Viator Travel Blog

Tokyo is a wonderful place. It used to be very expensive, but 20 years of economic slowness has made it quite affordable. You can indulge yourself in history, modern culture, consumerism and lots of food. I’ve been to Tokyo many times and when people ask “what should I do in Tokyo” I can finally stop repeating myself and tell them to read this blog!

Normandy conjures up a few images. For starters, there’s the D-Day Beaches. Then there’s the Bayeux Tapestry, Joan of Arc and Mont St Michel. And don’t forget the coastal resorts of Deauville, Trouville, Honfleur and the birth of Impressionism.

Visit Japan and Tokyo for the food? That’s an emphatic yes. Japanese cuisine is a great reason to visit – nevermind the country’s castles, temples, gardens, and geisha. Eating in Japan is like a tour of historical attractions in its own right. And with more than a dozen types of specialty restaurants, my plan was to eat my way from one end of my week-long visit to the other.

I wish I lived in Paris but I don’t. So on a recent 3-day trip to Paris I decided to live the life I often wished I had. I pretended I really was Parisienne.

To start in the right frame of mind, I caught the Eurostar to Paris and made sure I got to St Pancreas station in London early. This is a gorgeously restored train station, I recommend you head upstairs to the Champagne Bar and indulge in a glass of Champagne with a bowl of strawberries and cream while sitting under the soaring roof – oysters are another good option.

The Spanish capital of Madrid is packed with options for things to do. Gourmets, art lovers and sports fans should be in their element, while the nightlife is legendary. But Madrid is also a surprisingly green city, with extensive parklands near the centre. We’ve picked out five of the best options for your Madrid visit – but we’re merely scratching the surface.

While enjoying High Tea at the Art Gallery of NSW one finds oneself saying things like – “one”. Like the Queen, I believe my birthday should be a public holiday. Unlike the Queen’s Birthday, technically mine isn’t a holiday. But I take the day off anyway – and encourage my friends and family to join me. This year we discovered a lovely way to celebrate and everyone declared we should do it every year. (I have no problems with that).

Looking for the perfect place for a summer beercation so you can geek out on beer, sample dozens of different styles and rub shoulders with friendly brewers? Park yourself in Portland, Oregon. Also known as Beervana – it houses 32 breweries in the city limits which is more than any other city on earth. True, Portland is a beer-lover’s paradise but there are two thriving cities just south of Portland: Corvallis and Eugene, each with a growing beer scene definitely worth a day exploring as a side trip from Portland.

Visitors to Paris (Americans in particular), and even the odd Parisian, go gaga over the things, oohing, ahhing, and salivating over the sugary confections through shop windows, so I have decided to find out first-hand just what the fuss is all about on a pastry cooking class organized by our friends at Viator.

Whether you call it the French Riviera or the Côte d’Azur, France’s Mediterranean coast from Cannes to Nice and beyond has an almost mythically glamorous appeal. The beautiful people (le Beau Monde) have flocked here for generations. And if Ernest Hemingway, David Niven, Joan Collins and Elton John have all holidayed here then, frankly, who are we to argue?

This is where dreams of New Orleans become reality. There I sat in a timeless bar, in the cradle of jazz music, listening to a screaming clarinet player, propelled by a drummer, stand-up bass, piano and banjo. Time and space ceased to exist as the music, beer and crowd flowed into a singular composition we call New Orleans. It was a perfect opening night because we’re here for the French Quarter Festival, a festival that celebrates the culture of New Orleans.