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Naxos is the Greek Island You’ve Been Looking For

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The island's long beaches are a big draw, but they're still not as crowded as on other islands.
Naxos is the largest of the Cyclades islands, but it feels homey and small.
The Portata, an ancient entry gate to a temple for Apollo
Naxos is lauded for its cheeses. These are made by the Koufopoulos family, who've been producing cheeses for four generations.
Kyriakos Tziblakis runs the market his grandfather started. Every shelf is packed with local items, from honey and olives to spices and clay pots.
Kitron liqueur is only produced on Naxos, and Katerina Probonas's family has been distilling it for more than 100 years.
Kitron comes from the citron fruit, which looks like a big green lemon but is more sour. Katerina's shop sells candied slices, and they are delicious.
Naxos Town, the main town on the island, is lined with whitewashed buildings and splashes of colorful flowers.
In town, families and children were playing in the main plaza, and shops and restaurants were open late.
sunset over sailboats Naxos Town Greece
Sunset from the Naxos Town plaza rivals the Santorini experience—and with none of the same crowds.

 

The Greek island of Naxos is known for its beaches and turquoise water, but it should also be on your radar for the food specialities produced here, the hidden-in-plain-sight history, and the tranquil atmosphere.

Even though it’s the biggest island in the Cyclades, Naxos has dodged the overtourism challenges of neighboring Santorini and Mykonos so far, largely thanks to the absence of large cruise ships. When Greece opened to U.S. travelers in May, I talked to Mina Agnos, one of Wendy’s recommended travel fixers for Greece, about where I should go. I put Naxos on my itinerary in order to get off the beaten path, see its lauded beaches for myself, and investigate whether the pandemic has changed the island experience.

The scene: relaxed and comfortable

On Naxos, it is easy to feel like the pandemic doesn’t exist. Workers at shops, hotels, taxis, and restaurants do wear masks, wait staff also wear gloves, and hand sanitizer is everywhere, but since most of daily social life happens outdoors here, the rhythms and behaviors don’t feel different. Tavernas have lots of tables scattered down adorable stone alleys, historical sights are in the open air, and the Aegean sea breeze blows over the beaches. Even the communal areas at my hotel, the 18 Grapes, were outdoors: a pool with socially distanced lounges, an al fresco bar, a breakfast area with floor to ceiling doors that opened to the pool deck; plus, all the 18 rooms also have private terraces.

At night, the island’s main town (called Naxos Town or Chora Town), had many open restaurants along its narrow winding streets, but especially right by the water. Families and children were playing in the main plaza, and shops were open late, staffed by chatty, welcoming locals whose masks could not hide their happiness to have travelrs back. Don’t miss the sunset overlooking the harbor.

So in all the ways that mattered, my time here felt like a “normal” slice of Greek island life. If anything, time on Naxos feels even more slowed down than usual.

The food: fresh and farmed right here

Naxos is mostly known for its beaches and turquoise water, and those are indeed stunning, but it’s worth a visit for the agricultural products alone—they have a special character thanks to the island’s green mountains, mineral-rich soil, windy micro-climate, and tens of thousands of sheep, goats, and cows. Its potatoes are known throughout Greece, and you can try the rich, yellow spuds with dinner at any taverna on the island. Look for the option to get them with cheese and you’ll be adding Naxos’s other masterpiece.  I spent some delicious time sampling the island’s signature wheels with a fourth-generation cheesemaker from the Koufopoulos family, which has a farm on the island and a cute, stone-walled shop in town. Gloved and masked (and with no one else in the store), Maria handed me slices of two Naxian cheeses renowned throughout the Cyclades islands: arseniko (Greek for masculine), a hard, pungent cheese; and the milder, sweeter Graviera Naxou. Next she offered me a very unusual sour cheese called xinotyro and a delicious herbed variety made special by the family.

Naxos has yet another culinary distinction: It’s the only place that produces Kitron, a citrusy liqueur made from the citron fruit. I sipped a glass with Katerina Probonas, whose family has been distilling the drink for 106 years, and which also makes jams, candies, and other products from the fruit. I was surprised at how delicious the dried, candied slices were, because the fruit on its own can be sour.

In between, I stopped at a market run by the Tziblakis family for three generations, where you can buy herbs, honey, olives and olive oil, traditional cookware and clay pots (for baking my new favorite Cycladic chickpea-stew recipe), and cheese from small farms that don’t have their own shops. Kyriakos, the proprietor, let me try a few more slices, and explained that not only was everything in the shop made locally, the displays were even decorated with paintings by his wife.

My guide, Katia, was friends with everyone, and people waved and said hello even from the stores we didn’t stop in. For anyone interested in a deeper dive into the agricultural and culinary scene on Naxos, she can arrange an all-day, progressive-meal tour, where you can stop at several Naxian villages and farms and eat a different course at each one.

The beaches: beautiful and not too crowded

As for the beaches, they were peaceful, picturesque, and not too crowded at this point of the season (and only a few weeks after the country reopened to travelers). The sandy stretches here are longer than on the other popular islands so there’s more space to spread out and walk.  There are several beach areas around the island, so you can hop around and find your favorite. I was walked to the seaside village of Agios Prokopios from my hotel, where you can either rent one of the chaise lounges that various establishments have lined up on the sand (some farther apart than others) or bring your own blanket. And food can be ordered from shoreline restaurants and eaten al fresco.

The history: under your feet and at your fingertips

The iconic image of Naxos is the giant marble Portata, a gate standing 16 feet high over the port since 530 B.C. It is the entrance to what should have been a temple for Apollo but was never completed, and the structure is unusual because it doesn’t face east as most ancient Greek temples do, but rather toward the island of Delos, where Apollo was supposedly born. It’s also unusual because it’s just sitting there on the hill — there’s no entrance fee, there’s not even an entrance gate, it’s a literal open-air museum on a small hill that you can climb at any hour of the day (it’s a particularly beautiful sunset spot). This lack of walls and barriers is very Naxian. The island has several ancient treasures scattered around, including the unusually shaped Temple of Demeter and a sunken Mycenaean-era city, and the entire top of Naxos town is part of the 13th-century complex where the Venetians ruled their Duchy of the Archipelago. So just walking through the streets, you can see (and touch) remnants of the past if you know where to look: a cross of the Knights Templar hidden in a sone wall, a fabric-measuring mark used by the Duchess when tailors who came to the castle door, granite foundations of a church from the 6th century BC, and (my favorite) an ancient marble column that now stands nonchalantly next to a fruit stand.

“This is not a monument,” said my guide Katia as we wound through the old castle streets lined with houses. “People live here—you can see their laundry,” she said pointing. “This is what makes Naxos special.”


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Aerial view of Athens Greece from airplane June 4 2021

6 Things I Learned About Taking an International Flight to a Recently Reopened Country

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I’ve just landed in Greece, after a nine-hour nonstop flight from New York. Here are five things I learned about taking an international flight to a recently reopened country.

Check the situation at the gate at least an hour before boarding—it is likely to be hectic.

When I arrived at JFK two hours before my flight to Athens, I passed through security in less than a minute (really!), but at the gate I found a scene that was a mess. For one thing, the flight was packed—it was a big plane (2-4-2 configuration in economy) and nearly every single seat was taken, which meant that there were a ton of people huddled around the gate. But what made it worse was that everyone was queued up in a very, very long line for a reason that few people seemed to understand. Some thought it was the usual pre-boarding lineup. Others thought we had to get verified for something before we’d be allowed to board. Still others weren’t sure if this was a verification line only for people who had to show their Covid test and if there was a separate line for vaccinated people.

Delta representatives were at the gate, but they were not using a PA system to make announcements, just shouting occasionally—so you couldn’t hear anything. We all waited, wondering what we were supposed to be doing. I got the feeling that the airline staff was feeling the same way. As rules change and solidify for the countries we’re traveling to, the airlines are tasked with a lot of the prep work—and they don’t yet have good systems in place. This is why boarding was scheduled to start an hour before departure, but it was still a confusing hour. So if you’re the kind of traveler who usually saunters to the gate right around boarding time, do yourself a favor and (a) get to the airport at minimum two hours ahead of your flight and (b) head to the gate as soon as you get through security so that you can evaluate the situation and find out whether you need to start queuing up early for any verification process that has suddenly popped up.

In my case, it turned out that the airline staff wanted to look at everyone’s passport, boarding pass, and official Passenger Locator Form—a contact-tracing form from the Greek government that had to be submitted online prior to departure. (To make things more complicated, when some passengers had filled out the form, me included, they got confirmation emails that the QR-coded, approved document wouldn’t arrive in their email inbox until midnight on the day of their arrival in Greece—and since our flight was an overnight flight that started the day before, we only had proof of submission but not the actual approved form. In the end, the frazzled single Delta staff member tasked with checking the documentation allowed this, but there was a lot of stress among my fellow passengers as to whether they’d be allowed to board.)

Print everything out.

If you keep all your documents on your phone (boarding pass, vaccine/test proof, and any government-required health forms), you’re going to have to shuffle through a bunch of apps when an official asks to see each one. If it’s allowed, you might want to go old-school and print everything out on paper so you can hand over the stack in one fell swoop rather than wrestling with your phone. In fact, the Delta attendant asked me for a paper boarding pass—maybe it makes their lives a little easier too.

Carry a scarf—it’s even more important now.

This is a classic tip, but there’s a new reason why a scarf is part of my essential plane gear. Delta put a blanket and pillow on every seat (yes, even in economy) for the overnight flight, but I couldn’t help but wonder: How clean are they? How are airplane pillows sanitized? The blanket came wrapped in plastic, which I guess indicates that it came from the cleaners. However, the pillows were not wrapped in anything—it was just a pillow in a pillowcase, and I couldn’t tell if the pillowcases were disposable or had been cleaned, as they were just sitting there on the seat on top of the blanket. So throwing a scarf or an extra shirt over the top can act as a personal pillowcase.

Eat at a different time than everyone else.

We took off at 5:15 pm NYC time, and dinner was served shortly after we boarded. Of course everyone took off their masks to eat (quick shout-out to all the passengers, because almost everyone wore their masks correctly; and kudos to the Delta flight crew, who politely nudged noncompliant passengers throughout the flight). Even though I’m vaccinated, and I know that airplanes are pretty safe environments, I still didn’t feel entirely comfortable dining with a few hundred strangers with their masks off. So I decided to wait to have my meal until everyone around me had finished eating and put their masks back on. This had two additional perks: First, I was able to use the bathrooms before the inevitable post-meal rush left them nasty. Second, delaying my meal meant that I could go right to sleep after we took off and therefore get on Greece time more effectively (it was midnight in Greece when our flight took off, we landed at 10am, and I am writing this feeling well rested and ready to get on with my day). When I woke a few hours later, I could eat while everyone else was masked. (I had brought my own food, but if you prefer to eat what they’re handing out, ask a flight attendant to hold your meal.)

Look for open seats at the last minute.

On my way to the airport, I checked the seat plan on the Delta app to see if there were any open rows left on my flight. I already knew the plane was going to be packed, but I also knew there’d been a few of the paid “preferred” rows still available when I checked that morning, and I was considering using my miles to upgrade. But I wanted to wait until closer to the flight time because I also knew I’d be frustrated if I spent the miles expecting to have a two-seat row to myself only to have someone snatch up the other seat at the last second. It was a bit of a gamble, but it paid off: I got the aisle spot in a two-seat row, and no one took the window. I don’t know why that row was considered “preferred”—it wasn’t an exit row, and the seats were the same size as the others—but my 9,500 SkyMiles points purchase ended up being worth it. I had more space for my own Covid-related comfort, and I could stretch out to sleep. If you don’t want to upgrade to a premium class or even a comfort-plus category seat (which was sold out on this flight), you could try this hack and see if you can get a little more space at the last minute.

Get the VIP fast-track pick-up for when you land at your destination.

Ironically, the entry process once I landed in Greece ran a lot smoother, and took a lot less time, than the boarding process in New York. That’s partly because the ground staff in the country you’re traveling to probably knows exactly what they need and how the process works. But it’s also because Mina Agnos, one of Wendy’s recommended travel fixers for Greece, booked a VIP fast-track pick-up service for me: A guide met me with a sign before I entered the passport control area and whisked me past the line of other passengers. First I flashed my CDC vaccine card and my Passenger Locator Form (as promised, the official version with the QR code was in my inbox when I landed, although no one ended up actually scanning the code). Then my fast-track fixer brought me to a special, no-line window to get my passport stamp. Several dozen people were on the regular line, and I expect there would be even more of a crowd as our plane continued to unload all its passengers. Not only did this whole process take just a few minutes, but it also alleviated the stress of dealing with the unfamiliar logistics of our Covid-travel era. With my fast-track fixer at my side, I knew that if I ran into a problem, she could communicate with whatever authorities might have questions, aid me in solving them, and help me get any additional support I needed.

We’re Here to Help

Right now is a remarkable opportunity for global travelers who are vaccinated. When your friends say that travel is problematic as a result of the pandemic—rental cars aren’t available, service even at 5-star hotels is shoddy—the problem is they’re not planning their trips right! Travel can be spectacular now if you choose the right destination, know the savviest local fixers, and approach them the optimal way. Check out these recent trip reviews to see the difference that Wendy’s WOW approach to trip planning makes. And if you’re looking for a similarly carefree travel experience, contact us at Ask Wendy.

Europe map with pins-1646756_1920 CR Pixabay

The EU Opens to Canadians and Australians, but not Americans

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The European Union will open its borders to visitors on July 1, but not to travelers from the United States. However, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand and 12 others all made the cut.

After several weeks of uncertainty (during which Portugal, Iceland, and Greece all planned to reopen to Americans, and then reneged), the EU formalized a plan and announced that residents from only a select list of countries will be allowed entry (entry is based on residency, not nationality). Everyone else is banned for now.

That list—published by the European Council and also agreed to by the non-EU countries of Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein—approves 15 countries that have met certain health criteria, including a 14-day COVID-19 caseload count that’s close to or below the EU average, plus an evaluation of each country’s overall COVID-19 response (ie., testing, contact tracing, treatment, reporting, containment, and “the reliability of the information”).

The list will be reviewed every two weeks. As of July 1, residents of the following countries will be allowed to travel to the EU:

  • Algeria
  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Georgia
  • Japan
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • New Zealand
  • Rwanda
  • Serbia
  • South Korea
  • Thailand
  • Tunisia
  • Uruguay
  • China, subject to confirmation of reciprocity
  • The Council counts residents of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican as part of the EU, so they’ll be allowed entry as well.

U.S. residents eager to travel can choose among several other countries and islands around the world that are not banning them (including England, which just relaxed its rules so that U.S. residents can enter the country as long as they quarantine for 14 days on arrival). For quarantine-less travel options, see The Countries That Have Reopened to U.S. Travelers and What You’ll Find There for our regularly updated intel on those options. For more info about traveling within the U.S., bookmark “Every State’s Coronavirus and Travel Information.”

Canadians, Australians, and others allowed into the EU will find the world’s best Europe trip-planning specialists—those who can ensure smart logistics, no crowds or lines, and safe places to stay and eat—on The WOW List.

 

Be a safer, smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. And read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip.

A village street of Santorini is bright white and blue, with pops of pink bougainvillea flowers

Portugal, Iceland, Greece Will Not Open to U.S. Travelers Just Yet

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A few weeks ago, we published this story with the news that three European countries—Portugal, Iceland, and Greece—would be opening their borders to U.S. travelers in June. Then one by one, each of the three countries reneged on those plans, citing safety concerns. As it stands today, U.S. travelers are not yet able to travel to Portugal, Greece, or Iceland. We will continue to watch and update as details develop.

Please note that the CDC still advises against all non-essential travel and the U.S. State Department maintains a global level 4 “do not travel” alert.

Greece

Until July 1, open to EU citizens and residents only. For dates beyond July 1, the Greek government has not yet decided which countries’ travelers will be admitted and under what restrictions. 

For more information, check with the U.S. Embassy in Greece and Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Portugal

Open to EU and Schengen state citizens and residents only. U.S. arrivals were originally supposed to be welcome starting June 6, but that date has been postponed, possibly to July 1. 

Continental Portugal: No quarantine required

Madeira: 14-day quarantine required

Azores: arrivals have choice of showing proof of negative test within past 72 hours, taking a test upon arrival and quarantining until a negative result is returned, or a 14-day quarantine.

If you were able to land in Portugal now, you’d see that certain safety measures and restrictions are in place across the country. Face masks and six-foot social distancing will be mandatory, and restaurant payment must be contactless, but museums, monuments, palaces, churches, bookshops, libraries, and beauty salons will all be open, along with restaurants, cafés, patisseries, esplanades, and shopping centers that are smaller than 4,300 square feet. Beaches are with restrictions. Taxis and rental cars will be available (as well as some public transportation options).

Look for the national tourism board’s “Clean & Safe” certification at hotels and tourist sites. To earn the validation, a company must sign a Declaration of Commitment to certain hygiene and cleaning processes informed by the country’s Directorate-General of Health. Participation is free and optional, and Turismo de Portugal will carry out audits of those who opt in.

Flights:

TAP Air Portugal, a Star Alliance airline, is running nonstop flights from Newark to Lisbon; later in July, flights to Lisbon from Boston, Miami, and Toronto are due to start up again. In an optimistic turn, the airline also plans to launch new flights later this summer from Boston and Toronto to the Azores, and from Montreal to Lisbon.

Iceland

Open to EU and Schengen state citizens and residents only.

Testing upon arrival or 14-day self-quarantine

Thanks to its small population (the lowest population density in Europe), Iceland was able to keep its COVID-19 count in check. As a result, Prime Minister KatrÍn Jakobsdóttir recently announced that the country reopened to travelers from with the Schengen area on June 15—with some rules in place:

Before arrival, travelers must fill out a pre-registration form, which includes a declaration of health, recent travel history, personal details, in-country contact info, and coronavirus status and possible exposure. At arrival, they can choose between 14-day quarantine and a covid test (no tests are required for children born in 2005 or earlier). Starting July 1, the test will cost each traveler ISK 15,000 (about $115), but in the two weeks before that they will be free.

Results from the test will be delivered in about 24 hours.  If a traveler tests positive, they will be required to self-quarantine; if they do not have a place to do so, the government will provide a location at no cost. The government will also cover medical examination and treatment. There is one big question that is still unanswered: how many tests will be available each day. Early reports suggest it may be as low as 500.

Flights:

Icelandair will resume its flights from the U.S. No other airline is flying to Iceland from the U.S. this year.

This article was originally published on May 29. It has been updated.

Be a safer, smarter traveler: Sign up for Wendy’s weekly newsletter to stay in the know. And read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip.

The London Eye Ferris Wheel

The August Vacation Value You’ve Been Looking For

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Summer has a way of sneaking up on you. Suddenly it’s the end of June.  If you haven’t made your summer vacation plans yet, we can suggest a world-class trip that won’t require traveling too far or spending too much. August is an ideal time of year to visit one of our favorite cities: London.  It’s a short flight (relatively speaking), it’s not too hot or crowded in August, you’ll find reduced prices for airfare and hotels (and many museums are free), and of course there’s so much to see and do, not only in the city itself but in the plethora of historic villages and sights in the countryside that you can make easy day trips to (which we recommend doing either independently by train or with a private driver-guide). London in August is such a smart move that that’s when Wendy took her own family there—and you can read what each of her young sons had to say about it in Do’s and Don’ts For Your Trip To London and How and Where to  Spot Supercars in London (late summer is the optimal time for that).  Here’s more from Jonathan Epstein, Trusted Travel Expert for Britain, as to why London in August makes so much sense:

The Marylebone hotel London bedroom

Business travel to London dries up in August, which means more room and better deals in hotels, like The Marylebone. (Photo: The Marylebone)


Hotels are less expensive.

That’s because business travel to London dries up in August. “Corporate travel is the bedrock of higher rates in major cities,” says Jonathan. “In late summer, these bookings vanish in London.” What does this mean for you?  Deals.  Jonathan negotiates exclusive August offers for his travelers at top four- and five-star hotels.  Depending on the location, he might secure discounts on stays over three or four nights, upgrades, complimentary meals, or free cocktails. Ask him about his connections at prime hotels such as One Aldwych, Rosewood London, the Corinthia, the Marylebone, the Milestone and the Egerton. An apartment rental is another way to maximize value, especially if you’re a family or large group; learn more about that option in our London Vacation Rentals: Insider’s Guide.

The weather is better.

Unlike in many cities in Europe, August temperatures are mild in London.  Highs are between 68 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit—and who doesn’t want weather like that for sightseeing?

Everything is open, but the crowds are much smaller.

“In many cities like Paris and Rome, attractions and restaurants close in August,” Jonathan says, “but in London everything is still open!”  Because August is one of the slowest months of the year in London—with fewer tourists and fewer locals—you’re less likely to have to wait in lines or battle big crowds as you explore.

Buckingham Palace with guards London

Buckingham Palace opens to visitors only a few months each year—during the late summer. Photo: Pawel Libera/London and Partners

Late summer brings special events.

Buckingham Palace is only open to visitors for a short time each year. Guess when? During the late summer. This year, admission includes entry to “Royal Gifts,” an exhibition of official gifts presented to the Queen over the past 65 years.

Old Vic theatre exterior at night London

The Old Vic is one of London’s most famous theaters. Photo: Pawel Libera/London and Partners

It is easier to get great seats to London’s plays and musicals.

When tourists numbers go down—as they do in late summer—opportunities to see some of the West End’s famous theater productions open up. (You can see what’s playing at LondonTheatre.co.uk and find last-minute deals at TKTS.co.uk.)

This article has been updated; it was originally published in 2016.

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

Ancient walls and streets of Valetta, the capital of Malta. Photo: Shutterstock

Malta: Plan Your Trip!

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Your Malta Trip Begins Here

Acre for acre, Malta is about as rich in history as they come. In this tiny Mediterranean nation (actually, an archipelago with three islands of note: Malta, Gozo, and Comino), you’ll find three UNESCO World Heritage sites, some of which are among the oldest free-standing structures left in the world. The capital of Valletta is a medieval gem—a fortified city built by the Knights of St. John but also a European Capital of Culture for 2018, with a new city gate designed by Renzo Piano—and the streets of Mdina are like an open-air museum. But Malta is not the beach destination you might expect—edged mostly by rocky cliffs rather than sandy stretches—and, at times and in spots, it can get overrun by day-trippers from cruise ships, rowdy students studying English, and Brits on package tours.

We can point you to a Malta specialist who delivers private, custom, WOW trips that take you to the most fascinating places and connect you to insider experiences you could never find or access on your own. But be prepared to spend a minimum of $700 per day for two travelers. If that’s doable, click below and complete the questionnaire. Your information is kept private.

Pricing tip: Trips start at $450 for a shore excursion for two travelers, or $700 per day for a multi-day custom itinerary for two.

 

Start your Malta trip here

View of Grainau's church with the Zugspitze behind. It is Germany's highest peak

Germany: Plan Your Trip!

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Your Germany Trip Begins Here

Did you know that Germany has 20 castles you can sleep in? How about a hop-on, hop-off rail pass that lets you explore the entire country as well as seven of its neighbors? Two hundred long-distance cycling routes, many of them family-friendly? A Bavarian “Beer and Castle” trail that is just one of more than 100 well-signposted and intriguingly themed scenic drives? Add bargain-priced hotels and car rentals and you can see why this is one of the fastest-growing tourist destinations in Europe.

And yet, even in Germany, hiring a trip designer is a good investment. Why? Because only someone with inside knowledge can make sure you end up with the best of the best—the most sumptuous of those 20 castles, for instance, or the one that’s right for you. A Germany specialist can also arrange such perks as a private beer tasting, a vineyard picnic, a glassblowing workshop, or a tour of ancient Roman ruins led by a local historian. Finally, a specialist can save you more than time: By steering you toward good-value options and away from the overpriced ones, your trip planner can actually save you money.

We can point you to a Germany specialist who delivers private, custom, WOW trips that keep you away from the tourist crowds and take you to the most thrilling places you could never find or access on your own. But be prepared to spend a minimum of $800 per day for two travelers. If that’s doable, click below and complete the questionnaire. Your information is kept private.

Pricing tip: Trips have a 7-night minimum and range from $800–$1,600 per day per couple or $1000+ per day for families, depending on your choices.

Start your Germany trip here

 

Peles Castle, Romania

Romania: Plan Your Trip!

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Your Romania Trip Begins Here

If your word-association-game answer to Romania is “vampires,” it’s time you learned a lot more about the country. Did you know that it’s home to the largest area of contiguous forest in central Europe, filled with brown bears, lynx, and wolves? That it’s dotted with 13th-century UNESCO World Heritage-recognized villages? That Prince Charles fell so in love with the Romanian countryside that he bought two centuries-old properties there—both of which you can overnight at when HRH isn’t visiting to admire the wildflowers? Trouble is, even Romanians get lost finding their way around, and star ratings rarely tell you the whole story when it comes to the hotels. That’s why it’s so helpful to use a Romania travel specialist who will keep you on the right path, introduce you to the people who will make their country come to life, and point you to the accommodations that deliver the best experience (probably more having to do with garden-fresh meals than thousand-thread-count sheets).

We can point you to a Romania specialist who delivers private, custom, WOW trips that take you to the most fascinating places and connect you to insider experiences you could never find or access on your own. Just click below and complete the questionnaire. Your information is kept private.

Pricing tip: Expect to spend at least $600 per day for two travelers for a trip that includes the loveliest accommodations, the most efficient transportation, the most delicious meals, special experiences, and a detailed itinerary that incorporates not just the must-see sights but the hidden gems too.

Start your Romania trip here

Hiking the Bucegi mountains, Romania

Hiking the Bucegi mountains, Romania

What a Barge Cruise Is—and Why Some Prefer It to a River Cruise

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savoir vivre in front of chateauneuf barge cruise France CR Barge Lady Cruises
The Savoir Vivre. Photo: Barge Lady Cruises
The canals. Photo: Sara Tucker
Rear view of our boat. Photo: Sara Tucker
Front view of our boat. Photo: Sara Tucker
The view. Photo: Sara Tucker
Pastoral scenery. Photo: Sara Tucker
Goats. Photo: Sara Tucker
burgundy lock barge cruise France CR Kelly Weiss Barge Lady Cruises
The locks. Photo: Barge Lady Cruises
Locks. Photo: Sara Tucker
A castle. Photo: Sara Tucker
Taking walks. Photo: Sara Tucker
A stop to see the Hospices de Beaune. Photo: Sara Tucker
The strawberry soufflée. Photo: Sara Tucker
Cote d'Or wine. Photo: Sara Tucker
Another village we walked through. Photo: Sara Tucker
A stop ion Dijon. Photo: Sara Tucker
Our tour guide. Photo: Sara Tucker
The lounge on the Savoir Vivre barge cruise in France
The boat's lounge. Photo: Barge Lady Cruises
The lounge on the Savoir Vivre barge cruise in France
The other side of the lounge. Photo: Barge Lady Cruises
A state room on the Savoir Vivre barge cruise in France
The boat's staterooms. Photo: Barge Lady Cruises
The lounge on the wine and snacks overlooking the Burgundy countryside taken from the Savoir Vivre barge cruise in France
The view. Photo: Barge Lady Cruises

 

If you have a hard time making sense of the phrase “barge cruise,” don’t feel bad. Luxury barging is such a tiny niche that it is practically unknown even in France, the country where the phenomenon originated. When I told my French friends that I was going on a barge trip (croisière en péniche), they thought I was going to rent the barge and pilot it myself while Patrick—my French husband, a retired safari guide—whipped up gourmet meals in a tiny kitchen. They thought we were going to take turns opening and closing the locks. (This type of DIY cruise, while possible, is not at all what we had in mind.) My American friends heard “barge” and thought “river cruise.” Almost everyone imagined something rustic.

A barge cruise is very different from a river cruise, starting with the size of the boat. A river ship usually carries 160 to 190 passengers, whereas the capacity of most barges is between eight and twelve. It’s like the difference between a 90-room hotel and a B&B. With one you’ve got your own TV and the option of having your own balcony; with the other you’ve got a captain who picks you up at the train station. Barges usually ply canals, not wide rivers—so, instead of cruising alongside highways and industrial areas on much of your route, your waterway is the equivalent of a country road. Another difference is speed. A long-legged person can walk alongside a moving barge without breaking a sweat. This has important implications. If you get tired of cruising, you have only to wait a few minutes for a set of locks, then hop off the boat and explore. You and the boat, which travels only a few miles per day, are never going to lose each other.

Families and groups of friends like barge cruises because they can book the whole boat and customize their shore excursions. Kids like them because there are bicycles, and farm animals, and castles, and a captain who will let you help him pilot the boat.

My first-ever barge trip was aboard the Savoir Vivre, an eight-passenger hotel barge that cruises a section of the Burgundy Canal. The 242-kilometer canal, completed in 1832, takes you deep into the heart of the French wine country, bisecting cow pastures, sheep meadows, woods, fields, and small villages. Starting in the village of Escommes, near Dijon, we cruised a total of 40 miles in six days, passing through 50 locks.

My trip, which took place in mid April, was arranged by Ellen Sack, the barge cruise expert on Wendy’s WOW List of Trusted Travel Experts. My assignment from Wendy: To learn as much as possible about barge travel, through firsthand experience, so that I might enlighten others.

The Boat

When enthusiasts say that barging is an “intimate” form of travel, they are not just talking about the size of the boat, although it all starts with that. Barges are narrow, flat-bottomed vessels originally used to transport cargo; their heyday lasted for about 20 years, until the invention of the railroad. In the 1970s, an enterprising British chap hit on the idea of taking transporter barges and turning them into floating hotels by adding a superstructure. The idea caught on, and a little industry was born. The Savoir Vivre is unusual in that it is a purpose-built hotel barge, not a conversion. Nonetheless, the eight-passenger vessel has to fit through the same locks as all the other barges. Its four cabins are small—Patrick and I took turns getting dressed—and the lounge doubles as a dining room. On the larger of the two observation decks, six is a crowd, but you are welcome to go up to the wheelhouse and hang out with the captain, who has the best view. Our captain, Richard Megret, was an easygoing Frenchman who had been barging for 20 years; he started out as a cook. He was also our bartender, waiter, guide, and chauffeur. When one of us had a birthday, Richard ordered the cake. When the dishwasher broke, he did the dishes by hand; then he fixed the dishwasher. We and the six other passengers spent most of our waking hours with him and Laura, our tour guide, and each other. This is what barge fans mean by “intimate.”

The Scenery

Unlike a river ship, a canal barge chugs along at four miles per hour, pausing every few minutes to pass through a set of locks. The shore is right there: You can practically reach out and touch it. On the Burgundy Canal, you’re a few feet from white cows and flocks of sheep. When you’re standing on the deck you can literally talk to the villagers strolling along the towpath with their fishing poles and picnic baskets and baby carriages. Children walk or ride their bicycles to the canal to watch the boats go by. They cluster on the little bridges that cross the canal. They sidle up to the uniformed men and women who work the locks by hand. At each set of locks is a small house where, up until the 1950s, the lockkeepers and their families lived; now the houses are abandoned or rented out and the lockkeepers zip up and down the canal on motorcycles. Most mornings, I left the boat on foot and walked through the village where we had moored. On these rambles, I might pass a boulangerie, a post office, a school, a church. I never had to cross a highway or wait for a traffic light. Cocks crowed. Cows mooed. Church bells rang. One evening we moored next to a field where a white horse and a red horse grazed. The young girl who came to fetch them called out a greeting. This, too, is what barge fans mean by “intimate.” You are, for a brief time, a part of French village life.

The Daily Routine

Breakfast is served in the lounge at 8:00. The table is laden with local goodies—pastries, cold cuts, cheeses. At 9:30 or 10:00, Laura arrives and you pile into the minivan. She hands out bottled water and peppermints. You drive through vineyards, woods, fields, and small villages to a castle, or a goat farm, or a monastery where, in the Middle Ages, the monks made wine in monstrous wooden presses. After the tour, you go back to the boat for lunch, which, like breakfast, is catered by a fine restaurant. You eat more than you should. Then you nap, or stroll along the towpath, or sit in a deck chair and watch for herons while the barge putters along. At 6:00, Richard opens a bottle of very good Burgundy and sets out bowls of olives and little puffs of choux pastry called gougères. Then you walk or drive to an excellent restaurant and eat too much food again. (This was another difference between our particular barge cruise and typical river cruises: On river cruises all meals are served on the ship, which means you may miss out on tastier, more authentic cuisine you could find in local eateries.)

Land Activities

Alongside the canal is a well-maintained towpath, once used by draft animals. Every set of locks is an opportunity to get off the boat and bicycle or walk along the towpath. When you reach a set of locks and you want to get off the boat, you have only to open a small gate and step onto the berm. This is also what barge enthusiasts mean by “intimate.”

In addition, there are daily shore excursions. Our tours were led by Laura Aplin, a British guide with a particular interest in sociological history—how people lived way back when. At Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, a medieval citadel, we learned what life was like when the castle was under siege. (Days were spent in boredom. Then a dead cow might fly over the wall, catapulted by the attackers in an effort to spread disease among the enemy.) We learned about 15th-century medicine at the Hospices de Beaune, made friends with the goats at a vineyard in Sainte Sabine, and learned how 12th-century Cistercian monks made wine at Clos de Vougeot. The tours generally lasted a couple of hours and involved a little bit of walking but not a lot. They were all fun. I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand reading little signs and wearing earphones when I go through a museum. (On river cruises, as opposed to barge cruises, the group tours ashore are so large that passengers must wear audio headsets in order to hear the guide.) And I will tell you straight out that I fell in love with Laura. Everybody did. We competed to sit next to her in the van.

The Food

An essential feature of barging is the food. It’s supposed to be outstanding, and with one exception—a new restaurant that our captain wanted to try out—it was. On the boat, meals are served family-style. Lunches are hearty: two or three kinds of salad, quiche, plus a main dish (either meat or fish) and a dessert. The Savoir Vivre is unique among hotel barges in that your evening meal is not on the boat but in a local restaurant, often in a gorgeous building that dates back to the days when Burgundy was a dukedom. One evening we walked along the canal and across a great expanse of lawn, past fountains, ponds, and weeping willows, to a former abbey, now a five-star hotel, where the only other guests (it was early in the season) were a couple of Londoners who were on a DIY barge trip to celebrate their upcoming nuptials. What did we eat? I honestly don’t remember, except for the baba au rhum, because the waiter set the bottle of rum on the table next to the dish. I do remember the amuse-bouche and the strawberry soufflé at Chateau Sainte Sabine, both of which were garnished with flecks of gold leaf.

The Bottom Line

Ellen’s daughter Stephanie Sack, a marketing specialist, told me that there are only 75 hotel barges in the world. The majority of them are in France. This is where Ellen first encountered barging in the 1980s, when the phenomenon was in its infancy. She now arranges barge cruises in ten different regions of France, as well as on canals and rivers in seven other European countries. (Such scope and expertise are partly why Ellen has earned the spot of barge travel specialist on Wendy’s WOW List of Trusted Travel Experts; the other reason is the glowing reviews we receive from our readers.)

The Savoir Vivre costs $3,500 per person for six nights, plus a tip of 5 to 10 percent for the crew. Is that a good deal? Let me put it this way: While a DIY cruise is theoretically possible, do you really want to order the food, pilot the boat, moor the boat, load the dishwasher, fix the dishwasher, stock the bar, or even order the croissants? I sure don’t. And how are you going to get to the beautiful castle if you don’t have a minivan, or figure out what you’re looking at when you arrive? I wouldn’t have wanted to do any of our shore excursions without Laura. At Châteauneuf-en-Auxois, in addition to old-time germ warfare (the flying cows), she showed us where the lord of the castle hid his jewels when the tax assessor came (hint: his wife sat on them), and what a fourteenth-century hot-tub party was like. Without her, we would have seen only a chair and a wooden tub.

For $675 per day, minimum, you get, minimum, an all-inclusive laid-back holiday with great food and wine, one that allows you to bicycle through the French countryside and stroll around small villages at your own speed, visit historic sites with an excellent guide, and travel in a small group.

That leaves the question of weather. The Savoir Vivre has one TV, some DVDs, sporadic Wi-Fi, a Scrabble game, but there’s not a lot to do on a barge when it rains. In fact, there’s not a lot to do on a barge, period, besides eat and sleep. Shore excursions make the days pass quickly, but I wouldn’t want to carry a dripping umbrella around Burgundy if I could help it. Barge season in Burgundy runs from April to October. April gets an average of nine days of rain, per regional weather statistics, May gets 13. There are eight umbrellas onboard the Savoir Vivre, just in case. If you want to play it safe, go in July.

To ensure you get the best barge trip possible, reach out to Ellen Sack via Wendy’s trip request form.  You’ll be marked as a VIP traveler and get these five benefits.

*Disclosure: Barge Lady Cruises provided our reporter, Sara Tucker, with a six-day barge trip through France, free of charge. In keeping with WendyPerrin.com standard practice, coverage was not guaranteed and remains at our editorial discretion. You can read the signed agreement between WendyPerrin.com and Barge Lady Cruises here.

View of the pool and sea from the bar deck at the Tivoli Carvoeiro Algarve Resort, Portugal

Portugal is Suddenly Hugely Popular. This Is Why.

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If it feels like everyone you know is suddenly interested in traveling to Portugal—or has recently been—you’re not imagining it. Tourism in Europe’s westernmost country has been soaring: Portugal was named the World’s Leading Destination at the 2018 World Travel Awards, the number of tourists visiting has continued to increase every year since 2014, and Madonna recently bought a house there. In fact, the country keeps beating its own tourism records, bringing in more people and generating more revenue all the time.

These days, the food and culture scenes are booming, and cities, beach towns, wine country, and idyllic villages are all benefitting from beautiful new hotels and improved tourist access, thanks to TAP Air Portugal’s increase in flights from the U.S. and its free stopover program, which lets travelers spend up to five nights in either Porto or Lisbon, depending on their route.

But of course, it’s not just numbers and logistics that make a travel destination worth the hype. It’s much more. Here are a few reasons why Portugal is suddenly getting so much buzz—and worth the praise.

stacks of Portuguese egg tarts on display at a bakery in Lisbon Portugal
Pastéis de nata (Portuguese egg tarts) are the signature Portuguese dessert, and my favorites come fresh out of the oven every few minutes at Manteigaria's bakery, at the Time Out market in Lisbon. Photo: Billie Cohen
pool at the Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort in Portugal
The updated Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort has a pretty pool and a golf course and is just a few minutes from the beach too. Photo: Minor Hotels
The menu at Anantara Vilamoura's Emo restaurant is inspired by the region's wine. Photo: Minor Hotels
wine bottles from several different Portuguese regions
The master class at the Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort introduced us to wines from several different Portuguese regions. Photo: Billie Cohen
beach with turquoise water in the Algarve Portugal
The water at the beaches in the Algarve is bright blue. Photo: Billie Cohen
Cabrita Wines is one of many vineyards in the Algarve
And the vineyards, including these at Cabrita Wines, are not far away. Photo: Billie Cohen
Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort, the Algarve, Portugal
View from the bar deck at Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort, the Algarve, Portugal. Photo: Billie Cohen
The Sky Bar at the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade has a great view over Lisbon
The Sky Bar at the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade has a great view over Lisbon. Photo: Minor Hotels
The lobby of the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisbon Portugal
The inside is pretty cool too. Photo: Minor Hotels
blue and white old tile Lisbon Portugal
Everywhere you look in Lisbon, you'll find beautiful tiles, both with a historical feel…
green tile building Lisbon Portugal
…and modern.
Saint Anthony Festival Lisbon Portugal
During June, Lisbon is lit up with festivals for St. Anthony and St. John, and locals grill sardines outside every evening.
The passionfruit dessert at Bairro do Avillez, in Lisbon, is served in a chocolate "coconut."
The passionfruit dessert at Bairro do Avillez, in Lisbon, is served in a chocolate "coconut." Photo: Billie Cohen
brass carver atthe Museum of Decorative Arts in Lisbon, Portugal.
This brass carver was just one of the traditional artisans I got to meet on a tour of the workshops at the Museum of Decorative Arts in Lisbon. Photo: Billie Cohen
tile street art in Lisbon Portugal
Even outside the museums, Lisbon is a city full of beautiful, colorful street art. Photo: Billie Cohen
I was able to paint my own tiles at Lisbon’s Museum of Decorative Arts;
I was able to paint my own tiles at Lisbon’s Museum of Decorative Arts; they were not as pretty as the real ones. Photo: Billie Cohen
horse carriage outside the Tivoli Palacio de Seteais Sintra Portugal hotell
The Tivoli Palacio de Seteais hotel in Sintra used to be a palace, built in 1787 by the former Dutch Consul in Portugal. Photo: Minor Hotels
Tivoli Palacio de Seteais suite, Sintra Portugal
If it looks like a place for royalty, it is: Brad Pitt, David Bowie, Maria Callas, and Agatha Christie have all stayed here. Photo: Minor Hotels
The pool at the Tivoli Palacio de Seteais in Sintra Portugal
The pool at the Tivoli Palacio de Seteais in Sintra looks over the whole valley. Photo: Minor Hotels
seaside cliff village of Azenhas do Mar in Portugal
At seafood restaurant Azenhas do Mar Restaurante Piscinas (it's that rounded bank of windows down on the beach), you can pick your own fish and preferred cooking method Photo: Billie Cohen
The Pena Palace, in Sintra, Portugal,
The bright colors and the myriad tile designs of the Pena Palace, in Sintra, are stunning. Photo: Billie Cohen
view of Porto Portugal and Dom Luís I Bridge
Walk across the top level of Porto's Dom Luís I Bridge to snap this view of the city. I got to visit thanks to a free stopover with TAP Air Portugal on a trip to Rome with my mom. Photo: Billie Cohen
Palácio da Bolsa interior Porto Portugal
My mom and I took a private, after-hours tour of Porto’s most visited attraction, the Palácio da Bolsa. It was empty! Photo: Billie Cohen
business-class seats on TAP Air Portugal
The window business-class seats on TAP Air Portugal are roomy private nooks. Photo: Billie Cohen
The amenities kit is packed in an adorable oversized sardine can designed by a local artist. Photo: Billie Cohen
sardine cookies at Ria restaurant in Anantara Vilamoura Algarve hotel Portugal
Sardines are so popular in Portugal, even the cookies look them (but thankfully, they don't taste like them). Photo: Billie Cohen

 

It’s a good deal.

Portugal is inexpensive compared to a lot of Europe. The currency is the same euro, but your money goes farther—on food, drink, transportation. One simple example: The metro in Lisbon costs €1.45 per ride. In Paris, it’s €1.90. In London, it’s a whopping £4.90 (about € 5.50). In fact, the UK’s 2018 Holiday Money Report put the Algarve at the second-cheapest holiday destination worldwide (after Bulgaria). The annual report compares the cost of eight tourist items in countries around the world, including dinner for two with wine, a range of drinks, sunscreen and insect repellent.

It’s close.

From NYC, Lisbon is 6 hours 45 minutes nonstop. That’s about the same as the flight to London, but you’ll land in a place with much more sunshine and much cheaper everything. It’s also a shorter trip than to Barcelona, Paris, or Italy.

Airfare is low and stopovers are free.

Thanks to the rapid expansion of TAP Air Portugal, there are now many flights from New York, Boston, and Miami—and they are reasonably priced, without the no-frills corner-cutting of a low-cost airline. I’ve flown TAP in both coach and business class, long-haul and short (both on my own dime and on a press trip where TAP covered the flights), and I was pleased with the friendly service and how new and sleek the cabin looked. Even better, TAP offers a free stopover in Lisbon or Porto on its long-haul flights—so if you’re going to Europe, Africa, or even Brazil, you can tack on a one- to five- night stay in either Lisbon or Porto. Of course, Portugal definitely deserves its own trip—there’s enough to see. (One note: Getting through passport and customs control at Lisbon airport can be a slog—on two occasions, it’s taken me more than an hour. Make sure you leave enough time between any connecting flights.)

You can do city, seaside, and riverside village all in one trip.

Like most European countries, Portugal is not big—and that is a good thing. It means you can explore more ground in a short amount of time. And while you could spend weeks in each of Portugal’s different landscapes and not get bored, you can also hit several of them quickly and easily in one vacation. You’ll find turquoise water and soft-sand beaches in the Algarve, a cool green microclimate in Sintra (complete with lush, fanciful botanic gardens Monserrate and Quinta da Regaleira), olive and grape farms in the Alentejo, coastline cliffs in the southwest, and wine everywhere.

New hotels are emerging (and renovating) to meet the increased demand.

Over the past two years, more than 60 hotels have opened or been renovated, many in Lisbon and Porto, including new arrivals from Minor Hotels, a successful Asia-based brand that, tellingly, chose Portugal for its first European location. Its M.O. here has been to take over longstanding, beloved properties and update them to meet today’s culinary, design, and service standards

A few of its standouts include the Tivoli Avenida Liberdade Lisboa, which recently emerged from a stylish refresh: Its public spaces and guest rooms have a cool Art Deco sheen, its new seafood restaurant is fashionable but unstuffy, and the rooftop Sky Bar is worth a visit even if you don’t stay at the hotel. Its view of the city is gorgeous, the people-watching is fantastic, the walls and the waitresses wear striking designs by local artists, and the drinks are creative (including several mocktails).

Sintra’s Tivoli Palacio de Seteais is at the other end of the design spectrum: an 18th-century palace estate with a regal feel—think wallpapered banquet rooms, beautiful antiques, and a hedge maze. Guests can wander the formal garden, linger over a meal on the terrace, or sip lemonade (made from the hotel’s own lemon trees) while gazing at long, green views of the Sintra mountains. To complete the royal treatment, they’ll even arrange a horse-and-carriage ride to some of the area’s gardens.

In the south, the Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort is a newly revived base for seaside escapes: sunbathe by the palm-tree-lined pool, head to the area’s nearby beaches, go out for the night by the bustling Vilamoura marina, explore the region’s nature reserves and farmers’ markets, dine on fresh seafood at notable onsite restaurants Emo and Ria, and of course drink plenty of wine.

The food and restaurants are top-notch.

It is easy to eat well in Portugal: seafood, cheese, vegetables, fruit—you can sample local, fresh varieties everywhere. The warm bread and local olive oil served with most meals are worth the trip alone, as are the famous Portuguese egg tarts, pastéis de nata.

For a quick and informal sampling of some of Lisbon’s hottest eateries, go hungry to the Time Out Market; the outpost of Manteigaria bakery here churns out some of the best egg tarts in the country (I think they’re better than the more well-known ones made by monks out in Belem, for which tourists line up for hours). Of course before you have dessert, you should eat all your supper, and there are delicious options no matter where you travel. Select your own fresh-from-the-ocean fish at Azenhas do Mar Restaurante Piscinas, which is right on a dramatic beach near Sintra. In Lisbon, don’t miss the lively, indoor-piazza setting of Bairro do Avillez, one of Michelin-starred chef José Avillez’s restaurants (save room for the “passion fruit” dessert with coconut sorbet—it has a fun, creative presentation). No matter where you go, you will be able to try some form of the national dish, sardines; but for the classic preparation, visit Lisbon in June during the Feast of St. Anthony, when locals gather on the streets every night to grill sardines and enjoy festivals and concerts across the city.

As for drinks, the Portuguese are the world’s biggest consumers of wine, so you can trust that they know what they’re doing when it comes to indigenous wines and ports. Learn all about the country’s varied terroir at the Anantara Vilamoura Algarve Resort’s master class, taught by onsite guru António Lopes, who was named Portugal’s best sommelier in 2014. Then follow your tasting with a meal at the hotel’s wine-centric restaurant, Emo, where Lopes and the chef collaborated on the food and wine menus to ensure an ideal match.

Beyond the walls of restaurants and bars, there are plenty of other ways for food lovers to immerse themselves in the country’s culinary culture: For example, Virginia Irurita can hook you up with a fisherman in the Algarve. The region is famous for oysters and clams, and you’ll spend the day learning how to gather mollusks—and tasting them, of course.

History and creativity are on display everywhere you look.

Buildings and train stations (especially in Lisbon and Porto) are famously clad in colorful tile called azulejo, which recall the city’s time under Moorish rule in the Middle Ages. You can learn all about the tiles at the Museu Nacional do Azulejo, or even paint your own at Lisbon’s Museum of Decorative Arts.  More modern artistic endeavors adorn city streets too, in the form of gorgeous murals (painted and mosaic) and stunning architecture (both modern like Santiago Calatrava’s Oriente train station in Lisbon, and historic like Sintra’s Pena Palace). There are plenty of official cultural institutions as well, offering something to match every interest, whether it’s history, arts, music, performance, sports or culinary. The right trip designer can get you behind-the-scenes or after-hours access to some of these places, so be sure to ask. For instance, you can get a private guided tour of the workshops at the Foundation Ricardo do Espírito Santo Silva; I met several of the bookbinding, furniture-making, and brass-carving artisans who are keeping Portugal’s craft traditions alive (it was one of the highlights of my 2017 travels). And Gonçalo Correia arranged an after-hours private visit to Porto’s most visited attraction, the Palácio da Bolsa.

Disclosure: Minor Hotels and TAP Air Portugal provided me with a complimentary five-day trip. In keeping with WendyPerrin.com standard practice, there was no request for or expectation of coverage on either sponsor’s part, nor was anything promised on mine. You can read the signed agreement here. If you go: Ask Wendy to put you in touch with just the right travel planner for the trip you have in mind.

 

 

Be a smarter traveler: Read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The Eiffel Tower and surrounding gardens, Paris

How to Avoid the Crowds in Europe

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If you’re planning a trip to Europe this summer, you’ll want to arm yourself with a few strategies to avoid the kinds of bottlenecks—long lines, traffic jams, sold-out venues—that can hamper a European vacation.  We asked Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts to give us a few strategies for navigating tourist hot spots and to steer us toward some of their favorite lesser-known finds—seaside villages, scenic drives, urban centers, island getaways, and historic sites that attract smaller crowds but are every bit as lovely as their more popular rivals. Here are a few of their insider tips for Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and the UK.

France

Louvre Museum at night, Paris, France

Visit the Louvre at night. Photo: EdiNugraha/Pixabay

Instead of visiting Versailles, consider Vaux Le Vicomte. This château was actually the inspiration for Versailles, so why not see the first one? It has a lot of history, and it’s amazing to visit and definitely less crowded.

Instead of visiting the Louvre first thing in the morning when everyone tries to arrive early to avoid the crowds, it’s a much better option to go during the late-night hours (Wednesday and Friday nights).

Don’t wait to buy tickets to key monuments. Prebooking tickets is always the best idea for popular attractions such as the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, and the Catacombs. These lines can all be hours long if tickets are not prebooked.

—Jennifer Virgilio, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for France. Read more of Jennifer’s tips in her Insider’s Guide to Paris with Perks, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

the hilltop village of Gordes, Provence, France

Provence and its pretty villages, like Gordes, are incredibly popular so try to visit in shoulder season. Photo: Pixabay

Visit Provence in the off-season. Provence and the French Riviera together comprise the second-most-popular destination in France and one of Europe’s leading vacation hot spots. To avoid the crowds at the iconic sights, go out of season (May, June, and September). However, in every region there are yet-to-be discovered areas, and here is no exception.

Explore La Provence Verte, an area off the beaten tourist track. La Provence Verte, or the Haut Var, is an area situated between Provence and the Riviera and just to the north of St-Tropez. It is a perfect stop when traveling from one to the other and also where you can spend several blissful days. It has some exceptional vineyards and is truffled with beautiful villages, such as Tourtour, Cotignac, Sillans-la-Cascade, Bagnols en Foret, Seillans, Fayence—to name but a few. There are also some wonderful craftsmen, notably in Salernes, where ceramic artists have moved on from making tiles to some of the most wonderful artistic creations for every taste.

Arrange a private chateau visit. The 12th-century Cistercian abbey of Le Thoronet is also on the Haut Var bucket list, as is the privately owned Chateau d’Entrecasteau, where visits with the owner can be organized. To crown it all, a lunch at Bruno’s truffle restaurant will leave one of the most lasting memories of all of the incredible meals you have ever had in your life!

—Philip Haslett, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for France. Read more of Philip’s tips in his Insider’s Guide to Provence and the French Riviera, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Italy

Polignano a Mare, puglia, italy, seaside village

Don’t overlook Puglia, Italy. Photo: Pixabay/newneo47

Instead of Tuscany, savvy travelers should consider Umbria, a region right next door dotted with beautiful towns like Perugia and Assisi.

Think Puglia. In the Gargano area of Puglia, you find inexpensive osterias and trattorias that offer great food, and the sea is amazing, with hundreds of sandy beaches.

And Bergamo. Bergamo is one of the most important cities in Northern Italy, both historically and artistically. Bergamo Alta is by far the most beautiful and interesting part of the city.

And Maratea. The small town of Maratea in the region of Basilicata is a hidden gem with a beautiful coastline, great food, and lovely people.

Purchase advance tickets online for the Accademia Gallery, the Uffizi Gallery, the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, the Doge’s Palace, and other major attractions. That way, you won’t have to wait in line when you get there.

—Andrea Grisdale, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Italy. Read more of Andrea’s tips in her Insider’s Guides to the Amalfi Coast and Italy’s Lakes Region, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Portugal

Queluz Palace, Lisbon, Portugal. Photo: Estoril Tourism Board

Stay outside Lisbon; Estoril, home of the Queluz Palace, is a good choice. Photo: Estoril Tourism Board

In the Lisbon area, base yourself in Estoril. The resort town of Estoril, 20 miles west of Lisbon, is a good base for tours of the capital and surrounding area. Another good choice is Arrabida.

In the eastern Alentejo, base yourself in Monsaraz. Everyone stays in the Evora area, but Monsaraz is incredibly beautiful, with great boutique properties from which you can explore Spain and Portugal.

In the Douro Valley, base yourself in the Côa Valley. Everyone stays in the area where the Six Senses Spa is located, but all the best quintas for wine are in the Côa Valley, the area of the Douro that is closer to Spain.

—Virginia Irurita, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Portugal. Read more of Virginia’s tips in her Insider’s Guides to the Algarve and the Alentejo, Portugal, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

the colorful yellow and red turrets of Pena Palace, Sintra, Portugal

Know when to go to Pena Palace, in Sintra. Photo: Pixabay

Know when to go to Sintra’s Pena Palace. The most popular day-trip from Lisbon is Sintra, a castle-studded small town set above a rocky coastline in the forested hills of Parque Natural de Sintra-Cascais, and the most popular attraction in Sintra is the Pena Palace, an outstanding example of the Romanticism style of architecture. The Pena Palace is the last stop on most tours of Sintra, so your best bet is to arrive at its entrance at 9 a.m., when the ticket office opens, and to be among the first visitors to enter at 9:30 a.m. Weekdays are generally less crowded than weekends, but the only sure way to sidestep the crowd is to spring for a private (and pricey) after-hours tour.

Or skip Pena Palace for a less crowded but just-as-beautiful alternative. Also in Sintra, the Quinta da Regaleira is not nearly as crowded as the Pena Palace, but it is stunning, with beautiful gardens and manmade hidden tunnels (there are fascinating tales related to the beautiful Portuguese masonry). The small Convent of Capuchos and the Monserrate Palace are also a lot less crowded than the Pena Palace.

Some lines are worth the wait; others aren’t. The 16th-century Jerónimos Monastery is Lisbon’s most impressive monument. There are always two lines: one line to buy tickets to visit the cloisters, chapter house, etc., which is normally huge; and a different line to visit the actual church (the most impressive part of the building), which normally isn’t that long. You can easily skip the cloisters and visit the church with hardly any waiting time.

Don’t stand in line to see Porto’s famous bookstore. Livraria Lello, in Porto, is one of the most beautiful bookstores in the world, and the lines are just hard to believe. Purchasing a ticket from the Lello website in advance will spare you the long wait to get in.

Another popular day-trip from Lisbon is the town of Óbidos, but don’t go on weekends. It will be full of Portuguese families and huge excursions from the senior day-care centers. Go there during the week.

Go medieval. The medieval castle and walled village of Marvão, lost in the middle of the Alentejo landscape, is a place where you really feel you are in very deep Portugal. You will certainly have no crowds here.

Arrange an after-hours tour of Porto’s most visited site. Palácio da Bolsa, the magnificent Neoclassical palace in Porto, is deservedly the most visited monument in northern Portugal. Go after hours, when you can have the entire museum to yourself.

—Gonçalo Correia, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Portugal. Read more of Gonçalo’s tips in his Insider’s Secrets to Portugal, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

Spain

Spain town of Montserrat surrounded by rocky mountains

Montserrat is a great day excursion outside Barcelona, but avoid visiting in the morning if you want to beat the crowds. Photo: Pixabay

The time of day can make all the difference in the quality of your visit to Spain. Montserrat is a great day excursion outside Barcelona, but avoid visiting in the morning. Go after lunch. The place has half the visitors, and the Boys’ Choir sings on most evenings. Likewise, tour the cities of Toledo, Córdoba, and Ronda after lunch. Most of the crowd will be gone.

In high season, stay in hotels outside the city you are visiting, or in a non-touristy neighborhood: If you’re visiting Seville, stay in Carmona, a beautiful city with a great food market and an incredible parador housed in a castle. If you’re visiting Barcelona, stay in the Gracia Quarter. And if you’re visiting Madrid, stay in Toledo, Segovia, or Alcalá de Henares, a beautiful small city declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its university. Alcalá has a great parador, a great street full of tapas bars, and it’s very close to Madrid.

For a quiet getaway, go to La Granja, a beautiful town built around a great royal palace with an incredible garden, or Cáceres, in the Extremadura region, which has a great hotel with a three-Michelin-star restaurant called Atrio.

—Virginia Irurita, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Spain. Read more of Virginia’s tips in her Insider’s Guides to Madrid, Barcelona, and Andalusia, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

sailboats moored in turquoise water off a rocky shore in Menorca Spain

Menorca is the least crowded of Spain’s Balearic Islands. Photo: Pixabay

Instead of Ibiza and Mallorca, find peace and quiet on Menorca. If it just isn’t summer vacation without lying by the pool or taking a dip in the Mediterranean, head to Menorca, the least crowded of the Balearic Islands. The locals are friendly, and the vibe is relaxed. It’s great for families, or really anyone who would rather skip the beach parties and all-night discos found on Menorca’s sister islands, Ibiza and Mallorca.

Trade large beach resorts for coastal areas known for their natural beauty. The flysch in the Basque Country and the cliffs overlooking the Atlantic in Galicia are two of my favorite spots.

Architecture buffs will love the grand monuments of Leon, such as the Gothic Cathedral and Gaudi’s Casa Botines. It’s also got vibrant nightlife (check out Barrio Húmedo) and delicious local cuisine.

Asturias, in northern Spain, is a wonderful stop for nature lovers, with a beautiful landscape, rolling mountains, hiking routes, and scenic coastline. Highlights of Asturias include the Picos de Europa, an incredible natural park, and numerous pre-Romanesque monuments, particularly in Oviedo.

For big museums, like the Alhambra, hire a guide. A guide knows what’s important and what’s worth skipping; they’ll take you on a different circuit from the audio guides; and they know the people who work there, so they can sometimes slip you in ahead of a big group.

Ask Wendy if you’re seeking the best Spain expert to plan your trip.

United Kingdom and Ireland

Ireland

road and landscape of Beara Peninsula, Ireland

Ireland’s Beara Peninsula is just as gorgeous as the Ring of Kerry, and has much less traffic. Photo: Celebrated Experiences

The Ring of Kerry isn’t the only gorgeous drive. While the Ring of Kerry is so well known and often crowded in high season, there are many other gorgeous coastal drives in the southwest of Ireland, such as West Cork and the Beara Peninsula.

When you fly into Dublin, instead of heading south or west, go north. Belfast is an incredible city—so popular with Europeans yet still fairly off the beaten path for Americans. It is only two hours north of Dublin, and you can use it as a base to discover the great coastal drives of Northern Ireland, such as the Causeway Coast. It is also central to many Game of Thrones sites; world-class golf, such as Royal County Down and Portrush; the Giants Causeway; and so much more. Also, when you choose to go north, you can then make a second stop in County Donegal, which has some of Ireland’s best scenery and outdoor activities, such as horseback riding, hiking, rock climbing, surfing, and golf.

Take advantage of timed entries, a feature offered by more and more sites in Ireland. You purchase your tickets in advance and it limits the number of people at each time. The Guinness Storehouse, Kilmainham Gaol, Trinity College, and now Newgrange all have timed entries, which is great.

Scotland

River, Glencoe Highlands, Scotland

Explore the Glencoe Highlands. Photo: Jonathan Epstein

Let the crowds have the Isle of Skye, and explore the Northern Highlands instead. The Isle of Skye has become so crowded, and there are so many other parts of Scotland with truly majestic scenery that you can visit without the crowds. Some favorites are along the NC500, a great coastal road in the Northern Highlands. You can also take wonderful day trips by ferry from Oban, such as Mull. Ayrshire is a beautiful coastal area overlooking the Irish Sea, and a fun day trip from there is the isle of Ailsa Craig, where most of the word’s curling stones are made.

England

The south front of Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill between 1922 and 1964, Kent.

Chartwell, the home of Sir Winston Churchill between 1922 and 1964, is in Kent. Photo: National Trust

Some of England’s best off-the-beaten-path areas are on the southern coast. In the Sussex area there are beautiful historic properties such as Gravetye Manor and Amberley Castle, fascinating historic towns such as Arundel, fantastic gardens like Sissinghurst, historic homes like Chartwell (Churchill’s house) and castles like Hever (Anne Boleyn’s family). A bit further west you come to the New Forest and Dorset. Two of England’s best hotels are in the area: Chewton Glen and Lympstone Manor. A great day out is a visit to the Jurassic Coast.

—Jonathan Epstein, one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for the UK and Ireland. Read more of Jonathan’s tips in his Insider’s Guides to the Cotswolds, and use Wendy’s trip request form to be marked as a VIP and get the best possible trip.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The Taj Mahal, Agra, India

How to Never Wait in Line at a Tourist Attraction Again

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Why waste your precious vacation time battling crowds and waiting in lines? Popular tourist sites the world over grow more congested every year and, sadly, the typical fixes—reserving an entry time, booking a “skip-the-line tour”—are not always a good solution. So I thought I’d share the best fixes I’ve found.

Reserving a time slot might make sense at an indoor museum (I wouldn’t show up at Rome’s Borghese Gallery or Florence’s Uffizi without one), but not necessarily at an outdoor monument. When I go to Paris, for instance, I want to hit the Eiffel Tower on a sunny, clear day; what if my entry time, reserved weeks in advance, coincides with rain and fog? Furthermore, I want to take my kids to the Louvre on a rainy day; what if I book skip-the-line tickets for what turns out to be a gorgeous day that we’d rather spend in the Jardin du Luxembourg? As for “skip-the-line tours,” aside from the fact that you can end up herded around in a big group with an annoying guide, they’re often not what they claim to be. A skip-the-line tour of the Vatican might get you past the ticket-buying line but not the security line. I’d rather be one of the handful of travelers who gets to eat breakfast at the Vatican and see it before it opens to the public.

By far the best way I’ve found to avoid crowds and bypass lines is to book your trip through the right travel fixer—someone who knows every insider trick at your destination and can leverage his/her superlative relationships there on your behalf. Such destination specialists can get you into sites at off-hours when they are empty and even into places that are off-limits to the public. The right person can get you past the mobs at Angkor Wat or ensure a crowd-free sunset at the Taj Mahal. You can even have Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia all to yourself. These Trusted Travel Experts can, in fact, arrange an entire trip that spares you from every line. And all you need to do is show up.

But if you prefer to D.I.Y. your trip, here are strategies that have worked well for me:

Find out if there’s a side or back entrance.

Rose Center for Earth and Science at the American Museum of Natural History

To avoid long lines, try an alternative entrance, like through the Rose Center for Earth and Science at the American Museum of Natural History. Photo: ©AMNH/D

Sometimes there is an alternate entrance with a shorter line or none at all. In Paris, my family entered the Louvre via the Porte des Lions and saved ourselves from an hour-long line at the Pyramid entrance. At the Museum of Natural History in New York City, if there’s a line at the Central Park West entrance, you can enter via the Rose Center for Earth and Space or via the 81st Street subway station.

Go at sunrise.

A lot of people assume sunset is best, but at many outdoor iconic monuments—Angkor Wat in Cambodia, Mount Sinai in Egypt, Petra in Jordan—sunrise is better. You get equally great light for photos but fewer crowds to spoil them. Sunrise is better for seeing neighborhoods too. In popular destinations that are touristy from 9 am till midnight, it’s from 6 to 9 am that you can see the locals living their everyday lives—green grocers opening their stalls, kids going to school, fishermen delivering their catch to the fish market, etc.

crowd in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre Paris France

Visit museums on a night they’re open late and you’ll likely avoid mobs like this one, in front of the Mona Lisa at the Louvre. Photo: Wendy Perrin

Go at night.

Not all landmarks are accessible at night, but those that are are usually worth seeing at that time. The Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for instance, is beautifully lit and especially poignant at night. Park rangers are actually there to answer your questions until 10 pm. Remember that world-class museums are usually open on at least one night of the week. London’s Tate Modern, as just one example, stays open till 10 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. The Eiffel Tower admits visitors until midnight in summertime—and sparkles at night too.

night skyline of Washington DC with Lincoln Memorial Washington Monument and Capitol building

Some famous attractions, like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. are more beautiful at night—and less crowded. Photo: Pixabay

Take the stairs.

A two-hour line at the Eiffel Tower. Photo courtesy Tim Baker.

A two-hour line at the Eiffel Tower elevators—which we skipped by taking the stairs. Photo: Tim Baker.

I’m no athlete, but I’ve climbed to the tops of dozens of bell towers, fortresses, palaces, and cathedrals, and I am here to tell you that the effort has always been well worth it, not just because of the views but because the great majority of visitors don’t make it there. Sometimes the journey itself is a highlight. If you’ve ever followed the circuitous, increasingly narrow route into the cupola of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, you know what I mean. My family saved at least two hours at the Eiffel Tower by climbing the 670 steps to the second floor and taking the elevator from there to the top, rather than waiting in the scary elevator line at the base.

Buy the right pass.

aerial view of Venice Italy and surrounding water

Venice, Italy. Photo: Pixabay

Some cities sell city museum passes that let you bypass the line. For instance, the Paris Museum Pass and the Vienna Pass let you skip the line at dozens of museums and monuments in those cities. If you don’t need a multi-day museum pass because there’s really only one museum you want to see, sometimes you can buy a combination ticket for just three or four related museums (the world-famous one you want to see, plus other lesser museums you’re not interested in). Buy the combo ticket at one of the lesser museums with no line, then use it to skip the line at the museum you want. For example, in Venice, a ticket to the four Museums of St. Mark’s Square allowed me to skip the line at the Doge’s Palace.

Arrive at the visitor center before it opens.

World-famous sites with visitor centers tend to attract a lot of tour buses. You want to arrive long before they do. At Gettysburg, for instance, be the first inside the Museum and Visitor Center when it opens at 8:00 am (April 1 – Oct 31). If you have no reservation for the U.S.S. Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor, get there before it opens at 7:00 am because that’s when tickets for that day are available on a first-come first-served basis.

 

Be a smarter traveler: Read real travelers’ reviews of Wendy’s WOW List and use it to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

The first port of call on the first-ever sailing of Silversea Cruises' new ship Silver Muse: Marseille, France

Cruise Report: Wendy’s Photos from Silversea’s Newest Cruise Ship

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I’ve sailed on inaugural voyages before—I’ve even served as godmother of a cruise ship, smashing the bottle of Champagne at the christening—but, until last week, I’d never boarded a ship a mere three hours after it had left the shipyard. I was on the first-ever sailing of Silver Muse, the elegant new ship from Silversea Cruises that launched in Genoa and will call at 130 ports in 34 countries this year. We hit three of those countries—Italy, France, and Spain—on last week’s “shakedown cruise.”  Honestly, not much shaking down was required:  Silver Muse gleams from top to bottom.

Perhaps the most unusual thing about the Muse is the food.  There are eight gourmet eateries onboard—which is a lot for a 596-passenger vessel—including Italian, French, Asian, sushi, a steak house, a pizzeria, and a gelateria. There’s even a cheese bar at night in one of the observation lounges.  The food is sophisticated and imaginative, with ingredients sourced from around the globe—giant prawns from Madagascar, cod from Greenland, steak from an Argentinian estancia, lamb from New Zealand, burrata from the boot of Italy….you get the idea.

But what surprised me most on the ship was Gennaro, the charming Italian cobbler who has a little shop on the pool deck and custom-makes shoes while you wait.  I ordered up a pair of Capri sandals just so I could see Italian craftsmanship at work.  In 45 minutes I had perfect-fitting gold leather sandals.  To see the shoes, and photos from the rest of my Mediterranean coastal adventure, check out the pics below and follow my travels on Instagram.

And if you’re wondering whether Silver Muse is the right ship for you or a different one might be better suited to your trip goals, feel free to write to me at Ask Wendy.

 

This is how I’ll be leaving Genoa tonight — aboard @silverseacruises’ brand new ship, #SilverMuse.

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Okay, so this ship is not for light packers. @silverseacruises #SilverMuse

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Aboard @silverseacruises you get to choose which #toiletries you want. That’s Naru, my butler. #SilverMuse A post shared by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

I’d be happy with just this for dinner. But it’s only the first course. #antipasto #SilverMuse

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It’s 64 degrees here in the Ligurian Sea. The pool deck is hopping. #SilverMuse A post shared by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

It’s nice to think some people still use #stationery rather than smartphones. #SilverMuse

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Meet Gennaro, the cobbler from Preludio in Capri, who custom-makes shoes on the pool deck. #SilverMuse

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Ta-da! Thank you, Gennaro, for my new custom-made leather sandals. Time it took:45 minutes. Cost: $200. #SilverMuse

 

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Nice spot to dig into a book. But I’m headed over to that ferris wheel. #Marseille #SilverMuse

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Le Vieux Port of #Marseille, as seen from atop La Grande Roue (the ferris wheel). #SilverMuse

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Looking up the Rue de la Republique from the ferris wheel, Le Vieux Port, #Marseille. #SilverMuse A post shared by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

Specialty of #Marseille: orange blossom navette (navette fleur d’oranger) #SilverMuse A post shared by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

 

Chocolate olives. #Marseille #SilverMuse

 

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Coconut rice pudding. #yum #SilverMuse A post shared by Wendy Perrin (@wendyperrin) on

 

Follow more of Wendy’s travels on Instagram @wendyperrin!

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook, Twitter @wendyperrin, and Instagram @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

View over the River Seine, Paris, France

A Trip to Europe:
Start with our Questionnaire

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This pandemic has unleashed unprecedented travel hurdles, as well as opportunities, and we’re monitoring them all. Are you seeking a private, easy, custom-tailored, top-quality trip that minimizes the risk to you and others? We’ll recommend your smartest options and the best trip-planning fixer for your specific situation, and we’ll ensure you get VIP service. Here’s how it works:

1. Answer the questions below. Your information is kept private.
2. Press Submit.
3. Expect a reply within 24 hours (or 48 hours on weekends).

 

St. Basil Cathedral, Moscow Russia

Why You Should Go to Moscow in Winter

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We all learned this lesson from our parents: Just because everyone else does something doesn’t mean you should do it too. When it comes to travel, that’s especially true. Who wants to follow the masses and be herded like sheep through the most popular tourist attractions at the most popular times of the year? No one—because in travel, the converse of that old lesson is true as well: Just because most people dismiss a destination at a certain time of year, that doesn’t mean you should dismiss it too. Places you wouldn’t think about visiting in their off-seasons are sometimes the exact places you should be exploring—offering better deals and a more authentic experience.

Moscow in winter is that kind of place. “The city is hip and happening, with a vibrant food scene,” says Greg Tepper, our Trusted Travel Expert for Russia—“and you won’t be nearly as cold as you think.” As for safety, “There are no security issues—that is, beyond the pickpockets you find in other major European cities such as Paris and London,” says Greg. “The days of gang violence in Moscow are long over (1990s) and there hasn’t been a terrorist incident in Moscow in many years. There simply is no anti-American feeling on the streets of Moscow, and visitors from the U.S. are treated just as any other travelers are.”

Greg is a big fan of visiting Moscow in the winter—so much so that he’s offering a complimentary special enticement for WendyPerrin.com readers: If you reach out to Greg via his WP trip-request form for a trip to Moscow (or St. Petersburg), you get your choice of a room upgrade at one of his recommended hotels, a half-day private expert guide, or a world-class theater performance.*

Here, Greg shares his top five reasons for visiting the Russian capital during the cold season.

  1. The value doubles

“The Russian ruble is down more than 50 percent against the U.S. dollar. In the winter and on the weekends, the hotels offer their lowest rates of the year. That compounds the savings to make Moscow more affordable than it has been in more than 20 years. Top Moscow hotels cost less than $370 a night, including 18 percent VAT and full breakfast!”

  1. Theater is at its best

“Travelers go to Russia for world-class opera, ballet and symphony. These are all at their best in the winter, which was always the ‘social season’ there. A wonderful bonus is that Russian operas are sung in Russian with English supertitles in the theater, making them so easy for English speakers to follow. (Italian and other foreign-language operas have Russian supertitles.)”

  1. Sites are less crowded—by far

“The summer crowds are gone by November, and Moscow’s world-class museums are empty.”

  1. The Dr. Zhivago effect

“Honestly, who doesn’t dream about snowy sleigh rides with a mink blanket, vodka, and mittens to keep you warm? No one ever forgets an evening stroll through Red Square with snowflakes drifting atop St. Basil’s Cathedral.”

  1. Russian hospitality means really warm buildings!

“You can stop worrying about being cold in Moscow in the winter. In fact, if you wear long underwear indoors, you’ll likely find yourself uncomfortably warm and start looking for a window to open to let in more cool air! Russians like it this way, so bring a big, warm coat (preferably fur, which is very much in fashion and not taboo there) and be prepared to take it off and check it at the coat-check the moment you walk indoors.”

What other destinations do you think are worth visiting in their off-season?

 

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.

*Offer valid for travel between October 1–March 31, 2017. Suites are not included in the hotel upgrade offer.

bicyclists in Piemonte Italy wine country

Six Iconic Wine Regions That Are Made for Bicycling

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I thought I knew how to ride a bicycle until I moved to France, where I discovered that you do not need special shoes—any old pair of five-inch heels will do. In France, I learned that helmets are for rugby and that a bike clip is what fastens your skirt to the saddle so your underpants won’t show (where I come from, it’s the thing that attaches your shoe to the pedal so you can pump like a maniac). I learned that wine is an energy drink—something farm hands and dockworkers have known for centuries—and that the best way to tour Burgundy, or almost any wine region, is on two wheels, sampling the local terroir as you go.

Here are some top wine areas for exploring on two wheels.

bicyclists in Piemonte Italy wine country

Piemonte, Italy. Photo: Butterfield & Robinson

A magical relationship exists between bicycles and vineyards, a symbiosis that has a lot to do with geography.

“The main thing is that the roads that vintners take to get to their grapes are paved small trails, perfect for biking,” says Tyler Dillon, a travel planner who has put together many vineyard biking trips. “Second, the distances between villages are just right, a comfortable 10 to 15 kilometers [about 6 to 9 miles]. They work well with mealtimes. You can ride for two or three hours in the morning, ending at noon in a small village that’s serving a Michelin-star lunch.”

Wine regions are accessible to cyclists of all skill levels.   

“The gradual changes in elevation that are suitable for growing grapes are also good for cycling. If you haven’t been training you can stay at the lower altitudes.”

The pace is just right.

“There’s also a certain pace of life that’s appealing. You’re immersed in a culture that’s based on seasonality, on a crop and cycles of nature. It’s a slower pace than in a big city, a pace that matches with biking. On a bike you’re forced to slow down and take it all in.”

Traveling on the ground helps you understand what comes out of the ground.

“To understand a bottle of wine you have to understand the region where it’s grown—the rocks, the soil, the humidity in the morning, what time the sun rises. That’s what you want to walk away from on a bike trip. You want to smell the lavender. You can’t do that in a car.”

Where to Plan a Wine Region Bike Trip

bicyclist in Burgundy france wine country

Burgundy, France. Photo: Butterfield & Robinson

Tyler names his favorite wine-country destinations for cyclists:

Burgundy: “Not too far from Paris, so you can catch a train there pretty easily. If you get off in Dijon and go south, every town you stop in you’ve seen on a bottle of wine.”

Piedmont, Italy: “A close second to Burgundy, with similar geography but like a big bowl, so instead of going from point A to point B you can do the trip in a circle.”

Rioja: “It feels a little more adventurous than the first two because the climate is more stark and Don Quixote–like. The vineyards spring out of the shale rock and it’s very dramatic.”

Bordeaux: “Great country roads and great food.”

Côte du Rhone: “Dry Mediterranean climate, shaley soil, and a rugged countryside with secluded pockets that feel like no one has been there since the Romans.”

Tuscany: “Hillier than Burgundy or Bordeaux or the Côte du Rhone; it feels like biking through a painting. It’s also quite hot. In hot climates, there’s a little more of a looseness and a celebratory feel in the culture and the wines are more flavorful. The geography is epic, with stunning vistas; when you bike through it you feel like you have a full orchestra behind you.”

To find the right Trusted Travel Expert to help plan your biking vacation, contact Wendy. 

bicyclists in Bordeaux france vineyards

Bordeaux, France. Photo: Butterfield & Robinson

Be a smarter traveler: Use Wendy’s WOW List to plan your next trip. You can also follow her on Facebook and Twitter @wendyperrin, and sign up for her weekly newsletter to stay in the know.