No country in the world benefits as much (materially) from tourism as Italy – or suffers as much from its consequences. Other countries may attract more visitors, but these visitors are spread out more thinly over a vast territory (the USA), are more concentrated in a few coastal resorts (Mexico), or both (France). In Italy…
There is no point beating about the bush: Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, is not the most interesting of European city destinations. It is not even the most interesting city destination in Croatia (that honour goes to Dubrovnik). It is, however, a convenient entry point into the country (with good travel connections by land and…
When Germany was rebuilt from the ruins of WWII, the city fathers of every German town made sure that at least a few streets would be restored to their pre-war appearance. This, I believe, was meant to reassure the citizens that not all ancient traditions, beliefs and cultural foundations would be swept away with the…
After the downfall of the Third Reich, Germany was rebuilt from the ruins of war in a hurry, and, more often than not, it shows. Throughout the 1950s, as Germany was clearing up the WWII rubble and slowly finding its feet again, the priority for politicians and urban planners was to build what was urgently…
Gathering tourism experiences has been the Easy Hikers’ primary occupation for these past 10 or 15 years, so you may trust me when I say that popular destinations generally have more in common than we would ideally wish them to. Seaside walks and beach promenades resemble each other to the point where they seem virtually…
Milan is the economic powerhouse of Italy but also the country’s least charming city. Fortunately for visitors, however, Milan is also surrounded by places which – all within an hour or so by rail – represent the best that Italy can offer. For scenic beauty, few parts of the country can rival Lake Como and…
Modern architecture is difficult to love. It is not so much the concept that is the problem here: all of us can easily agree that its principles are fine and noble – simplicity (less is more), an appearance of elegant restraint (ornament is crime), transparency of structure (form follows function). But while this theory has…
One thing that makes Tel Aviv particularly interesting is that it is not like any other city on the Mediterranean coast: it bears no visible traces of Roman or Greek heritage – nor, indeed, of any other kind of heritage from before 1909, the year when the city was born. Still, a great many things…
Visiting Tel Aviv, the economic and financial capital of Israel, is like stepping into a Twilight Zone: whether or not you feel that you have embarked on a “journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of the imagination”, as the intro of the legendary TV series so famously had it, may depend on…
There was one thing we failed to mention in last week’s post about the Riviera palaces of Nice, probably because it is the most obvious bit: the gardens of these mansions provide wonderful oases of calm within the hustle and bustle of the modern city and are perfect places for short walks and long rests….