LODGING:
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ORIENTATION: main train station drops you off in the financial districts. Tourist portion is closer to old town and probably worth staying there. You can rent bikes by many of the free bike stands in town.
LODGING:
ORIENTATION: If coming from Nice we'd strongly suggest taking the train unless you have a need to take a car. The roads leading to Monaco are 2 lane. If you get behind a truck, find construction or hit rush hour it can be a painfully long (yet beautiful) drive. Check the train schedule in Nice, but that seemed to be the best way to go.
LODGING: there are many high end US and European chains in town here. For cheaper alternatives, go to Nice.
FOOD: Many very pricey restaurants, especiallly around the Casino. Look for bakeries and sandwich shops for cheap eats.
ATTRACTIONS:
ORIENTATION: Nice Ville is the main train station. It puts you near the Old Town of Nice. From a location standpoint you'll spend time in the old town so think of that when making accomodations.
LODGING:
ORIENTATION: 5 Towns - Monterossa, Vernazza, Corneglia, Manarola and Riomaggiore (north to south). You'll have to pay 5 Euros (daily, reduced for multiday) to enter the hiking/park system. They have check points in between each town so have your pass ready to be stamped/checked. Each town has a train station, but you'll find that Monterossa has service outside of the region to other parts of Italy. No cars in the towns (only the outskirts of some).
LODGING:
ORIENTATION:
LODGING:
• Hilton Cavaleri
• Intercontinental
FOOD:
• Ciao Bella – near Piazza Bernini – Frutti di Mare and Lasanga – plenty of other sidewalk options in the area
• Alla Rampa – near Spanish Steps – walk down steps, take a left, 1st piazza on your left has 3 outdoor restaurants, go to the farthest on the left – Rigatoni Funghi e Salsicca, Swordfish Sicilia, Tiramisu
• Café – try a coffee at Caffe Flavia – right outside the Ottaviano Metro stop – great cheap spot with good coffee before touring the Vatican
• Café – try Tad Café – Via Del Babuino 155 – inside a boutique tucked in the back – wireless access – www.taditaly.com
• Vespri Siciliani – near Cavaleri hotel – great family run Italian
• Il Bagatoo – near Cavaleri hotel – good overlook of Rome
• Fior di Pizza – Via Metatasio 20 cheap pizza
• Divimum – wine bar with Berlin location soon? – www.divinum.it or .eu
ATTRACTIONS:
• ET Rome – good Coliseum, Palantine Hill tours – avoid the Vatican option unless you have a large group (15)
• Coliseum Tour - $11 Euro for ticket (includes Forum, Palantine Hill)
• Vatican Museum – 18 Euro for ticket, includes Vatican museum, Sistine Chapel, St. Peters
• Basilica of SS Ambrose & Charles on the Corso Roma – beautiful Baroque style church
• Spanish Steps
• Trevi Fountain
• St. Peter’s in Chains – Moses –
• Pantheon
• Piazza Navona – great artwork and people watching
• Arc di Costantino
•
SHOPPING:
• Farie Dodo – Via Tomacelli 128 – maternity boutique
• Il Bebe – Via Della Vite 42 - children’s boutique
• Calico Lion – Via Della Vite 80 – children’s boutique
• Fausto Santini – Via Frattini 120 – women’s shoes/handbag – www.faustosantini.com
• CIR Ricami a Mano – children’s dresses – Piazza Berberini 11 & via del babuino 103
• TAD – boutique with cool layout – Via del babuino 155 – www.taditaly.com
• Thun – www.thun.it - crafts near Pantheon
ORIENTATION: Fly into Thira, Santorini airport. From there you’ll find the most options in Fira, Firostefani or Oia. There are more dining options in Fira/Firostefani and many things are within walking distance. Oia is at the northern tip of the island and may require that you have a car depending on what you want to do on the island.
LODGING:
• Dana Villas
• Mill House
FOOD:
• Taverna Simos – Firostefani – 22860 23815 – seafood was outstanding and ask for staff recs
• Diverso – main square in Firo, open for breakfast/lunch/drinks at night. Order a waffle and sit outside on a windy day, you’ll be warm here
• - great fruit salad and outstanding sunset views
• Sisters – local delivery place – 22860 24004 – they did not speak English, but had a great Santorini salad
ATTRACTIONS:
• Oia – home of beautiful sunsets
• Perissa Beach – longest stretch of beach on the island, many bars & restaurants nearby, black sand
• Red Beach – Volcanic rock has turned this beach “red”
• Lighthouse – great views of Santorini from this southern tip of the island
• Wineries -
RENTAL CAR:
• Vazeos/Auto Europe – came straight to our hotel and were easy to deal with
• Hertz & Budget are also on the island
ORIENTATION:
LODGING:
• Hilton
• Ochre & Brown Boutique Hotel – T&L
• Hotel Grande Betagne – T&L – excellent locations
• Periscope -
FOOD:
• Hitlon – Byzantine – overpriced
• Agora Ilision – behind Hilton good food, fare
• Hfasitos – adrianou 31 – in plaka near the agora stretch – good cheap sidewalk cafes – order tomatoe and cucumber salad and be sure to get house bread
• Centrale and place across from it –
• Yapia – cool outdoor café with ruin overlook – many adjacent to it
• Cafes at west end of acropolis – coffee, crepes, etc.
ATTRACTIONS:
• Acropolis – go with the 12 Euro ticket for 5 attracitons if you have more then a day – includes: Ancient Agora, Theatre of Dionysos, Ramain Agora, Keramikos, Temple of Olympian Zeus
• Agora
• Pynx
• La Plaka
• National Archaelogical Museum
• Pod tour? - would not recommend for 20 Euro
• Parliament
• Panathinaikon Stadium
• Temple of Olympic Zeus/Hadrian’s Arch
•
SHOPPING:
• La Plaka
• Bettina – clothing boutique T&L
• Apriati – jewelry – T&l
• Mastiha Shope – t&L
• Center of Hellenic Tradition – T&L rec
ORIENTATION:
ORIENTATION:
LODGING:
ORIENTATION: Tourism Office is located in the train station.
GETTING HERE: this is about an hour long trip from Zurich HB. Just look for a direct train.
ATTRACTIONS:
GETTING THERE: For simplicity, plan on hiring a car from your hotel. They'll likely have some one meet you before you hit customs. A visa will cost $15 USD and you can purchase just outside of immigration - they seem to take all currency. The process can be confusing and happen very quickly, so be patient. Driving is chaotic in Cairo, so leave this to a local. You are best of having your hotel/destination arrange for cabs and agree on prices beforehand. Plan on at least an hour to get to or from the center of Cairo to the airport (no matter what day or time). Traffic is constant.
The Laax/Flims/Falera area might be one of the more underappreciated Swiss ski resorts. As a tourist you hear of famous resorts like Zermatt, Verbier, Davos and St. Moritz but a day skiing here will not leave you disappointed.
Catch Snow N Rail from Zurich and you'll be there in less then 2 hours. You'll take a train to Chur and transfer to a bus. A direct bus will take you to Flims first and then Laax, with several stops at each spot. When connecting at Chur get ready to move quickly the connection can be tight. Look both ways as you come off the train and look for an escalator going up - catch this for the bus station. Two buses will say Laax, just ask the driver which one to get on (or follow all of the skiers). From here it will be about 30 minutes until you are on the slopes. As you leave the bus, take a quick look at the bus schedule for when your return to Chur leaves.
If you do some close studying of the map you can ski or bus to all three mountains, but for some of the best stuff stay on Laax. Work your way to the top for outstanding views and glacier skiing. You'll access a t-bar atop the glacier to get you up to 10,000 feet. You'll find more options for food and apres ski options in the town of Flims, which is probably where you want to stay overnight.
The cafeteria type food at the Crap SB Restaurant is fine and there are plenty of options on the Laax gastronomy map. The overlook gives great views of the Alps, Falera, Laax and the outdoor bar below.
Laax seems to get some of the best snow and from what reviews say, if there is snow in Switzerland you'll find it here. Many of the resorts in 2008 seemed to really need snow, but Laax proved to have some of the best snow in the region.
ORIENTATION: Plan on using the S or U bahn through most of your stay. It is very easy, can get you anywhere in town and is very reliable. You'll be able to pick this up from the main train station or the airport.
Known famously for the World Economic Forum, Davos offers a lot of different terrain for snowboarders and skiers. If you are counting on Snow N Rail you will pay less then 85chf coming from Zurich (assuming you have a halbtax card). Plan on transferring at Landquart and your voucher will be good at the three Davos mountains as well as all three at Klosters.
For a description of the variety at Davos click here, but you'll want to spend most of your time on Jakobshorn or Parsenn (access from Davos Dorf). On Jakobshorn you can't help but notice all of the paragliders heading off the mountain. You'll see paragliders, paraglide skiers and even hang gliders launching right next to a restaurants. Jakobshorn two mid mountain restaurants have decent food, but really make up for it with unreal scenery and comfy seating to watch the skiing and surroundings.
You can find rental equipment at any of the train stations very easily, look for a Swiss Sport or Intersport.
Zermatt is a great ski town in the southern part of Switzerland. About 3 hours away by train from Geneva and Zurich - this is absolutely a great experience for skiing.
GETTING THERE: Use the Swiss Travel System Snow N Rail which will cost you about 140chf (with halbtax) from Zurich. To check timing try the SBB website and you'll want to switch at Brig. If your timing is right you'll only have to switch once at Brig. Otherwise plan on an additional transfer at Bern.
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GOLF DAY TRIPS:
If you are traveling via train and can handle a 2+ hour train ride, take a ride down to Andermatt for some incredible views of the central Swiss Alps and outstanding skiing. Using Snow N Rail it is just 70chf (using Halbtax), making this one of the best bargains from Zurich.
Upon arrival to the main station in Andermatt you can follow signs to the cable car or take a train to another portion of the mountain. There are four peaks at this mountain and unfortunately like many Swiss ski resorts you can't access all of them via piste. Plan on checking the train schedules between mountains to maximize your time on the slopes. For a link the the ski pistes click here.
Skiing down to Andermatt is a great catwalk offering stellar views of the town below. You'll come across cow pastures, kids sledging, and several tempting apres ski options on the descent. For the best skiing at Andermatt head to the 2 mountains farthest away from each other (ie not the wind turbine mountain).
For some good skiing and incredible views catch a train from Zurich to Engelberg-Titlis. Using Snow N Rail, you'll pay just under 80CFH (with halbtax) and can get there in just over 2 hours from Zurich.
Upon arriving in Engelberg you'll have a couple options to ski. You can walk to your left and follow signs for Brunni (the "sunny side" of Engelberg, but don't be fooled) which will take you up a mountain with very little terrain and snow only on the top half. If you follow signs for the bus or walk to your right outside the main station, you'll find Titlis which offers superior skiing and views to Brunni.
Prepare your 5chf when you turn in your Snow N Rail voucher (remember to get your deposit back at the ticket office or train station). You'll encounter every form of transportation at Titlis as it literally takes a train, funicular, escalator, elevator, stairs and rotating cable car to get you to the summit. While there may be some over-engineering involved, the views of the Alps are worth the chaos of getting atop the mountain. Get to the top early, as the catwalks get skiied off very quickly in the day making the top unenjoyable the latter parts of the day. Take some time to enjoy views from 10,000 feet and then go ski the rest of the mountain!
You'll find all kinds of skiing here and for a link to the the details on Titlis click here.
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