Off the western coast of France, this island – a jewel of the Atlantic ocean – exudes its charm. Ile de Ré, also called “Ré La Blanche”, has plenty to offer for it’s visitors: long beaches on the south, rocky north coast, historic sites, relaxing and friendly atmosphere present in 10 picturesque villages, each unique and worth visiting. The island has a resident winter population of approximately 20,000 residents and a resident summer population of about 220,000.

This mostly low and narrow island is connected to the historical seaport La Rochelle by a 2.9 km (1.8 mi) bridge – the longest in France. This busy seaport town is one of the most picturesque and historically rich cities on the Atlantic coast. The best way to discover this island is by bicycle, there’s more than 100km of cycle tracks les pistes cyclables. Most of the cycle routes are along the water, salt marshes, vineyards, and woods. Spend your day visiting endless sandy beaches backed by powdery dunes on the south, art galleries, oyster farms, horse-riding, fishing, or eating fresh and tasteful seafood. At night, visitors can also watch the buskers, have a drink and enjoy the island’s delicious artisanal ice cream, all set in a family-friendly atmosphere. Buy the famous Fleur de Sel “Salt Flower”.

St Martin on the north coast, one of the island’s ten villages, is the historic capital of the Ile de Re. It is beautiful atmospheric north coast fishing port with whitewashed houses clustered around the stone quays of a well-protected harbor, from where trawlers and flat-bottomed oyster boats, piled high with cage-like devices used for “growing” Oysters, slip out every morning on the muddy tide. There is plenty to do here, from shopping on the narrow cobblestone streets, to relaxing at a sidewalk café or sightseeing. St Martin is surrounded by impressive Vauban fortifications, first set up in 1681. In town, a Gothic church dominates the skyline. From the top of its church tower, there is a good view of the formidable citadel which King Louis XIV built 300 years ago to protect the island from an English invasion. Now it is used as a prison. Shopping affords a large variety of items, such as comics, books, African articles, ceramics, clothes, artifacts, food, local specialities, tools and souvenirs. As far as historic heritage is concerned, don’t miss Ernest-Cognacq Museum, the Citadel, la Place de la République before reaching the next stopover.

On this island, three most important activities are salt farming, oyster farming, and wine production. Fish is a specialty everywhere on the island, especially the local oysters. Another is Pineau des Charentes wine. The island’s main visitor attraction is the Arche de Noe (Noah’s Ark) where nearly 200 exotic parrots fly free amongst the lush vegetation. Many are from South America and endangered in the wild. One of only three such sanctuaries in Europe, it also has displays of rare shells, butterflies and curiosities collected on far-flung expeditions by the owner’s great grandfather.

Ile de Ré is very famouse for its thalassotherapy centres. Thalassotherapy has naturally developed in this island because of its ideal sea environment: seawater, seaweed, marine muds, climate, sands, and any other substance extracted from the sea.

You will be offered every type of accommodation (hotels, campsites, bed and breakfasts, holiday villages, etc.) from which you will be able to explore Ile de Ré and its many faces. This is the best place to travel if you need sunny, relieving, revitalizing, relaxing holiday with very French maritime sophistication.

Stoupa, Greece – Stoupa is the new gem of Greece that becoming famous as the New Côte d’Azur. It is one of the south Mediterranean’s “coolest” and newest hot spots placed in fascinating area called Mani, on the coast of southern Peloponnese in Greece. This small and very laid-back town is very inspirational for artists, writers, musicians, philosophers. Also great for families and groups. Great atmosphere, clear turquoise water, fantastic not crowded sandy beaches and the mountain backdrop makes Stoupa even more spectacular. Just a coach ride away are the ancient ruins of Olympia and the Corinth Canal. There are some 20 restaurants strung out along the beach, a few small hotels, and many rental houses. You can’t stay at Stoupa without visiting the Inner Mani. the only part of Greece never conquered by invaders. The Maniots built tower houses, some of which have been restored, and holed up in them carrying out local feuds.The contrasting scenery on the two different coastlines is very apparent and you will not find more interesting and varied scenery elsewhere. It has a strange and mysterious quality to it with many ancient churches and the old villages with their tower houses, built to defend themselves from the other feuding villages.

Mersa Matruh, Egypt - one of Egypt’s best kept secrets. Mersa Matrouh lies 290 km west of Alexandria and it lies on a bay on the Mediterranean. It is distinguished by its 7 km long beach, which is one of the most beautiful in the world. The beach is famous for its white soft sands and calm transparent waters while the bay is protected from the high seas by a series of rocks forming a natural wave-breaker. Cleopatra’s beach is probably the most beautiful of Mersa, perhaps of all Egypt, but it offers bad chance for swimming.Agiba Beach is the pride os Mersa, even if it is nomore then 30-40 meters long. It is well protected with cliffs ans sand is cleaner and water purer. There are few important monuments and tourist sights (Ruins of the Temple of the King, Pharaoh Ramses II drown city of Caesar,drown Palace of Cleopatra, Rommel’s Hideout – - cave, hewn in the rock, where Rommel drew up plans of his military operations). As a very conservative and traditional town, Marsa Matruh is extremely safe. But unfortunately, there are still plenty of stories about Western women exposed to a very negative attitude from local young men. With few precossions steps you would be safe and enjoy this unique summer City.

Lithuania Curonian Spit – there is a skinny slice of land starting in the Russian territory of Kaliningrad on the Baltic Sea, with a tiny piece of Lithuania at its end: the Curonian Spit. This UNESCO HERITAGE site becoming more and more popular for its sandy beach, forest and desert-like sand dunes crowd onto a two-and-a-half mile wide peninsula. The largest town on the spit is Nida in Lithuania, a popular holiday resort, mostly frequented by Lithuanian and German tourists. Beautiful surroundings, variety of time spending and marvelous landscape of dukes, Baltic seaside and Curonian Lagoon compose an impression of admiring a real gemstone, that, according to UNESCO criteria “V”, is an “outstanding example of traditional human settlement, land-use and sea-use which is representative of a culture and human interaction with the environment”. The sandy marine beaches of the Curonian spit together with nice traditional resorts, mature pinewoods and the magnificent vistas over the drifting dunes and the Curonian lagoon form the most valuable tourism resource of the whole region. Thus making the Curonian lagoon a tourist destination of an international scale. July and August are the warmest months of the year with the main daily air temperature reaching +17ºC, so it’s perfect for tourists who like chillier summer destinations.

This is a place where the past and the present merge in perfect harmony. Romantic, old Finnish town, perfect to spend a weekend with loveone. Definitely perfect place to spend Christmas! Porvoo is situated about 50 km to the east of Helsinki, at the mouth of the river Porvoo (Porvoonjoki). This idyllic town grew up on the banks of calm and beautifull river in the 14th Century and it is a second oldest town in Finnland. It gives a perfect glimps of what Finland must have looked like few hundreds years ago.

Approaching the ancient town, first glimpse of Porvoo is a pea green river and the reflections of red, green and yellow buildings mirrored on the water’s surface. Along the Porvoonjoki (Porvoo’s river) are numerous red boat houses that have characterized Porvoo for centuries, and which have been depicted countless times by artists. The red color dates from the 18th century when the owners painted the buildings to honor King Gustav III of Sweden. Trade has been carried on for centuries under the black roofs of the red ochre shore houses. . The ships loaded butter, dried fish, timber, tar and flax, among other things, and unloaded exotic delicacies, such as fruits, wines and spices. The shore houses also served as intermediate depots of coffee and tobacco. Today the shore houses overlooking the river are mainly used as private living quarters and storage spaces. No painter’s stroke could duplicate the beauty of this spot: the emerald green of trees and shrubs on one side of the Porvoo River; small boats tied to their moorings, bobbing with the slow current.

Walking through the small paths and alleys of the Old town you can enjoy in beautifull and authentic finnish architecture – colorful old wooden houses, narrow curvey cobble stone streets, wonderful church up on the hill, great unique small shops and dozens of museums and galleries. The Baroque building sports a clock tower that will fascinate anyone interested in architecture of the period. The imposing salmon-colored building up the hill on Valikatu Street was once the Old Town Hall (1764) but is now the home of the Porvoo Museum. Actually, the Porvoo Museum is composed of two museums and two buildings: the Historical Museum and the Edelfelt-Vallgren Art Museum. The mission of the Historical Museum is to showcase the history and culture of Porvoo and the region through its collection of furniture, textiles, local artists’ work, glass, toys and the like which is shown throughout the first floor. The second floor is dedicated to the what life was like in Porvoo during Medieval times. The Edlfelt-Vallgren Museum concentrates soley on the work of two local artists who gained international recognition: Albert Edelfelt (1855-1905), and Ville Vallgren (1855-1940). Albert Edelfelt, one of Finland’s most well-known painters of the 19th century is perhaps best known for his portrait of Louis Pasteur, the great microbiologist. His studio, dating from 1883, provides a stellar look at the range of architecture that forms this unusual town. Another popular site is the museum that was once home to Finland’s former national poet, J.L. Runeberg. It is Finland’s oldest home museum, opened to the public in 1882.

The central point of the old town is the medieval, stone and brick Porvoo Cathedral which gave its name to the Porvoo Communion – an inter-church agreement between a number of Anglican and Lutheran denominations.The history of the granite cathedral dates back to the late 13th century. It was rebuilt or repaired several times. During WWII it was even hit by a bomb, but luckily not damaged. Inside the church a nice wooden tall ship can be seen. The interior houses a model of a tall wooden ship that is alone worth the trip. At the beginning of the 19th century, Finland was annexed to Russia as an autonomous grand duchy. Tsar Alexander I convened the first diet in Porvoo in March 1809. In Porvoo Cathedral, he gave a sovereign pledge in which he ratified the country’s religion, its constitutional laws and the rights of the estates. Outside, you’ll be able to explore the belfry that, unlike similar structures elsewhere, isn’t attached to the main building. Arrangements can even be made to get married in the cathedral, though you’ll have to plan a couple of years in advance, at least.

Brumberg Oy, a small chocolate factory is located in Old Porvoo, next to the cathedral. The production facilities include a small shop where you can buy chocolates and pastries handmade by the master chocolate-maker. A quality chocolate and candy factory with traditions going back all the way to 1871. Free samples of delicious wrapped truffles tempt the tourists.

In addition to Old Porvoo and the attractions downtown, travellers should consider a trip to the beautiful archipelago. Alongside the old islander life, there are summerhouse residents and boaters. There the choices include an archipelago cruise, summer markets and outdoor recreation areas as well as outings in the countryside. Also, there are many manors, an animal farm and nature trails. Boating, fishing, sight-seeing, and canoeing are some of the favorite summertime activities here.

For those who love golf there is Virvik Manor , an 18-hole golf course located 18 kilometers from downtown Porvoo, far from the rush and noise of the city.

The town has a surface area of 1 768 square kilometres, of which 654 is land and 1114 water. The town’s population is over 44 000, of whom 64 per cent are Finnish-speaking, 34 per cent Swedish-speaking and about two per cent others.

Andorra is a very small country situated between France and Spain, perched high in the eastern Pyrenees. Andorra’s surface area is 468 square kilometres (181 sq mi)and consists predominantly of rugged mountains of an average height of 1,996 metres (6,549 ft) with the highest being the Coma Pedrosa at 2,946 metres (9,665 ft). Andorran towns are built at the bottom of valleys, not at the top of mountains. The capital city is Andorra la Vella situated on the Gran Valira river. Unfortunately, Andorra cannot be accessed by rail or air. The closest airports are Barcelona in Spain and Toulouse in France, both which are at a 3 hour drive from Andorra.

You can enjoy the mountains in the traditional sense, just watching stunning mountain landscapes and meandering rivers, go hiking and of course skiing. And the skiing is the best in the Pyrenees. The snow and ski season begins in mid-December and lasts into April (artificial snow prolongs the season well into springtime). Hiking season begins once snows in the valleys and on their lower flanks melt and trickle away and continues through until October. Andorra has five ski resorts. The best known area in Andorra for skiing, Soldeu and El Tarter (next door villages) are lively, good value for money, modern and friendly, with great skiing and snowboarding facilities. The skiing in Soldeu is good for beginners and intermediates, and there are some advanced descents for the more experienced skier through the powder fields below Pic d’Encampadana. For snowboarders, Soldeu’s half pipe and an additional natural half-pipe makes the resort a popular choice.

Andorra is not a member of the European Union. At one time, the country was a haven for smugglers. In resent past it was a haven for duty free shopping. Now its a tax haven if you buying electronic goods, watches and, traditionally high taxed in Europe, parfumes, booze, cigarettes and gas/petrol. Andorra has no own currency and it uses euros. English is widely spoken in Andorra. The local language is Catalan, and French and Spanish are also spoken.

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