Different places to travel » Luxury

Travel – Nassau – the capital of the Bahamas

Traveller — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 16:23:51 +0000

Nassau is the capital of Bahamas (which is a member of the British Commonwealth). Nassau is the largest city in the Bahamas and is located on the eastern half of New Providence Island. It was earlier known as Charles Town around 1650 and later to Nassau, named after Fort Nassau. Nassau was also known as a pirates den. It has a population of approximately 200,000 and constitutes 70 percent of population of the Bahamas.
Bay Street is a street that runs along the shore and is the main shopping street of Nassau. It has a mix of jewelry boutiques and trashy souvenir shops. Many government buildings and company headquarters are located on Over the Hill district.
Attractions of Nassau:
• Old Town: This town is a combination of abandoned buildings and Caribbean structures. There is a pink Parliament Building with a statue of Queen Victoria out in the front.
• Ardastra Gardens, Zoo & Conservation Center: This is the only zoo located in the Bahamas. One can see marching flamingo shows and feed the parakeets. This conservation centre is spread wide on five acres of a tropical garden. Flamingos march here as they are trained in formation and marching. This is a show of marching flamingos that is held daily at 10:30, 14:00 and 16:00 three times. There are Caribbean flamingos which are 40 years old and are the largest flock on Great Inagua Island in Bahamas. This centre houses Bahamas parrot and many species of iguanas. The other animals include jaguars, parrots and small mammals.
• National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, West & West Hill Streets: This centre houses the Bahamian art from the pre-colonial era to the present. The building is a renovated building which was once the residence of the Chief Justice.
• Pirate Museum: This museum is a recreation of the pirate town with a pirate ship and a pirate battle along with a few real artifacts blended. It is fun to take a guided tour.
• Fort Fincastle: This is a small fort that was built in 1793. This fort overlooks the city of Nassau. One can see it from a small hill south of town. One can view many cannons that are kept for display.
• Atlantis Hotel Aquarium: It is known to be the largest open-air aquarium in the world. There is a replica of the lost city of Atlantis through which the stingrays and shining fish swim and there are other collections of Caribbean species in this stunning aquarium.
• Balcony house: This is a restored historic structure of the 18th century dating back to 1788. The residence is very old and made out of wood, an example of a tropical colonial house. The interior has not been disturbed, and has the antiques and objects that belonged to that house originally. There are guided tours available for those who want to visit. The design and construction features are used to keep the house cool, dry and termite free, a specialty of the house. A Mahogany set of swan-neck chairs, four poster beds, a drop-front desk, china and crystal and hand-worked brass valences are among the antiques on display.
• The British Colonial Hilton: This is on the site of Fort Nassau and dating back to 1922. This place gives a view of the harbor and visiting cruise ships. The present building is a replacement to the original wooden hotel of 1898. Henry Flager was the owner and was known for building hotels along Miami Beach and along the coast of Florida. These hotels are special for their Colonial constructions. Its historic façade of towers, galleries, and molded reliefs are maintained. The restaurants and spa are special and an amusement park is also housed.
• Doongalik: This is a centre built to preserve the culture of the Black community who are the majority of the population of Bahamas. It has an art gallery depicting the bush medicine, shops, collection of Junkanoo costumes and sculptures. There are also the traditional instruments for making music out of goat skin like drums and cow bells etc., which are a special attraction.
• Government house: There is a pink and white house on the top of Mount Fitzwilliam which is a Roman-classical mansion dating back to 1801. This served as a house for the British Governor General. There is a white statue of Christopher Columbus belonging to 1830 which is on the stairs of the mansion. On alternate Sundays, changing of the guard ceremony is hosted.
• Paradise Island: Paradise Island is a Caribbean island and off Nassau, Bahamas. This Island is connected to New Providence Island by two bridges crossing Nassau harbor. This island has a variety of beaches and hotels and resorts. Cable beach is the popular one. It is dominated by Las Vegas style Atlantis resort. It is on the northern edge of New Providence. Paradise Island is also known as Hog Island. The bridges were built in 1966 and 1990. An Augustinian monastery was also installed which is dating back to 14th century French style.
Things to do: One can take a guided bus tours, explore old forts, Paradise Island and aquarium and roam around the old town.

Best time to visit / climate:
The best time to visit Nassau is May to October. This island has a tropical monsoon climate with constant temperatures almost through the year. Summertime temperatures rarely exceed 92 degrees Fahrenheit (33 degrees Celsius) and the winter months have daytime temperatures between 68 and 80 °F (20 and 27 °C), rarely falling below 50 °F (10 °C).

Location on Google Maps:

View Larger Map

How to get there:
By air: Lynden Pindling International Airport is the largest airport in the Bahamas. It serves most major U.S. airlines and flights to Nassau. Limited service from Toronto and London also exists.
By sea: A total of seven cruise ships can dock at the Prince George Wharf Cruise Terminal which is adjacent to downtown Nassau.

Getting around:
• By water taxi: One can take a water taxi to get to Paradise Island from downtown.
• By minibus: These minibuses are also known as jitneys which are the bus system of Nassau city and New Providence Island. These are on and near Bay Street.
• By taxi: Taxis operate around the city and they are identified by their yellow license plates.
• By car: one can rent a car to roam around.
• By scooter: Scooter (small motorcycle) rental is also popular in Nassau.
• By bike: Bikes and bicycles also can be rented in Nassau.
• By foot: One can go around on foot in downtown.

Plan your trip to Nassau better with these books:

Frommer’s Bahamas 2012	Sailing Misadventures of the Wild Hair	The Bahamas (Multi Country Travel Guide)

Places to stay (hotels / restaurants along with website / contact numbers):

• Restaurant
• Hotels
• Tripadvisor (hotels, restaurants)
• http://www.nassau-hotel.com/

Blogs / Sites about Nassau:

• Travelblog
• Travelpod
• Realtravel
• Virtualtourist

Images and photos of Nassau:

• Google Image Search
• Tripadvisor
• Cruises
• Placesonline

Videos of Nassau from Youtube:

Nassau Bahamas Cruise Dec. 2007

Nassau Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas, East Bay Street Shopping District, May, 2009

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau Straw Market

Atlantis, Paradise Island, Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau Bahamas Walking Tour – Dec 18, 2007 Pt 2

Plane Wreck at Nassau, Bahamas

nassau bahamas day & night life

Beach on Nassau, Bahamas

Travel – Freeport (Bahamas) – a city on the island of Grand Bahamas in the district of Bahamas

Traveller — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 18:07:46 +0000

Freeport is a city on the island of Grand Bahamas and in the district of Bahamas. It is located 100 miles (160 km) east-northeast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. This city is part of a free trade zone of the Bahamas, operated by the Grand Bahamas Port Authority (GBPA). There was an agreement signed called the Hawksbill Creek Agreement in August 1955 declaring that the Bahamian Government agreed to businesses in the Freeport area and will pay no taxes before 2054. The Pine yard of Wallace Groves, a Virginian financier, was the first development of the economy of Freeport of Bahamas. He owned 50,000 acres (200 km2) of land of this area. After the capital of Nassau, City of Freeport is known to be the most populous city of Bahamas. The Grand Bahamas International Airport serves this place.
Freeport’s land area is about 230-square-mile (600 km2). It is off the coast of Palm Beach, Florida and about 65 miles (105 km) off the coast. Many international companies use Freeport as their business sites. Tourism topped the list for quite some time but from 2004, tourism has decreased tremendously due to hurricane hits.

Things to do:
There are plenty of beaches. Diving, water biking, surfing, Parasailing and underwater cave diving are different activities of the place.

Places to see:
• The Rand Nature Centre: This Centre was named in the honor of James Rand.
• Rand Nature Centre – Bahamas National Trust, Freeport City: This is in the East Settlers Way in the Freeport City. One can take a guided tour through this tropical forest. This Centre has hanging vines, serene pools and unusual wild animals. This is the regional headquarters of the Bahamas National Trust. This centre is spread over 100-acre property. West Indian flamingoes flock to this centre.
• Petersons Cay: This is a small islet of about 300 yards off the Grand Bahamas shore.
• Lucayan National Park: This national park was found by Peter Barrat who was a former Architect. He was also the Freeport town planner. This park is spread to an area of about 40 acres (0.16 km2). This area includes five ecological zones which extend from south shore to the pine yard. There is an underwater cave beneath this park.
• Theo’s Wreck: This is the most popular diving site. This is actually a shipwreck of the ship named Theo Galanopoulos (228-foot cement hauler) which sank off the shore near Freeport in 1982. This is now laying at a depth of 100 feet right off the continental shelf. The marine life, including numerous moray eels have made their home here.
• Xanadu Beach, Freeport City: This is on the Southwest coast of Grand Bahamas Island in the Freeport City. This is a crowded beach. One can rent chairs and umbrellas and enjoy variety of fun things. Parasailing, banana boat rides and JetSkiing, enjoying tropical drinks and snacks are some of the things here. There is an international bazaar with countless eating, drinking and shopping.
• The Garden of the Groves, Freeport City: This is on the Magellan Drive in the Freeport City. This area has jungle and zoo in the 11-acre property. This garden has the most exotic wildlife. Macaws, alligators, pot-bellied pigs and pigmy goats and iguanas are few of them. There is a waterfall and tropical fruit trees all around.
• Pinetree Stables, Freeport: This is located at Little Crab Cay in Freeport city. One can gallop along the shoreline splashing in the Caribbean shores.
• Paradise Watersports, Freeport City: This is located in the Xanadu Beach in the Freeport City. One can enjoy many aquatic activities in this beachfront. Underwater marine life can be viewed by taking glass bottom boats. Reef-n-Wreck snorkeling and parasailing can also be done.
• Xanadu Underseas Adventures, Freeport City: This is located in Xanadu Marina in the Freeport City. Diving is the best here with amazing cave diving which is rare and shark diving is another attraction. One can dive in reefs, cave and tunnels.
• Grand Bahama Brewing Company, Freeport City: This is located in the Logwood Road in the Freeport City. This is a microbrewery in the Bahamas. One can taste the samples and buy too.

Best time to visit / climate:
Freeport enjoys a subtropical climate with mild winters. The average temperatures range in the low to upper 80s, with water temperatures never below 72°. The winters are usually cold and dry while the summers are usually hot and wet. This can be considered as an all year visit site.

Location on Google Maps:

View Larger Map

How to get there:
By plane: There are many flights available from South Florida. American eagle offers daily flights from Miami. Bahamasair, Continental Connection, and Spirit Airlines all offer daily flights from Fort Lauderdale.
By Boat: There are quite a number of cruises departing from Port Everglades (Fort Lauderdale) that offer cheap tickets to Freeport and Nassau.

To get around: One can take rent a car to move around.

Places to stay (hotels / restaurants along with website / contact numbers):

• Yahoo travel
• Tripadvisor Hotels
• Tripadvisor Restaurants
• Hotelclub.com

Blogs / Sites about Freeport (Bahamas):

• Lonelyplanet
• Travelpod.com
• Loadweb.com

Images and photos of Freeport (Bahamas):

• Google Search
• Placesonline.com
• Tripadvisor
• Freeportusa.com
• fotosearch.com

Videos from youtube:

Freeport Bahamas

Tour of Freeport, Bahamas

Our Lucaya Beach, Freeport Bahamas

Bahamas Jeep Safari, Grand Bahama Nature Tours, Freeport , Bahamas

Lucerne – A beautiful city in Switzerland

Traveller — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 18:31:16 +0000

Lucerne is a city of Central Switzerland and is the capital of the Canton of Lucerne and seat of the district with the same name. It is considered to be the most populous city of Switzerland. It consists of seventeen municipalities. It is sited on Lake Lucerne and has beautiful mountainous panorama. One can go to the nearby Excursion Mountains of the Rigi, Pilatus and Stanserhorn, the town is a destination for many travel groups and individuals on their journey through central Switzerland.
Complete with gable paintings, the covered, medieval Chapel Bridge forms the centerpiece of Lucerne. Lucerne is a city of town squares and churches. The Jesuit church dating from the 17th century is regarded as Switzerland’s first sacral Baroque building and the twin towers of the Hofkirche form an integral part of the townscape. And with its 112-metre-long Bourbaki panorama, Lucerne possesses one of the world’s few maintained, mammoth circular paintings.
The cherry road leads from Lucerne through the landscape of cheery trees and kirsch. Lucerne is the ideal starting point for many excursions to the highlights of central Switzerland. A trip up one of Lucerne’s regional mountains, the Pilatus or the Rigi – the queen of mountains – is a must. But excursions up onto the Stanserhorn, the Bürgenstock or a steamship cruise on Lake Lucerne with its many bends and arms are certainly no less worthy. The Wilhelm Tell Express originates in Lucerne and ferries its passengers to the foot of the Gotthard pass via Lake Lucerne and then continues by rail into Ticino, south of the Alpine ridge.
Lucerne is traditionally considered first and foremost as a tourist destination due to its location. One of the city’s famous landmarks is Chapel Bridge (Kapellbrücke), a wooden bridge first built in the 14th century. It has also been voted as the 5th most popular tourism destination.
Lucerne has a developed and well-run transport network, with the main operator, VBL, running both buses and trolleybuses in the city. Other operators, such as Auto AG Rothenberg, provide bus services to neighboring towns and villages. Lucerne station enjoys excellent links to the rest of Switzerland via rail services operated by SBB and Zentralbahn.

Festivals: Carnival (Fasnacht) breaks out in the streets, alleyways and squares of the old town at the end of winter. This is a glittering outdoor party with strange characters in fantastic masks and costumes make their way through the alleyways, while carnival bands (Guggenmusigen) blow their instruments in joyful cacophony and thousands of bizarrely clad people sing and dance away the winter. Lucerne Carnival starts every year on the Thursday before Ash Wednesday with a big bang. There are big parades on Dirty Thursday and the following Monday, called Fat Monday, which attract tens of thousands of people. Lucerne’s Carnival ends with a crowning finish on Fat Tuesday evening with a tremendous parade of big bands, lights and lanterns. After the parade, all the bands wander through the city playing joyful music.
Its orchestra, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, is hand-picked from some of the finest instrumentalists in the world. In July, the Blue Balls Festival brings jazz, blues and funk music to the Lake Promenade and halls of the Culture and Convention Center. The Lucerne Blues Festival is another musical festival which usually takes place in November. Since spring 2004, Lucerne has hosted the Festival Rose d’Or for television entertainment. And in April, the well-established comic’s festival Fumetto attracts an international audience. Lucerne regularly holds different folklore festivals, such as Lucerne Cheese Festival, held annually.

Places to see
• The Chapel Bridge, one of Europe’s oldest wooden bridges and landmark of Lucerne, faithfully restored to its original design after a serious fire. The Bridge is made with wood and was built in 14th century as a protection for the city. Unfortunately the bridge burned down on 18th August 1993. Within a few months it was rebuilt. The tower used as oubliette is still in original condition. Walk over it in a 3D Model. Its amusing walking over it as you can see about 100 pictures of 12th century city life and Swiss history.
• Alpineum
• Bourbaki Panorama
• The Glacier Garden
• The Swiss Transport Museum: Lido beach (the first stop for boats leaving from the central train station, preferably reached by bus). With its large collection of trains, planes, automobiles, and motorcycles this museum of means of transport is a great place to spend an afternoon. If you get tired of the real train engines you can check out the model railroad or the miniature working steam train. The air section also features several space travel exhibits, including an un-used project Mercury capsule. The old city wall
• Lucerne Art Museum
• The Rosengart Collection It has over 200 works by 23 artists of early modernism, including 125 works of Paul Klee and about 50 by Pablo Picasso. Also works by Cézanne, Chagall, Miró, Pissarro, among others. The collection also houses 200 photographs — previously housed in the Am-Rhyn-Haus — by David Duncan Douglas the Richard Wagner Museum.
• The KKL (Kunst- und Kongresshaus Luzern) The KKL is a spectacular building that contains several concert halls and the Lucerne Art Museum. It was designed by Jean Nouvel. Its major concert hall is famous for its acoustics, and world class orchestras can be heard regularly. It hosts the Lucerne music festival.
• The Lion Monument (German: Löwendenkmal). Or the Lion of Lucerne is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen. It commemorates the Swiss Guards who were massacred in 1792 during the French Revolution, when revolutionaries stormed the Tuileries Palace in Paris, France.

Best time to visit / climate

The best time to visit Lucerne, Switzerland is summer that lasts from June to September and the Alps open from late November to early April.

Location on Google Maps:

View Larger Map

Or click and paste the URL below on your browser:

http://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&q=Lucerne&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Lucerne,+Switzerland&gl=ca&ei=MNBOTLLcC82GrQfXnKDEAw&ved=0CB8Q8gEwAA&z=11

Path from Zurich to Lucerne on Google Maps:

View Larger Map

How to get there

http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/destinations/resorts/holiday-destinations-in-switzerland/lucerne.html (one can search any train giving from and to destinations)
Public transport: Lucerne is situated at the important North-South axis and is excellently connected through the Swiss rail system. Direct express trains link Lucerne with the international airports in Zürich, Basel and Geneva.
By car: Lucerne is situated at the national highway A2. A dense network of excellent national and major roads link Lucerne with all important centers of Switzerland and the neighboring countries.
By air: The international airports of Zürich, Basel and Geneva are only a few hours by car from Lucerne and are easily reached by direct express trains.
By train: Thanks to its central location Lucerne can be reached easily from nearly every other city in Switzerland using the Swiss Federal Railway. There are hourly trains from Olten and Zurich Airport and half-hourly trains from Zurich, and a direct train every other hour from Berne, although departure times are more frequent with connections.
By boat: Lucerne sits at the north end of the Vierwaldstättersee, one of the busiest waterways in Switzerland, for travel information from Schwyz, Flüelen, Weggis, and outbound points see the schedule at the Schifffahrt Vierwaldstättersee.

Places to stay (hotels / restaurants along with website / contact numbers)

• Site 1
• Otel.com (gives lists and prices of the hotels etc.,)
• http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/booking/hotels-list.shtml (list of hotels, prices, maps, etc.,)
• http://www.isyours.com/e/guide/lucerne/restaurants.html (restaurant guide)
(Search for the popular names like Restaurant Schwan, Restaurant Bodu, exquisite French Cuisine, Treibhaus Luzern, Migros or Coop, Mövenpick Restaurant)
• http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g188064-d234242-Reviews-The_Hotel_Lucerne-Lucerne.html
• http://www.holidaycityeurope.com/lucernehotels/
• http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/hotels/index.cfm/zentralschweiz/luzern

Blogs / Sites about Lucerne

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucerne#Early_history_and_founding_.28750.E2.80.931386.29
• http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/destinations/resorts/holiday-destinations-in-switzerland/lucerne.html
• http://wikitravel.org/en/Lucerne

Images and photos of Lucerne

• Google Images
• http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g188064-Lucerne.html
• http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/lucerne.html

Geneva – A large city in Switzerland

Traveller — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:31:10 +0000

Geneva is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of Romandie (the French-speaking part of Switzerland). It is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. It is situated where the Rhône River exits Lake Geneva (in French also known as Lac Léman).
Geneva has been described as the third European financial centre after London and Zurich, and the world’s eighth most important financial centre by the Global Financial Centres Index, ahead of Frankfurt and Sydney and a 2009 survey by Mercer found Geneva to have the third-highest quality of life of any city in the world. Geneva is a global city, a financial centre, and a worldwide centre for diplomacy as well as the most important international co-operation centre with New York because of the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. The city has been referred to as the world’s most compact metropolis and the “Peace Capital” In 2009, Geneva was ranked as the fourth most expensive city in the world.

Museums: Museums and art galleries are present in the city. Some are related to the many international organizations as the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum or the Microcosm in the CERN area.
Sports: The main sport team in Geneva is Servette FC, a football club founded in 1890 and named after a borough on the right bank of the Rhône. Geneva is also home of the Genève-Servette Hockey Club, who plays in the Swiss National League A. In 2008 and 2010 the team made it to the league finals but lost to the ZSC Lions and SC Bern respectively.
Geneva is the seat of the European headquarters of the United Nations. It is located in the Palace of Nations building.
Several agencies are headquartered at Geneva, among which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights(UNHCHR), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization(ILO) or the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
Organizations on the European level include the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) which is the world’s largest particle physics laboratory. Apart from the United Nation agencies, Geneva hosts many inter-governmental organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Economic Forum (WEF), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The Geneva Environment Network (GEN) publishes the Geneva Green Guide, and extensive listing of Geneva-based global organizations working on environment protection and sustainable development.

Places to see
• Geneva’s lakefront: This column of lake water is as high as 450 feet in the air. Along the lakeside one will find beautiful flowerbeds and other exotic flora as well as elegant old residences. As for what’s on the water – swans, ducks and diving birds cohabit with a multitude of brightly colored sailing boats just waiting for a regatta. The Brunswick Monument which contains the tomb of Charles II, Duke of Brunswick is on the right bank. Further along the quay is the Pâquis Jetty with its lighthouse and the public baths.
Crossing the Mont-Blanc bridge towards the left bank, there is Jardin anglais , an English Garden. Here you’ll find the famous flower clock.

• Jet d’eau (water fountain): This fountain has grown to be the symbol of Geneva. In 1891, it was transferred to the “Rade”, to become a major tourist attraction. However, it was not until 1951 that it was provided with an autonomous pumping station, propelling 500 litres of water per second to a height of 140 meters at a speed of 200 km per hour (124 miles/h). Eight 9,000-watt projectors light the fountain’s majestic column in the evening as it soars skywards.

• Flower Clock: The famous flower clock, located at the edge of the Jardin Anglais (English Garden) since 1955, is a masterpiece of technology and floral art and a symbol of the Geneva watch industry of world. It is a decorative clock with its sole dial comprising over 6,500 flowers and provided it with decisive artistic dimensions. It is now composed of eight concentric circles, the colours of which vary with the seasons and the plants which make up the display. The second’s hand of Geneva’s Flower Clock is the largest in the world (it is more than 2.5 meters long).

• Saint Peter’s Cathedral: One will be charmed by the Clémence, the queen of the bells, weighing over 6 tons and hoisted to this very tower in 1407. This Cathedral has one hundred fifty seven steps lead to the summit of the cathedral’s north tower and to a fabulous panorama overlooking the city and the lake.

• Reformation Wall: This wall Stroll along 100 meters of wall and cover 450 years in the history of Protestantism. The construction of the Reformation Wall in the Bastions Park began in 1909. The monument is backed against part of the ancient defensive walls that surrounded the city until the middle of the 19th century.

• Place Neuve: It comprises the Grand-Théâtre (opera), the reputed Conservatory of Music and the Rath Museum, internationally renowned for its temporary exhibitions. In the centre of the square, a statue depicts the Genevan general Henri Dufour, national hero and first to establish a map of Switzerland.

• United Nations Building: It is the second most important centre of the United Nations after New York. Its surface is that of the Palais de Versailles and its Assembly Room, seating 2,000, is as large as the Paris Opera House. Over 25,000 delegates meet here annually to negotiate for world peace. It was constructed between 1929 and 1936 to house the League of Nations. Many works of art and gifts are displayed.

• Place du Bourg-de-Four: In the very heart of the Old Town, the Place du Bourg-de-Four has always been a meeting place.

• Carouge: Carouge, a small suburb of Geneva, was only to develop after 1754. A city plan then was designed by Turinese architects with a checkerboard arrangement around an axis planted with trees (the Place du Marché) and low houses with galleries in the rear opening on gardens. Trendy boutiques, antiques and curios dealers, restaurants and bistorts ensure a very warm and congenial ambience.

Currency: Switzerland uses the Swiss franc. Money can be exchanged at post offices and train stations, which offer similar rates to that of banks. Being one of the banking capitals of the world, ATMs are very common.

Best time to visit / climate: The best time to visit Geneva is summer as in winter ice storms and snowfall are usual. But if skiing is one of your interests then winter can also make a good time for visit.

Location on Google Maps:

View Larger Map

Or click and paste the URL below on your browser:

http://maps.google.co.in/maps?q=Geneva&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Geneva,+Switzerland&gl=in&ei=YyJJTJG2Ds_IcYXR7eoM&ved=0CCwQ8gEwAA&z=13

How to get there:

By Air: Geneva International Airport is a network of a hundred or so destinations spread right across the globe. A great advantage is the airport’s proximity to the city centre: 5 km (3 miles). A direct rail connection links the airport to the downtown railway station in 6 minutes. The terminal has essential services such as exchange, information, restaurants and a business centre at strategic points.
Several hotels are close to the airport. The World Trade Centre and Geneva Palexpo, the exhibition and conference centers, are only a few hundred yards away. All important car rental companies have offices at the airport. In other words, the Geneva International Airport offers all the facilities one expects to find in a city of Geneva’s importance.

By Train: The Swiss National Railroad system offers hourly links to Lausanne, Bern, Basel, and Zurich and to the famous holiday regions of the Cantons of Vaud and Valais. City and airport of Geneva are joined by rail with more than 200 trains a day. Many international routes pass through Geneva to provide convenient connections across Europe. There are trains from Geneva to Paris and from there to London, crossing the Channel by ferry or by the Euro-Tunnel.

By Road: Heading south, motorists can pick up the “Route Blanche” on the city outskirts to reach Chamonix and the Mont-Blanc within 1 1/2 hours, Italy (via the Mont-Blanc tunnel) within two hours. A branch of this same highway offers the rapid links Geneva-Grenoble to the south and Geneva-Lyon to the west, with continuing connections on to Paris. To the north and east, the Swiss highway system provides fast direct links with Lausanne, Vevey, Montreux, Villeneuve, Martigny, Fribourg, Bern, Basel, and Zurich and beyond.

Transport within Geneva
Cars rental : http://www.geneva.com/detail.php?id=1546&Cars rental (addresses and contact numbers)
Public Transports Unireso : Unireso is the tariff community covering all Geneva and operated by:
- CFF (trains, zones 11, 12, 15, 17 & 55),
- Transports Publics Genevois (TPG). (Trams and buses, for the ALL GENEVA zone and the regional zones 20, 30, 40, 44 & 55),
- SMGN (“Mouettes Genevoises” boats, lines M1 to M4, zones 11 & 12)
Unireso tickets and day passes must be purchased before boarding the vehicle from automatic vending machines located at the stops. A valid ticket must always be carried during the journey and must be presented in case of control.

Boats: Public transport by boat is provided by the Mouettes Genevoises, which link the two banks of the lake within the city

Taxis : Taxis in Geneva can be hailed in the street, ordered by phone, or found at about 60 authorized taxi ranks in town, airport and main station.
The prices per Kilometer: Out of canton: CHF 3.80, Nights, Sundays, public holidays: CHF 3.80, 4 or more passengers: CHF 3.80.

Geneva Transport Card : All visitors staying at a hotel, youth hostel or camping in Geneva can benefit from the Geneva Transport Card, with no additional cost. This personal and non-transferable pass enables its holder to use of the entire public transportation network without restriction (bus, train and boat), with validity for the entire duration of his (her) stay including the departure day.
Trams/metros: The names of different train stations are Cointrin (airport), Cornavin (in town), Eaux-Vives and Gare Routière.
(http://212.203.98.98/WD140AWP/WD140AWP.EXE/CONNECT/GRweb gives information of trams and metros in the city.)

Places to stay (hotels / restaurants along with website / contact numbers):

• http://www.geneva-tourism.ch/?rubrique=0000000269 (list of hotels from 5 to one star)
• http://www.geneva.com/index.php?catid=315&Restaurants (gives the list of restaraunts to dine in)
• http://reservations.geneva.com/city/ch/geneva.en.html?aid=330677;label=searchbox;sid=3c951687801c87d92cda042a650fa760 (hotel reservations)
• http://www.hotel.info/Search.aspx?gclid=COqn39CIgaMCFU1B6wodxHidZw&hs_validate=2&hs_locationnr=46593&cpn=46&cpnll=371 (list of hotels with details)
• http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/hotels/index.cfm/genf/geneve/hotel+crowne+plaza+geneva/12451
• Hotels.com search

Blogs / Sites about Geneva
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva
• http://www.myswitzerland.com/en/search/search.cfm?phrase=geneva
• http://www.geneva-tourism.ch/?rubrique=0000000594

Images and photos of Geneva

• http://phototheque.genevetourisme.ch/?lang=en (online picture library – cultural, fun, historical, international, nature and landscape and urban)
• http://www.worldtravelguide.net/city/49/images/Europe/Geneva.html
• http://www.danheller.com/geneva.html
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rade_Geneve.jpg
• http://www.igeneve.ch/photographie/

Parwanoo in Himachal Pradesh

Traveller — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 20:50:32 +0000

Location: Himachal Pradesh
Altitude: 470m
Places Of Interest: Renuka, Subathu, Dagshai, Pinjore, Kasauli
Best Time To Visit: July to September. In winter, the temperature can get quite low when heavy woolens are required. It is pleasantly warm in summer and cottons are recommended.

Situated along National Highway 22, it borders Panchkula district of Haryana, and is after the towns of Pinjore and Kalka on the Chandigarh Simla Highway. Pinjore to Parwanoo is almost a continuous urban belt. Parwanoo is most known for its cable car (connecting the 2 resorts of Timber Trail Resort and Timber trail Heights). These 2 resorts are on separate hills, with a valley in between in which the river Kausalya flows. Most tourists I know go to Parwanoo drawn by the experience of staying in the resort (the resort appears as soon as the tourist enters Himachal at Parwanoo on the national highway).

Parwanoo was a small sleepy village just a few decades back, but started getting more popular as time went by, with tourists getting drawn by this scenic hill station that has a wealth of attractions to offer. The town has some great trekking trails (not the long ones, but ones that can be done by the tourists wanting to spend a few hours at trekking), there are orchards full of fruit laden trees, and some great scenery. This makes Parwanoo popular with nature lovers, honeymooners, and the general tourist. Plus, the business type who want to hold their business meetings in the lap of nature use the conferencing facilities provided by the resort while their families enjoy the other things to offer.
Parwanoo is also slowly starting to develop as an industrial area, with fruit based products, plastics, motar parts and watch components being some of the major productions of the area.

Some of the popular places nearby:
Renuka (132-km): With a circumference of roughly 2.5-kms, this is the largest lake in Himachal. It is regarded to be the embodiment of the Goddess Renuka, and attracts a large number of pilgrims.
Dagshai (28-km): Once a British cantonment, this small town is surrounded by pine trees and offers an old church.
Subathu (16-km): Still a cantonment, it has also got the remains of a Gurkha Fort.
Pinjore (10-km): Parwanoo is an excellent base to visit the famed Mughal style gardens at Pinjore, these are really beautiful.
Kasauli, situated 37 km from Parwanoo, is a charming hill station worth a visit.

Places to stay:
Timber Trail Height, Parwanoo, Himachal Pradesh (link)
Hotel Siwalik: Tel: 01792-32295, Fax: 01792-32574.
Hotel Windsmoor, Parwanoo
Hotel Monal Palace Parwanoo

How to get there:
- BY AIR nearest International Airport is New Delhi 280 kms and Nearest Domestic Airport is Chandigarh 35 kms.
- BY RAIL to Kalka Railway Station 7 kms and Chandigarh Railway Station is 30 kms.
- BY ROAD towards Shimla on the National Highway – 35 kms from Chandigarh.

Wildflower Hall Hotel Himachal Pradesh

Traveller — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 03:37:45 +0000

A great resort located near Shimla, in the region of Chharabra (a small village situated approximately 8250 feet (2514 m) above sea level, 13 km from Shimla, India on National Highway 22 (Hindustan-Tibet Road)), Wildflower Hall is a property of the Oberoi Group (link).
History: The first owner of Wildflower Hall was Mr. G H M Batten, private secretary to Earl Lytton (1876-1880). It was also said to be a favourite retreat of Lord Ripon. The most famous resident of Wildflower Hall (and the 2nd one) was The Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Armed Forces, Lord Kitchener. He spent effort and funds in improving Wildflower Hall, laying out the gardens, planting trees, and flowers. After his return to England, Wildflower Hall in 1909 was sold to Mr. Robert Hotz. After demolishing the old house, Mrs. Hotz erected a fine, three-storey hotel in 1925. After Independence, the hotel was taken over by the Indian Government and the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation ran Hotel Wildflower Hall, till 1993 when the building was completely burnt down due to a short circuit fire. It was after this that the current building took shape, with the Himachal Pradesh Government forming a joint venture with the Oberoi Hotel Group to rebuilt the resort, and start a luxury hotel. The present building is third building of Wild Flower Hall.

Situated at 8,350 feet in the magnificent Himalayas, Wildflower Hall is an equisite luxury resort set in 23 acres of virgin woods of pine and cedar. It gives a feeling of the colonial style of architecture combined with high luxury. All guest rooms and public areas overlook the snow-capped mountain ranges and cedar forests, and you can enjoy breathtaking views of the Himalayas from here. The building occupies only five percent of the property, allowing guests ample space for walks, privacy and tranquility.

Outdoor activities include trekking, picnics, bird watching, nature walks and riding. River rafting, Mountain Biking, Horse Riding, Trekking, Archery, Ice Skating (in winter) and Golf (at Naldhera) can all be arranged.In Summer, the Resort’s Tennis Court opens. Horses and Ponies are available for hire at the Resort and must be booked in advance. The hotel also has a cards room and a Billiards Room.

Room Details:
Rooms: Each room occupies an area of approximately 42 square meters, and you get all the facilities typically available at a high end resort. There are 81 deluxe rooms. Every room has a spacious marble bathroom with separate shower and walk-in closets and personalised butler service. All rooms feature a personal bar, satellite television and DVD player and direct dial telephones with dataport.
Suites: All suites have an area of approximately 85 square metres. 3 Executive Suites feature a separate living room with a fireplace.
Lord Kitchener Suite: The magnificent Lord Kitchener suite has an area of approximately 110 square metres. This suite has wonderful panoramic views of the Himalayan range. It has a four-poster bed in the master suite and a second bedroom.

Other facilities available at the Resort include: Two restaurants, one serving a range of Pan-Asian and Continental dishes, and an elegant Indian restaurant specialising in traditional Indian cooking (Lutyens). There is a bar called The Cavalry Bar where you can enjoy from 12 noon to 10 PM. The hotel has a great spa (by Banyan Tree), Gym, heated indoor swimming pool, outdoor jacuzzi, sauna and steam rooms, Yoga. Meetings with complete facilities can be held over here.

The resort is about an hour from Jubbar Hatti Airport at Shimla with regular connections from Delhi. Guests can be met from Chandigarh, Kalka and Shimla railway stations by resort staff in air-conditioned chauffeur driven limousines. Guests arriving by helicopter can land at a helipad which is a three minute drive from the hotel.

Virtual Tour available here (link)
Photos of the hotel and surroundings (link)
More photos from Flickr (link1, Link2, Link3, Link4, Link5, Link6, Link7)

Contact Details:
E-mail address : gm@wildflowerhall.com
Address : Wildflower Hall, Shimla in the Himalayas,
An Oberoi Resort, Chharabra, Shimla – 171 012,
Himachal Pradesh (India)
Telephone : +91 177 264 8585
Facsimile : +91 177 264 8686