Mountain City's Travel Blog

This holiday season will be the brightest ever in the most popular tourist attraction in Canada – and one that conveniently spans the border with the U.S. - just as the land border between the neighboring countries is set to be open in both directions.  Beginning in mid-November and running 101 nights all the way to late February 2022, Canada’s...

Slow-moving, sweet-faced and gentle sloths have taken the world by storm, becoming one of the most beloved creatures in popular culture in the last few years. Formerly a synonym for laziness, sloths have become cultural darlings, with their famously adorable countenances that always seem to be smiling sweetly, 270-degree, slow head rotations, ability to hold their breath underwater for over...

Austria’s capital city is famous as a cradle of classical music and high culture, for its skyline shaped by Hapsburg palaces, the Opera House and city symbol Giant Ferris Wheel, for tastes and experiences like chocolate/apricot Sacher Torte and coffee house culture, and even the renowned, high-performing and high-stepping, gleaming white Lipizzaner horses.  You may have been to Vienna before,...

This small French Caribbean island is known as the Isle of Flowers, the Rum Capital of the World, and now, its land mass, along with the marine zone around it, has become an over 12-million acre globally recognized eco-reserve. Martinique has been inducted into UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere Program, so now over 5% of the Earth’s landmass is recognized for...

The secret about river cruising was out, even before the pandemic. Like all cruise travel, it's the ‘easy button’ way to ‘sample’ multiple destinations and get an overview of a region. You unpack once, really settling in to your ship environment like a home away from home in a floating boutique hotel that winds its way through marquee cities as...

Montreal is a year-round global capital of celebration. The world’s second-largest French-speaking city (after only Paris) is famous for its cosmopolitan flair, cuisine, fashion, as a UNESCO City of Design, the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil - and a full calendar of top-shelf festivals that wrap the city in energy anytime you visit. A famously active winter city, Montreal’s star...

It’s Oktoberfest time again. The festival traditionally held annually in Bavaria’s capital of Munich, with similar events throughout the entire region, is one of the world’s most epic celebrations. Name notwithstanding, Oktoberfest actually runs for just over two weeks from mid-late September to the first Sunday in October. It’s been cancelled again in 2021, but that gives you time to brush...

To celebrate the release of the long-awaited new James Bond film, No Time to Die, the Jamaica Tourist Board is releasing some exclusive, behind-the-scenes footage. It showcases cast and crew from the movie, as well as some of the locations shot in Jamaica. The country has been part of the Bond legacy from the very beginning. Author Ian Fleming created the...

Recently someone asked me how my ‘Stolen Summer’ was.WOW, did they hit the nail on the head! Stolen Summer described perfectly how I felt about the heat dome and oppressive smoke. Throw in a dash of a pandemic for good measure and the term ‘Stolen Summer’ perfectly described the summer of 2021.Looking back though, there certainly were bright spots...By sheer...

Sunken wrecks aren’t just fascinating destinations for underwater exploration or fantasies of pirate ‘days of yore’. Properly and carefully submerged, wrecks enhance natural reef ecosystems and provide new homes for marine plants and creatures. A new submerged ship is about to become a prime diving attraction in the 2nd-largest barrier reef in the world. It will also contribute to sustainability in a...

They are a calm oasis in the heart of the hustle and bustle of an airport, and among the few places where air travel retains a sense of ceremony.  Certainly, they are the very best places for people who love to remind themselves of the romance of travel by watching planes take off and land.  Airport lounges have gone beyond...

For many of us, September feels more like the ‘New Year’ than when the calendar says it’s January. Time to exhale, regroup, and reset yourself on a fulfilling course for the future, one that includes meeting life and wellness goals.Maybe that’s why September is National Yoga Month.The ideal time to practice – or at least plan for - two intersecting life...

Chicago’s ‘The Bean’ sculpture is already one of the most popular attractions in the city. Officially titled ‘Cloud Gate’, the massive, stainless steel sculpture anchors Chicago’s lakefront Millennium Park. At 33 feet high, 42 feet wide, 66 feet long… and about the weight of 15 elephants! the abstract work of public art dominates the cityscape and is one of the...

 It’s a tiny island with a big reputation as one of the most chic destinations in the Caribbean. Legendary St. Barts combines French ‘art de vivre’ with a lush tropical setting and an exclusive atmosphere. If you’ve been waiting to discover – or re-visit – this jewel of the islands, there may be no better time than November. That’s when the...

Canoes have become the ultimate symbol of Canada’s sub-Arctic indigenous people. Living where there are more freshwater lakes and rivers than anywhere else on the planet, they became one of the great inland water travelling cultures of the world.European arrivals quickly came to appreciate the indigenous people’s mastery of building and navigating their canoes. ‘Voyageurs’ and trappers adopted indigenous peoples’...

While it was founded in the 1500’s by a monk, and its colonial center has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, San Miguel de Allende as a famous art colony dates from the Second World War. Just half a day’s drive from Mexico City in the Colonial Highlands, San Miguel is 6000 feet above sea level in Mexico’s high sierra,...

A survey by a North American hospitality company reveals that over half of pet owners say they plan to travel with Fido or Fluffy in the coming year.And while a surprising one-third of respondents say they have a special music playlist for their beloved animals, less than 10% have prepared for their trip by doing online research about traveling with...

In 2021, UNESCO created a new, transnational World Heritage site: 11 towns in 7 European countries that collectively make up The Great Spa Towns of Europe. All of the towns developed around natural mineral water springs, many of which were used therapeutically from Europe’s earliest history. Together, the Great Spa Towns of Europe represent the international European spa culture that grew...

There are more ‘Blue Holes’ in The Bahamas than anywhere else in the world, as well as the deepest Blue Hole on earth. From the surface, they can appear mythical, and in fact, Blue Holes feature in a number of Bahamian marine legends. But these distinct circles of dark blue water surrounded by an ocean of brilliant cerulean blue are not portals...

Whether African or Asian, elephants around the world are revered for their majesty, intelligence, and as an example of astonishing sensitivity in one of the world’s largest creatures. Seeing elephants in their natural setting remains a touchstone of travel for many who have African safaris on their bucket lists.August 12th is World Elephant Day, which celebrates these magnificent creatures. It...