A Dozen Reasons to Visit India During Diwali
India’s biggest and most important annual holiday is also one of the best times to visit the country. Ancient civilizations the world over celebrate lunar cycles, the harvest, and the power of light. India’s version of this universal theme is Diwali, and the festival brings centuries of rich tradition alive. Every year over five days in October or November, communities...
Grain Silo Transformed into Breathtaking Museum and Hotel
Within a year of its breathtaking reincarnation, Cape Town's historic Grain Silo has already been named one of the world's top 100 places. When it was originally constructed in the 1920's, the Grain Silo on the city's waterfront was the tallest building in Sub-Saharan Africa, and a symbol of connection to the rest of the world.A century later, after the Grain...
Lest We Forget: The WW2 Site That's Trying to Gain UNESCO Status
It was a fabled event in military history and has become etched into popular culture, the subject of movies, documentaries, novels and real stories shared by veterans returning to their homes.2019 marked the 75th anniversary of D-Day. With every passing year, there are fewer and fewer veterans alive who landed on Canada's Juno Beach, Britain's Sword and Gold Beaches, and...
Move over Halloween: 5 Reasons to Travel to Mexico for Day of the Dead
It’s the fantastical backdrop of the opening sequence of a James Bond movie. And one of the items on the list of UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.Mexico’s Day of the Dead is often mistaken as the country’s equivalent of Hallowe’en, but Día de Muertos has its own history, traditions and practice in modern Mexico that make it the celebration worth...
The Real Downton Abbey and 3 Other Majestic English Manor Houses That Star in Films
If the Downton Abbey movie and TV series has you fantasizing about life in the elegant and storied surroundings of England’s stately homes, you are not alone. The stories and history made in these estates are legendary.At one time, there were tens of thousands of country houses owned by Britain’s noble families. The English countryside is still dotted with breathtaking architectural...
These 3 Latin American Cities Turn 500 This Year
In 14 hundred and 92, Columbus sailed the ocean blue (as the rhyme we learned in school goes), and unwittingly unleashed a tsunami of Europeans heading west to explore the Americas.That was half a millennium ago, and now, some of the earliest European settlements in the Caribbean and Latin America are marking 500 years of European settlement.In the years since...
This Italian Wine Region is Now a UNESCO Site
Pop the cork on the bubbles! If you're a fan of sparkling wine, you are likely already familiar – and in love with – Italy's signature rival to French champagne.Finally, Italian prosecco is getting some recognition - you might agree it's long overdue. After a 10-year wait, Italy's Prosecco hills of Conegliano and Valdobbiadene have been designated the country's 55th UNESCO World Heritage...
Video: The Only Place in the World with 3 Real Viking Ships
It's the best place in the world to discover your inner Viking! Scandinavia's seagoing warriors have re-captured the world's imagination. But Vikings were not imaginary. This culture in Norway, Sweden and Denmark built incredibly engineered, sea-worthy ships, developed sophisticated artistry, mythology… even a form of democracy – over a thousand years ago in the tough northern European climes. And there's one place...
Put America's Oldest Cities On Your Travel Bucket List
You don't have to be a history buff to make a point of visiting the oldest cities in the U.S.Since the establishment of European settlements in what is now the United States, beginning in the 1500's, some of these cities may have been eclipsed by bigger or more glamorous neighbors. But they all retain both historical charms and modern-day attractions that...
50 Years Since John Lennon's Bed-in for Peace: Video Inside that Hotel Suite Today
It was a week at the end of May 1969 that became an iconic, unforgettable moment of 60's counter-culture and protests against the Vietnam War. 2019 marks the anniversary of the legendary time when music uber-star and peace activist John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono booked themselves into Montreal's Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel, and held their 'Bed-in for Peace'. The...