Places to Visit in 2009: Dubai, A Tourist Paradise

Dubai is fast emerging as tourist destination of choice. Especially European tourists are flocking toward the sunny beaches and above average night life is Dubai. When I was compiling a list of places to visit in year 2009, City of Dubai was amongst the top 10 places to see. It is in-fact one of those cities, where skyline changes fast, really fast. If you take a look at this picture taken in 1990… It was nothing more than a barren land where you find nothing but blazing heat and dust. At that time, very few people believed that this wasteland could ever be transformed into one of the most successful cosmopolitan city in the world.

Compare the above picture with the left side. These are pictures of same street. One above was taken in 1990 and The second one, below was taken 13 years after it, in 2003. Human imagination, combined with trillion of dollars can sure create wonders.

This does not end here. In fact, no one is really sure, where this will stop. Below is the another picture of same street. This one, taken in 2005.

The pace at which Dubai is making progress is mind boggling. The state has more workers, working on permits, than it has citizens. It is estimated that 15% of world’s high rise cranes are in Dubai at the moment. Can you count them in the picture below?

All this to construct, world’s most expensive and luxurious hotels…

Al-Burj (right picture), when completed, will be the centerpiece of these beautiful man made palm islands.

Top Honeymoon Destinations

Are you planning for your honeymoon? Got tired of thinking where to go? It is easy to choose a honeymoon destination of your choice with Travour. Travour offers you a list of top honeymoon destinations of the world. What makes a honeymoon destination rank in the top chart? Exotic environment, world-class hotels, privacy, fine dining, adventurous activities and make a destination rank among top honeymoon destinations of the world.

Top Honeymoon Destinations of The World: After your wedding lock, plan your honeymoon trips to a romantic destination, where you can spend some time with your partner. Some of the top honeymoon destinations of the world are USA, South Pacific, Africa, Australia, Caribbean islands, South America, Asia, Canada, France, Italy.

Luxury Honeymoon Destinations: If you want to spend your luxury honeymoon with great élan, head towards the various luxury honeymoon destinations. Splurge on the hotels and go for a candle lit dinner during your honeymoon. The topmost luxury honeymoon destinations include secluded islands, azure water, sandy powdery beaches, magnificent hill stations and places of natural scenic beauty. Avail the various facilities while spending romantic times at the luxury honeymoon destinations. Honeymoon vacation packages are offered for a worthwhile experience. Honeymoon travel specials are offered for a memorable romantic vacation.

Romantic Honeymoon Cruises: Have you ever thought of sailing with your partner on a luxury ship along a river? This is one of the most romantic way of spending your honeymoon vacation. Honeymoon cruises offer a number of facilities and services for the newly wed couples. A dinner or brunch on the cruise is the best way to celebrate your love. Dinner cruises generally offer a warm welcome with a rose for the couple, three course dinner menu, champagne toast, chocolate fountain, live entertainment and performance and spectacular view from the ship.

Greek Island Holidays - Number 1 British Tourist Destination 2009

If you think “where you spend your summer vacations?” It is not besides “The Greek Island”…………

The Greek Islands have been a favorite holiday destination for British holiday makers for a long time and there is a reason. Greek islands holidays can be summed up by the word paradise, offering beauty, tranquility and serene landscapes. Greek islands vary in type but most offer charming old fishing villages to enjoy, tourist beach resorts, amazingly clean sea and the all important factor of year round sunshine. People visiting Greek islands go there predominantly for the relaxation, but that is not to say that there is not a lot of nightlife in bars and discos if that is what you are looking for.

Greek Island holidays leave tourists always wanting more, to stay for another 2 weeks or even forever. Whether you are someone that is traveling to discover the history of Greece or just to sit and do nothing relaxing on its endless pristine blue flag beaches then swimming in the deep blue sea. Greece is a place that has history and endless beauty and Greek Island holidays truly have something for everyone of any age. The Greek islands are famous around the world and have a charm and personality unique to Greece. There are 72 Greek islands that are inhabited and open to receive tourists and every single Greek island is an experience in its own right. The locals are always friendly and welcoming and the crime rate is very low with very few incidents involving tourists each year. The resorts in Greek islands are well policed and in general are very well controlled communities with the highest level of comfort and security on offer for the tourists pleasure.

Before choosing the right Greek Islands holidays that is right for you it is always advisable to check out the information on the internet before getting the full sales pitch from some tourist brochure. There are also a wealth of forums where you can find out what real people thought of the Greek island you are considering. The variety is so wide and the general quality of the islands is so high that it is hard to make a big mistake when choosing an island, however to ensure that the facilities are totally up to your specific needs then the internet research is necessary. Greece offers hot summers by crystal clear deep blue seas and very mild winters. Due to the wonderful climate Greece offers, the tourism is a year round thriving industry.

Best Tourist Holiday Destination 2009

The start of the year 2009 marks the best time to decide for a holiday destination. Some of the best places to spend a holiday as a family, a couple or groups is in Spain, Thailand, Vietnam and historical places like the Greek Island. But on the top list this 2009 is Beijing where most of the people around the world will visit due to its promotion from last years Olympics a grand event held every 4 years where nations around the world gather and compete in various fields of sports. It is said that many tourist will head to Beijing for an exciting holiday season. However, communication problems seem to be the thing that would probably hinder Beijing from getting the eye of tourists.

If you consider cheaper but fairly exciting holidays, some of the most desired countries to go to are South America, Hungary, Morocco, Thailand, New Zealand and Jordan. You will find exciting and cheap holiday packages to these destinations this 2009. Vacation getaways to these places are suitable for tourists that maitain a certain budget and taking good deals just to spend a holiday.

Holidays in South America are awesome and the place is considered to be the most exciting destination among all other cities in Europe. Holiday ventures in South America are affordable and the place has a sensational charm and captivating scenes and sights for its guests. A place that you could never afford to miss on holidays.

If you want to purchase the best holiday deals that fits your income and is worth every penny you spend, HUngary is the place for you. The country’s capital Budapest is a magnificent city full of historical architectures, exquisite cuisine and attractive districts that are rich in culture. The Castle Hill is the prettiest district and the paprika accented food of this place is very much indulging. Aside from this, the place will fit guests that have low budgets since holiday packages to Hungary this year are more affordable than other Eastern European countries.

Morocco is another spectacular destination to come to this holiday season. The place offers magnificent sights to historical and cultural enthusiasts. Cities like Rabat, Fes, and Marrakech greatly exhibits the cultural and historical background of the old Muslims. The Atlas mountain range is also a great sight worth visiting. To sum it up, Morocco can offer a great holiday retreat to architects, historians and culture researchers.

The tribal culture of Africa has become popular to tourist that the country is presumed to be visited by many tourists this 2009. The place as so much to offer and is pretty much adventurous from exploratory point of view. TOurists who have experience the trip to the Omo Valley in Ethiopia are all overwhelmed by its history and culture. The holiday package for the year 2009 is very affordable, yet very impressive.

Other important places to visit in the year 2009 include Queenstown in New Zealand, Jordan, and Kathmandu in Nepal. The best holiday deals are the ones which include cheap flights, cheap rents and accommodation, and yet offers great fun to spend your best time in. The places just mentioned above fulfill the criteria of being the best holiday destination for the year 2009 in every possible manner.

Queenstown in New Zealand, Jordan, and Kathmandu in Nepal are also in the top list for the best tourist destinations this year. The best holiday deals are the ones which include cheap flights, cheap rents and accommodation, and yet every passing day seem a lifetime full of exciting adventures and lavishing trips. The 2009 best tourist holiday destination are composed of countries mentioned. So, pick a country, research and book a holiday before you’re left out.

The Most Overrated Tourist Attractions in Paris, France

Paris, France. A popular tourist attraction for countless years for countless reasons. These reasons range from popular family resorts and sight seeing to the more controversial and historic reasons to see locations used during the war.

However, once can simply not doubt the utmost attraction value of visiting Paris, France. It has been one of the world's leading tourist resort country's for countless years and is a popular choice for both regular tourists and historians alike. However, there are places in the country which take advantage of the general popularity of the place itself. Needless to say, not EVERY tourist attraction in Paris, France is a good one, it is up to your wise judgement and a little help from this article to judge for yourself which are the good, and which are the bad.

The common reason is for the theme parks, one of the most popular and famous for many years being of course, Disneyland, Paris. Children of younger ages go crazy to see their favorite Disney characters such as Mickey and Mini, and usually won't rest until they get their way. The thrill-seeker aspect comes in for younger children interested in smaller roller-coasters. There are several other popular theme-parks in Paris, for thrill seekers or for the more laid back, carnival type tourists. Whatever your fancy and preference, the theme parks in Paris seem to have it all... Until you get there and have paid your entrance fee, and realize that the adverts you saw on Television were simply hype, and aren't what they're made out to be. Over rated theme parks are popular in Paris, due to the popularity of the country itself.

Historians often go for the countless monuments in Paris, be it the legendary Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame Cathedral, or recently, the more controversial location where Lady Diana was fatally wounded and later tragically passed away. This may seem a morbid reason to visit Paris, France, but there are many people in the world who actually take photographs of this area and the area surrounding as whether we like it or ot, it serves as a pinnacle point in our world history and serves as the setting point for the worst tragedy of the 1990's.

All of these locations however, are all media hyped in one way or another to make them seem a lot better and more interesting than they actually are. They are more interesting for aspiring historians rather than the common tourist, yet tourists still pay to see them, simply to say that they have seen them, whether they know the history or not. Most of Paris' monuments rely, or have relied on media hype to make them popular.

Whether it be the romantically themed hotels and restaurants, or the dull monuments, most things in Paris, France are simply media hype. Why it is a place i personally would like to visit, being a fan of history around the world, I would say the majority of tourists would not be impressed, from the hype they have seen on television, i do not think they would be impressed.

Children, however, are easily impressed, and this remains one of the key factors that Paris is so successful with its range of mediocre over-hyped theme parks. theme parks that sell tickets due to their name, hype and characters, not the actual theme-park itself.

I would reccomend Paris, ONLY if you are an aspiring historian, or have children who are fans of the Disney characters. The rest is smply media hype to make money from a simple tourist attraction country's well looked after namesake.

5 Architectural Landmarks: World's Best Tourist Attractions

The world and see some of its most beautiful architectural landmarks. These landmarks may not belong to the highest bracket of the most famous but certainly they aren't less beautiful. In fact, these landmarks belong to the most visited places in the universe:

1. Wat Phra Kaew : known as "The land of The Free", is one of the most visited countries in the world. One of its beautiful architectural landmarks that attract tourists from all over the world is the Wat Phra Kaew or Temple of the Emerald Buddha in English. It is regarded as the most sacred Buddhist temple in Thailand. It is located in the historic center of the country's capital - Bangkok.

2. The Great Bath and The Roman Bath in the city of Bath: The Roman Empire had been gone for so long but scores of its structural legacy like aqueducts, triumphal arches, baths and others can still be found anywhere else in its former colonies around the world. .One of the surviving structures built by the Romans is the Roman Baths complex, a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The complex is a very well-preserved Roman site of public bathing. The Baths are now a major attraction and, together with the Pump Room, receive more than one million visitors a year. Visitors can see the Baths and Museum but cannot enter the water. An audio guide is available in several languages.

3. Persepolis : Persia is the ancient name of a country which is now known as Iran, a country located in the Middle. One of the major attractions of this country is the Persepolis. It was the ceremonial capital of the Persian Empire during the Achaemenid dynasty. The UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979. Persepolis is a major tourist site because of its historical significance.

4. Hagia Sophia : Turkey is a country which is located in two continents, part of it belongs to Asia and the other part belongs to Europe. It is one of the most historic countries in the world and has so many natural and structural landmarks to offer, one of which is the Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom). It is one of the most visited structural landmarks in the world. Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral ever built in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.

5. The Alhambra : Spain was once the mightiest country in the world. It contains plenty of beautiful and historic landmarks. One other most visited landmark of Spain and one of the most visited in the continent of Europe is The Alhambra. Literally, The Alhambra means "the red one"; the complete name is Qal'at al-Hambra, which means "The red fortress". It is a palace and fortress complex of the Moorish rulers of Granada in southern Spain. It was once the residence of the Muslim rulers of Granada and their court, the Alhambra is now one of Spain's major tourist attractions exhibiting the country's most famous Islamic architecture, together with Christian 16th century and later interventions in buildings and gardens that marked its image as it can be seen today.

South Island Attraction with Blue Sky

The South Island of New Zealand comes with a reputation as a unique land packed with magnificent, raw scenery: craggy coastlines, primeval forests, snow-capped alpine mountains, fast flowing rivers and glacier-fed lakes, all beneath a brilliant blue sky.

Whatever your interest, you will wish that you had allowed more time to experience all of the great attractions in the South Island.

Why New Zealanders Love Their Gardens?

New Zealanders love their gardens. From the landscaped front lawns of their detached suburban houses to public parks and gardens in New Zealand, there are a wealth of botanic delights waiting to be discovered. The country's mild, temperate climate, its north-south axis and range of altitudes mean a wide variety of plants may be seen. These range from subtropical to subantarctic species, often within a couple of hours drive of each other.

New Zealand gardens boast a beautiful selection of native flowers and trees, including the magnificent flowering pohutukawa tree (known as New Zealand's Christmas tree because it flowers in December) and the alpine Mount Cook lily, the world's largest buttercup.

In many places, garden tours in New Zealand include private as well as public gardens. Some of the large private country gardens in the Eastland, Manawatu-Wanganui, Wairarapa and Canterbury regions were former estates and are quite spectacular.

The damp, lower slopes of Mount Taranaki are renowned for their rhododendron gardens, at their 'blooming best' in October, as are gardens in Dunedin. Christchurch, known as the Garden City, is well named with its extensive leafy parks and magnificent Botanic gardens. The annual Ellerslie Flower Show, is the largest floral exhibition in the Southern Hemisphere. It is held at the Auckland Regional Botanic Gardens in Manukau City over five days on 5.5 hectares surrounded by native bush. Not simply a display of flowers, Ellerslie has become a major cultural event, showcasing lifestyle, art, landscape and design, with creative displays of flowers and foliage. There are more than 300 exhibits with many of the displays presented taking months to build.

The picturesque South Canterbury district of Timaru is gaining a reputation as the rose garden of New Zealand. Roses thrive in Timaru because it has plenty of sunshine, warm dry summers, cold winters and definite seasons. Timaru is home to one of the world's most respected rose experts, boasts an impressive collection of public and private rose gardens and now it has its very own rose.

The new rose, a pale, creamy, apricot known as the 'City of Timaru', has been produced by famed British rosarian, David Austin, father of the English rose. Possibly the largest of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, the Timaru rose garden in New Zealand attracts rose lovers from around the world.

The New Zealand Gardens Trust provides a searchable Web site of gardens in New Zealand, and the promotion of excellence in the open garden sector through the setting of recognised credible standards. The NZGT is working in partnership with Qualmark, New Zealand tourism's official mark of quality, to encourage our best New Zealand gardens to meet the high standards required of businesses operating in the tourism market.