UNESCO and Relais & Châteaux to Boost Biodiversity through Cuisine
The UN agency championing the world’s cultural and scientific treasures, and the prestigious association of hundreds of independent, unique hotels and restaurants throughout the world, have joined forces to support global conservation and biodiversity through global culinary traditions. The director-general of UNESCO points out, “Never in history has nature experienced such dramatic decline. One million species – of the eight million identified to date – are facing the threat of extinction. With one voice, UNESCO and the Relais & Châteaux Association are...
France’s Christmas Miracle: Spectacular Reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris After Fire
Restored to its former glory and beyond, Notre Dame de Paris has risen from the ashes of a 2019 fire that many feared meant the end of an era for one of the most joyous historic cathedrals in Europe. The December 7, 2024 reopening ceremony and resumption of Masses felt like a Christmas gift to the world, not just for the church-going community, but also for those of us who have fallen in love with travel to Paris and France. The...
New Battleship Memorial Exhibit at Pearl Harbor for 80th Anniversary of End of WWII in the Pacific
December 7, 1941, is remembered annually for the attack on Hawai’i’s Pearl Harbor that drew the USA into World War 2. But September 2, 1945, is just as important in American history. That date in 2025 marks the 80th anniversary of the end of the war, with the formal Japanese surrender ceremony aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Two moving battleship memorials at Hawai'i’s Pearl Harbor symbolically bookend America’s War in the Pacific. The USS Arizona, sunk during the attack...
VIDEO: Baking Festive Sweets Aboard a Viking Christmas Market River Cruise – with Recipe!
Nothing gets you in the holiday spirit like a Christmas market cruise on the Rhine from Switzerland, through France, and Germany, to the Netherlands, in the cradle of so many of our Christmas traditions. It’s a multi-sensory travel experience, from the sights of festive decorations and booths at the markets, twinkling lights and decorations, the scent of mulled wine, and the authentic tastes of holiday treats, at the markets, as well as on board our Viking longship. You’ll be immersed in...
How to Make Your Own D-Day Pilgrimage during the 80th Anniversary Year and Beyond
All eyes were once again on the coast of Normandy as the 80th anniversary of D-Day was marked on June 6, 2024 by the UK, US, Canada, and France. The surprise landing of over 150,000 Allied soldiers on the shores of France in 1944 was described by Winston Churchill as “the most complicated and difficult” military operation in world history. Despite the incredible complexity, odds, weather, miscalculations, intense Nazi fortifications and thousands dead, D-Day was ultimately the beginning of the end...
The Best New Bridgerton Filming Locations for Your Next Trip to Britain
Regency romance has returned to our screens and reminded us to plan trips to Britain to fulfill our own Bridgerton-inspired fantasies. Season 3 of the wildly-popular and genre-bending Netflix series has introduced yet another romantic relationship among a member of the tight-knit family of Georgian-era aristocrats – and more real-life historic locations around England. The country’s quintessential Regency period location is the spa town of Bath, which has had a starring role in Bridgerton since Season 1. But the actors get...
St. Patrick's Way: How to Follow in the Footsteps of Ireland's Patron Saint
There’s a real man behind the legend that gets us wearing green every March 17th. And you can go beyond modern St. Patrick's Day ‘shenanigans’ to revisit the life of St. Patrick on a journey connecting places in Northern Ireland where his story became a legend that thrives to this day among the Irish and millions of people around the world with ancestral links to the Emerald Isle. Ireland’s patron saint, Patrick, roamed the Emerald Isle over 1500 years ago. Amazingly,...
Top Street Food Experiences in Ho Chi Minh City
A trip to Vietnam is a feast for the senses, with exotic scenery, scents, sounds, fascinating history and culture. It’s also a literal feast. Vietnamese cuisine is a foodie favorite, and it doesn’t have to be high-end cuisine. In fact, one of Vietnam’s can’t-miss destinations is also home to one of the country’s most vibrant street food scenes, offering mouth-watering insights into the country’s culinary treasures. Ho Chi Minh City (HCM), formerly known as Saigon, is a bustling, motorbike-filled, modern Asian city...
Why January is the Best Month to Plan a Trip to Scotland
Ireland has St. Patrick’s Day, Scotland has…Robbie Burns Day. Scotland’s most celebratory day is in honor of its national poet. If everyone’s a little bit Irish on March 17th, then on January 25th, the date of Robert Burns’ birthday in 1759, everyone’s a little bit of a Scot. Throughout Scotland and among Scottish communities dispersed around the world, January 25 - Robbie Burns Day, or Rabbie Burns Day, or just Burns Night – is the occasion of the year to pull out all...
These 3 Cities are the 2024 European Capitals of Culture
The EU’s Capitals of Culture program was designed to showcase the cultural riches of European cities that might not otherwise get the attention they deserve. Every year, new cities are designated that represent the incredible diversity of Europe’s landscapes, history, and resulting unique lifestyle heritage of different parts of the union. A year-long calendar of events brings visitors from their own countries, Europe, and around the world to discover or rediscover what makes these ‘Capitals of Culture’ special. And EU...