Best For
Articles
Amid the towers of steel and chrome waft the tantalizing smells of seafood and spices. Argentine, Cuban, Swiss, German, Thai, and Indian are only a few of the offerings you’ll enjoy today in Panama City.
If you like gadgets and bustle when you go on vacation, look shells, and tumbling-down structures—anything that hints at a quaint chapter of Irish history. Using traditional methods, local craftsmen faithfully restore each lighthouse, cottage, castle, or 19th-century school house. The rescued structures stand as solid as they were back when they were in full use 150 to 600 years ago.
I’ve traveled in 92 countries, lived in Thailand and the Middle East, climbed the Pyramids, gone dog-sledding in Finland, trekked in Mali, seen the “gorillas in the mist” in Rwanda, and gone hot-air ballooning over the desert in Australia.
Whether you’re shopping for traditional wooden toys, nutcrackers, tree decorations or unusual gifts, nowhere does Christmas markets quite like Germany. And Berlin, the capital, has over 50 Weihnachtsmärkte to investigate in the four week Advent run-up to Christmas.
When my old boss asked us if we wanted to go to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, over Christmas week, we jumped at the chance. It was such an amazing experience we never looked back. A Christmas in Mexico with all its color, warmth and vibrancy became our new family tradition. We didn’t miss the snow. The gorgeous blue waters and the long, warm evenings saw to that.
I’m in northern Tuscany’s Lunigiana, the “Land of 100 Castles”. Originally built in the late 12th century, Fosdinovo is one of its best. Crowning a hilltop, it’s a square, fortress-like structure with inner garden courtyards and gorgeous tapestries. Incredibly gruesome stories, too.
I’m in Cuenca, Spain, a provincial capital less than an hour by train from Madrid. For budding expats who dream of living in Spain, provincial cities like Cuenca are a great option.
According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Botin Restaurant in Madrid is the world’s oldest operating restaurant, which opened its doors in 1725. Famous the world over, Ernest Hemmingway mentioned the restaurant’s signature dish cochinillo asado (roast suckling pig) in his 1926 novel The Sun Also Rises.
It’s not hard to believe in miracles once you see the Sanctuario de las Lajas, an incredible feat of faith and engineering in the municipality of Ipiales in southern Colombia. Legend has it that in 1754, a woman named Maria Mueces and her deaf and mute daughter, Rosa, sought shelter from a thunderstorm in a cave in the valley of the Guáitara River, known for its flat rock formations that resemble lajas, or floor tiles.
Just west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji is the highest volcano in Japan (12,388 feet), and the most beautiful natural attraction in Asia according to www.attractions24.com. Around 200,000 people climb Mount Fuji annually—30% of them foreigners. At number two is the Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines.
Imagine yourself surrounded by colossal prehistoric trees. Butterflies the size of your hand flutter by. Ferns threaten to envelop you. All that’s missing is a bloodthirsty Tyrannosaurus Rex. This scene is just the start when you decide on an adventure travel vacation in the Darien, Panama’s “forgotten province.”
If you live in Cuenca, Spain (the provincial capital) you can enjoy affordable, convenient small-town living…yet you’re as little as 45 minutes from central Madrid and its big-city action.
In this video, IL Mexico editor Glynna Prentice takes you on a tour of Cuenca, Spain, a medieval mountain city less than 100 miles east of Madrid. Cuenca is the capital of Cuenca province, which is in the central Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha.
Some of the travel-related stories from around the world that have caught the eye of our writers…
No wonder Pistoia is Tuscany’s least visited city. One guidebook describes it as “gloomy.” The phrase “murderous reputation” also appears with alarming frequency. Obviously I had to go take a look. It sounded like my kind of place.
Today, the best restaurants in Panama City aren’t necessarily the fanciest (and the most pretentious tend to have impressive “barks” but may fail to deliver when it comes time to bite).
In this video, IL’s European editor, Steenie Harvey is bathing in history in Tuscany, Italy. The hot springs near Saturnia in southern Tuscany’s Maremma region were used by both the Romans and the earlier Etruscans.
Paris is the destination of choice for most visitors to France looking for culture, good food and that special joie de vie (“joy of life”). But while there are good reasons it’s the most- visited city in the world, don’t be blinded by the City of Light.
In this video, IL editor Lee Harrison tours downtown León—Nicaragua’s intellectual capital, and also a university town. León, the capital of the country for 200 years before Managua was so designated, once served as the country’s political, military, cultural, and religious center.
Many Italian towns have a Bar Michelangelo. But few can claim that the country’s most celebrated artist and sculptor lived and worked there for four years. Pietrasanta can, and you’ll find its Bar Michelangelo on Piazza del Duomo, the cathedral square.
In this video, IL editor Lee Harrison takes a tour around the Spanish colonial city of Granada, Nicaragua. This city is not only popular with travelers, but with expats as well.
IL editors Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins visit the Sanctuario de las Lajas near Ipiales, Colombia, where, in 1754, Maria Mueses and her deaf mute daughter, Rosa, were caught in a violent thunderstorm. While sheltering in a cave, Rosa saw a vision of the Virgin Mary and, although being deaf and mute, said to her mother, “Momma, the mestiza calls to me!”
Franco himself is buried here, and he left a written message that reads, “In Tulcán, a cemetery so beautiful that it invites one to die.”
In this video, IL’s Mexico editor, Glynna Prentice takes a tour through the scenic city of San Miguel de Allende, in Mexico’s Colonial Highlands. San Miguel has beautifully-preserved colonial buildings, fine dining, great shopping, and arts and crafts.
Do You Want to Retire Early?Each day we uncover some of the most desirable -- and cheapest -- retirement havens on earth. Sign up for our free daily Postcard e-letter and we'll immediately send you a FREE research report to help you find your perfect retirement destination. |
