In 2025, Osaka in Japan has claimed the top spot in the Yanolja Attractiveness Index, overtaking Kyoto, also in Japan, (#3) and surpassing long-established tourism powerhouses such as Paris in France (#2), New York in the United States (#4), and Seoul in South Korea (#5).
Tag: Florence
REVIEW | Trenitalia Intercity Notte in Superior (Excelsior) Class
March 2025. We’re embarking on a train trip to Sicily. We fly from Brussels Airport to Leonardo da Vinci Rome Fiumicino Airport with ITA Airways. Then we take an Intercity Notte sleeper train by Trenitalia from Roma Termini Railway Station across Italy to Syracuse. Yes, the train is loaded on a ferry to cross the…
Trenitalia, Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB launch Frecciarossa EuroCity trains linking Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Naples
Starting in December 2026, Trenitalia’s sleek Frecciarossa ETR1000 trains will begin linking major cities across Italy, Austria and Germany with five new daily EuroCity services. These international high-speed routes, developed in collaboration with Deutsche Bahn and ÖBB, mark a significant expansion in European cross-border rail connectivity.
CRUISE REVIEW | 7 days on NCL’s Norwegian Getaway in the East Mediterranean Sea / Aegean Sea
July 2024. Steve and I are cruising on the Norwegian Getaway, a Breakaway class ship by Norwegian Cruise Line or NCL. Interestingly, our stay on board happened shortly after the Getaway paid a visit to the dry dock for some refurbishments. The route? Piraeus, which is the port of Athens in Greece; followed by Mykonos;…
2025: Overtourism overdose?
On 1 January 2024 we wrote about how rising prices affect travel. Not only the price of flights, but also the price of activities. Pricing was a topic the year before, 2023. In 2024, conventional and social media dug into the issue of overtourism. Articles about locals protesting, Instagrammers posting about big crowds in Japan…
PORTUGAL | Three days in Lisbon
Easter Holiday 2024. Danny and Sam visited Porto in February, I visited the capital, Lisbon, in April with Steve, Philippe and Nicolas. I had my free week during a school holiday and as the boys work in education, I made the best of it. We chose Portugal for its convenience and our hope for fair…
SCENIC TRAINS | Train de Rhune (France), Texas, Oman, Alaska, Romantic Road (Germany), New York to San Francisco, Tuscany
You may have noticed we love to travel by train and we don’t shy away of travelling to ride on one or more specific trains or railway line. The Canadian in Canada, the California Zephyr in the United States, the Glacier Express in Switzerland or the Flåmsbana in Norway just to name a few. As…
Antwerp number 1 of 40 most exciting cities to visit in 2024
For the British newspaper of record The Sunday Times, Antwerp in Belgium is the number one exciting city to visit in 2024.
2024: rising prices affect travel plans and vacation activities
On 1 January 2023, we wrote 2023 would be a year of coping with staff shortages and industrial action. While both themes were present in 2023 – and still will be in 2024 – they felt less pressing. Perhaps we learned to live with staff shortages and strikes and not dramatize them (anymore). But it…
CLIMATE CHANGE & TRAVEL | Is Belgium ready to be the Spain and Italy of the future?
In August 2023, several media reported Belgium is a hotspot for summer holidaying to watch for the future. Travel destinations around the Mediterranean Sea such as Spain, Italy, Greece, Turkey and Morocco are just experiencing too many exaggerated heat waves.
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