One of Locarno’s major attractions is the beautiful church of Madonna del Sasso, which sits majestically, if somewhat precariously, on a rocky crag overlooking the town and lake below. “Sasso” means “rock” in Italian. The church was consecrated here in 1487 at precisely the same spot where Bartolomeo d’Ivrea, a monk from the San Francesco …
One of my favourite pastimes, whether I’m in holiday planning mode or not, is to study maps and destinations and try to work out what would be a possible itinerary for future travels! We were going to be staying a few nights in St Moritz nearly 5 years ago. To finish off our trip, I …
We hadn’t got time to visit all the museums and galleries in Innsbruck (there were many to choose from) but we were intrigued by the sound of Das Tirol Panorama (The Tyrol Panorama) so headed out to the southern end of town to take a look. Here we moved forward from the earlier Hapsburg castles …
On a particularly cold and dreary Sunday during our stay in Innsbruck, we decided to hop on the Innsbruck Sightseer bus and head out to Schloss Ambras just a couple of kilometres or so outside the city. The beauty of the bus is that you can get on and off whenever you like so we …
Nestling in the Inn Valley surrounded by mountains it is easy to see why Innsbruck, the capital of the Austrian Tyrol, is a major centre for winter sports enthusiasts and summer hikers alike. The Austrian Tourist Board describes Innsbruck as a place “where rugged Alpine nature meets modern lifestyle” and last week’s trip on the …
A complete change of scene this week as I’m in the final stages of planning our next big trip to the UK and Germany at the end of March – it will come around quickly! For the first part we’ll be visiting family (including our younger daughter, Mlle Chic Fille) and friends in the UK followed …
Rising up behind our hotel in Weggis was the impressive Mount Rigi – an iconic image of the skyline of the Lucerne area and renowned as the Queen Of The Mountains. The Rigi area has been a tourist paradise for many years now and really took off as a travel destination in Victorian times when the …
The American author and travel writer, Mark Twain, wrote in 1897 that Weggis was, “the loveliest place” he had ever visited! It would be hard to disagree and I’m almost loathe to share this enchanting place with everyone as the secret will surely be out! We first came across this lakeside paradise in central Switzerland …
Once upon a time, a long time ago, I was taken on a day trip up to London with my parents and brother. The highlight was a visit to London Zoo where we got to see the giant panda, Chi Chi. I was so excited! By this stage, however, she was very old and no …
The view from atop the Buda Castle Hill is superb! Having covered its history and role in the life of Buda last week, I wanted to show you more of the beautiful Castle District. The area along the Danube, which contains the Buda Castle District and the Houses Of Parliament on the Pest side, is …
Le Chic En Rose 