All our reviews

I visited it on a rainy day in March this year, but that was still a very special day.

It reminded me of small French castles in the Poitou Charente region that I have seen, though its bigger in size and has a different style. At the present you can visit only one tower of the castle, the rest is being restored.

The small town of Mir is very pretty too.

The trip from Minsk (the capital) by bus takes about 2 hours.

My husband and I were fortunate to be traveling in Spain in October/November of 2003. We rented a car in Barcelona and traveled down along the coast on a 3 week trip making stops here and there and eventually ending up in Sevilla. I had done plenty of research before leaving and Cuenca was one of the places that sounded fascinating. It ended up being the place we enjoyed staying at the most. Up in the higher elevations from where we had been traveling on the coast, it was very crisp in late autumn. We stayed at the very charming Posada de San Jose, which was quite an adventure just to find. The casas colgadas (hanging houses) were wonderful and the old city magical. There were some wonderful pottery shops in the Plaza Mayor close to the posada, and I bought some pieces to bring home with me.

Now everytime I look at them, I am reminded of the wonderful town of Cuenca, and the beautiful country of Spain. I can't forget to mention the Cathedral also located in the Plaza Mayor. The stained glass windows are marvelous and unusual, and as I recall more recent additions to the building that was begun in 1182. I took pictures in every direction standing on the San Pablo Bridge. From Cuenca we took a day trip to Ciudad Encantada, and walked the area looking at

the unusual rock and geologic formations. Wonderful scenery all the way there and back. We took the …

I visited the Shalimar Gardens with locals, so I didn't pay the foreigner's fee late November/2003 and they were worth the visit. The walls and floors were hand carved and made of marble and sandstone. There is no support for the ceiling, made of huge blocks of sandstone. The construction was well planned for acoustics. An artificial waterfall operates during the tourist season.. Nearby is a marble enclosure with a seat where Shah jahan sat.

The guide spoke only Urdu so the locals translated for me. He charged too much for his fee and the locals told me I should not have paid him less the the Rs. 200 he demanded. I am 69 years of age and travelled there to visit some cricket friends and the old Indus Valley civilization sites.

I have visited the magnificent centre of Vienna thrice, and I plan to go back again. It is just endlessly fascinating. The city revolves around St. Stephen's Cathedral, with its enigmatic single spire. Apart from this, points of interest include the Cafe Central and other decadent coffee houses, the Stadtpark and the Strauss statue, the Danube which unfortunately was never blue but is fun to travel on by ferry, the Hofburg, Belvedere and Schonbrunn palaces, the Museumsquartier with several fine museums within walking distance of each other, the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus concert halls, the memorial houses of many classical composers, the Central Cemetary which is almost a museum, The Prater (fairground including the famous Ferris Wheel), numerous extremely ornate and beautiful churches (The Votivkirche and St. Peter's are the best of these), the UN headquarters in Vienna, The Rathaus (Town Hall), The State Opera (Staatsoper) and the Folk Opera (VolksOper), the House of Music (Haus der Musik), the Kärntner Straße and Mariahilfstraße shopping areas, the old-world Sacher and Imperial hotels ... the list is endless. Apart from these, the friendly Austrian people and the street entertainment top off one of my favourite cities. The metro (subway) is very comprehensive, and the Vienna Card for tourists is good value. Vienna, is indeed, the City of Dreams.

It's very unfortunate that most people visit this site only to walk around the henge once and then wait for the next coach out of there. There are Saxon burial mounds, forests and footpaths to explore as well. Combine this with a visit to Salisbury cathedral and you've given yourself a crash course in English history.

The fortress island is a fine example of 18th century fort building and presents a relaxed day out. You can catch the free municipal ferry just off the fishmarket in Helsinki and enjoy views of the archipelago before disembarking on the island. The island feels strangely rural with a small post office and general store, emphasising the virtual isolation the islanders must feel in winter.

You could join the Fins enjoying a swim in the Baltic or explore the parks, museums, cannons and fortress walls all over the linked islands. Try to be there when the ferry to Stockholm passes between the narrow gap between two of the Suomenlinna fortress walls!

It is possible to visit the Sterkfontein caves but you have to find your own way to get there. They do tours of the caves for a nominal fee (tips are optional) but don't expect to see many fossils. The archeolocial digs were all closed off.

The caves are impressive and it is a good day out, considering the many unique private restaurants in the area. That way you could drive around the Highveld countryside enjoying some time away from the city bustle of Johannesburg.

The St. Lucia estuary is one of the unique biosystems on this planet, with the subtle interplay between marine and terrestrial aquatic life. This is the only place where I've seen sharks swimming in the lagoon next to hippopotamuses, and crocodiles swimming in the sea!

There are many beautiful woodland paths to explore and the warm Indian Ocean is great for swimming. This is also the only place where I've seen a barracuda jumping over the surf, from the shore! There is an abundance of fauna and flora to admire in the protected areas as well.

The cheapest way to stay is on one of the camping grounds, although there is luxury accommodation as well. Public transport is poor so it is recommended that you make your own arrangements to get around.

What a magnificent coliseum! A true testament to the engineering skills of the ancient Romans. A few hours drive from Tunis this impressive site could easily be visited as a day trip from Tunis or the resorts around Hammamet. I took a louage (the ubiquitous shared taxis) via Sousse, which cost less than 10 dinars. Pardoning the camel rides and curio stands outside, this site is worth a visit for anyone interested in Roman building and fans of the Gladiator film.

Getting to Dougga from Tunis was a bit of a trek considering the lack of transport, this may have been due to the religious holidays during Ramadan. The cheapest and quickest way of getting there is to go to the louage (shared taxi) station for Teboursouk and waiting for the taxi to fill up. Driving to Teboursouk took just over an hour (cost less than ten dinars) and a friendly local taxi driver was willing to take me the additional 10 kilometres for another 10 dinars.

The ruins at Dougga are magnificent! I was the only tourist there and explored the ruined city at my leisure. The capitol and many of the temple building are still relatively intact making for some very impressive views. Many of the homes still have much of their beautiful mosaic floors visible as well. It rained the day before so the mosaic tiles in the baths were wet bringing out the beautiful colours and shapes.

This is a truly impressive site well worth the visit. It is much better preserved than many similar sites in Europe. I also felt that it was much less touristy being furhter away from the coast. Its remoteness makes it difficult to reach but it is well worth a visit.

Approaching this out of the way site, it looks like a disused masons yard with a gigantic tent at its edge. But once inside the tent, which is truely enormous, you are treated to a sight which is awe inspiring in its magnificence. I was immediately struck by its sanctity, even though I am not a particularly religious person myself. All hail to UNESCO and others who are working so hard to preserve this wonderful temple.

Everybody should visit Edinburgh at least once in their lives, and if possible go during the summer festival, the Fringe Festival, the Tattoo Festival... all worth seeing, great people and great views. I've visited Edinburgh several times, and it seems I can't get enough of it, its people are really welcoming and charming, and don't worry if you are on your own, get into a pub and most certainly you'll feel at home.

Aye! I'd like to live in that wonderful city!

Cheers!

This was an excursion tour from our Holland America ship from Veracruz. The bus ride was very long and the stay in the town only about one hour. Except for our tour group the place was mostly deserted. The one hotel refused any of us to use the bathroom. The streets were interesting and the empty buildings colorful, but overall the town seemed run down. Visiting the museum we found dark halls with ceiling lights that we were told didn't work. The guide continued her speech but very little could be seen. The apothocary may have had some interesting shelved antiques, but the display of Barbie dolls, hair creams and misc stuff spoke for itself. This place must have seen better days, but why waste the over two hour of bus time. Why would a museum have inoperative lights installed? Maybe when UNESCO visited it was great but not now.

After a long train ride from southern England, reaching Salisbury, I finally reached Stonehedge and was not at all in awe. I did not pay the entrance fee becasue I felt I could get the same result from outside the fence, and I was right. Although it is something that someone should see, I was done in 15 minutes and waited another 30 for my coach back to Salisbury.

I am a student of Muhammad Ali Jinnah University.I visited Rohtas as a part of my project with my class(MBA).Its a place worth visiting, the style of architecture, planning, giant walls, well, tombs,etc., are very interesting. We can't imagine that such a big construction can be done manually and in such a short time (8 years). We also saw work under process and there we got some idea, it was amazing, the skills of the locals are beyond imagination. We spent a whole day visiting the fort still we could not see only 60% of it, still we enjoyed alot. It was a memorable day. What we heard about Sher Shah Suri, was proved. We have been useing the GT Road(Grand Trunk Road) also built by him but we saw his taste of construction, it was great. I recomend that if you visit Pakistan try to visit Rohtas and Lahore fort I can asure you will enjoy a lot.

Thanks. Take care.

I have been to Choirokitia several times as a Cypriot citizen. It is amazing how history still lives in this place. Being there, you can imagine prehistoric people walking around, coming in and out the small houses and living together in their village community. This is why Cyprus is a world heritage site. This is why Cyprus' htory should be protected. Because it represents the first steps of our society.

I visited the Church of the Ascension in the summer of 1995. It was amazing to stand in the shadow of such a beautiful, old building. Not only is the Church itself wonderful to view, but there is a wonderful view of Moscow across the river. I am from the central part of the USA. I count time in Russia as some of the best times of my life.

I lived in Ukraine for a couple of years, and visited Saint Sophia a number of times. I always found it a beautiful cathedral, and along with the grounds was always a spectacular visit. These visits became more significant to me when my father, an avid geneologist, found out that one of our ancestors was Yaroslav the Wise, who built the cathedral and is buried in a sarcophagus there. I highly recommend a visit to Saint Sophia Cathedral on your next visit to Kiev.

I went to the Old Town Lijiang in November 2003. It was quite an experience, especially a warm and friendly comfort from local Naxi people.

When you see the city in the first minute, the over-crowded tourists might turn you down a little. Once you having stayed long enough, horsed round those cannals and bridges, and tryed Baba cake and local food, you will love this town.

I will travel back to Lijiang.

Worked on Aldabra as Warden for a total of over two years in 1983-84 and again in 1987. Spent considerable time travelling over the atoll carrying out ongoing monitoring especially hawksbill and green turtles.

The Research Station has now been completely revamped and is once again providing excellent accomodation.

There are plans to develop limited tourism with up to 10 bungalows being tendered out.

A magical place and a magical experience.