Mountain City's Travel Blog

The gift-giving season is close at hand, and this year, more than ever before, travel may be the very best present you can place for someone under the tree. Lynn Elmhirst, producer and host of BestTrip TV, explains:Experiences vs. ThingsStudy after study shows it, and we know it instinctively ourselves. Our best memories, the best of times, are about experiences,...

If a picture speaks a thousand words, then a video is running commentary. That's why we wanted to share with you exactly what the health protocols on board an Avalon Waterways river cruise in France are in the Fall of 2021. We know some people have already begun traveling again - but others are still hesitant. Maybe you wonder if...

11/11 is Single's Day, highlighting the solo lifestyle that applies to more and more uncoupled people. The decision to travel solo is among the biggest decisions a singleton makes. This year will mark the first time many people decide to travel solo. They'll be deciding whether they should stay home or go it alone. Janice Waugh of Solo Travelers explains...

Over 200 years ago, a trail-blazing female author penned the novel that brought one of the first tales of the horror genre to life. This year, Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein opened to commemorate the life of the novelist and her legendary, terrorizing creature.In 1816, at just 19 years old, Mary Shelley wrote much of her novel Frankenstein in the...

If you’re like most of us, your holiday season last year fell a little bit short on the fa-la-la’s. This year, it’s not too late to double down on , and make up for lost time with 'peak Christmas' at the Christmas markets of Europe.Lynn Elmhirst, producer and host of BestTrip TV, shares this video with some of the highlights of...

Edvard Munch’s 'The Scream' is one of the most famously eery pieces of art in history, and it continues to disturb admirers today. Now, MUNCH, a new museum and landmark architectural masterpiece on Oslo’s waterfront, has opened, with the world’s largest collection of works by the famed Norwegian artist. That includes several versions of Munch’s iconic work, The Scream, including...

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...

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, but...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...