed by locals with giddy enthusiasm. In summer people gather to watch giant firework displays light up the night sky, and in winter, there are fewer crowds, festive illuminations, and snow-clad Mt Fuji is at its most beautiful.
A Saudi prince lent soccer player Neymar his private Boeing 747 jet to fly him to Saudi Arabia.