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The rail tunnel under the English Channel linking Britain and France will be back to full capacity on February 10th after the completion of work to repair damage caused by a fire last year.

The fire broke out on September 11th aboard a shuttle train carrying 27 trucks from Britain to France. Since then, both cross-Channel freight and Eurostar passenger trains from London to Paris and Brussels have been disrupted.

Officials said they suspected the fire started in a truck’s braking system that overheated and spread to a tyre.

In December, the Eurostar company estimated the cost of the repair work at around 55 million euros (£52 million / $71 million), with overall operating losses put at about 105 million euros (£100 million / $136 million).

by Andy Moreton

Hard on the heels of London’s tourism drive, the Scots are using the 250th birthday of their most famous poet, Robert Burns, to put out the welcome mat for overseas visitors.

Homecoming Scotland 2009 is a £5 million ($7 million) campaign the tourist industry hopes will attract an extra 100,000 visitors with Scottish roots, as well as those who simply want to sample Scottish hospitality for the first time.

Famous Scots, Sir Sean Connery and triple Olympic gold-winning cyclist Chris Hoy, are among those who have been hired to help push the message. There will be a country-wide programme of events and activities. Expect Burns, whisky and golf to figure prominently!

The tourist board, Visit Scotland, says about 16 million tourists come to Scotland each year, most from other parts of Britain but a fifth from overseas. The number includes 350,000 American visitors.

“The Scots around the world are passionate about their roots and origins,” said Roddy Martine, author of the book ‘Scottish Clan and Family Names.’ “I’ve found that the further away you are, the more you care.”

A personal invitation has gone out to Barack Obama, who’s said to be the latest in a long line of US Presidents with Scottish roots. His ancestors apparently include William the Lion, who ruled Scotland between 1165 and 1214.

by Andy Moreton

If you’re thinking of joining the homecoming, Luxique can offer luxury and boutique hotels throughout Scotland, including some of the finest luxury hotels in Edinburgh.

The tourist authority, Visit London, is rolling out a campaign to encourage North American travellers to visit the capital.

The campaign, entitled ‘Welcome to our World,’ will emphasise the strong value for money for American tourists as a result of the current exchange rate between the US dollar and the pound.

Radio, print and online ads will depict London from the perspective of local residents, recommending new areas of the city to explore. The ads will target consumers in New York, Chicago, Miami, Los Angeles and San Francisco, together with Vancouver and Toronto in Canada. British Airways is offering special rates on flights as part of the promotion.

During 2009, Visit London is set to focus on significant commemorative dates, such as the 500th anniversary of Henry VIII’s accession to the throne, the 250th anniversary of Kew Gardens and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin.

by Andy Moreton

Many of Luxique’s carefully selected luxury London hotels will have special deals at this time. Check out the full list.

As the truffle season gets into full swing in France, local devotees of the luxury fungus are on the lookout for an unwelcome Chinese rival to their own ‘black diamond.’

Sold for one-twentieth of the price, the Chinese truffle looks so similar to the prized French delicacy, tuber melanosporum, that only experts can tell them apart.

In recent years, unscrupulous vendors have been found slipping Chinese fungi into baskets of black truffles - where they soak up the pungent smell - or serving them on a plate sprayed with artificial truffle scent.

In the Perigord region - where truffles can fetch up to 1,000 Euros (£926 / $1,290 dollars) a kilogramme - a dozen markets have brought in tough new controls to stop producers bulking up their harvest with the cut-price Chinese fungus.

For some truffle purists, however, there’s no mistaking the real thing. “I bought some Chinese truffles once - it was a disaster,” said Martine Nardou, picking up her own supply at the truffle market in Sarlat, deep in south-western Perigord. “It was a rubbery lump with no smell or taste.”

by Andy Moreton

Sample the truffles at one of the finest luxury hotels in Perigord – the Chateau des Vigiers, an internationally renowned golf and country club set in 450 acres of stunning scenery.

Rome is limiting the sale of take-away alcohol in some neighbourhoods famous for their nightlife.

Under the new rules, no alcohol ‘to go’ can be sold in bars, restaurants, supermarkets or other outlets after 9pm. And the sale of alcohol is banned inside bars and restaurants after 2am, although discos are exempt.

The city authorities want to crack down on all-night drinking and partying after reports of incidents and complaints from residents. The measures are in line with the law-and-order platform of Rome’s new right-wing mayor, Gianni Alemanno.

Earlier this month, an American tourist was stabbed in a fight near Campo de’ Fiori, the piazza where hundreds go every night to party in bars and restaurants. That area is covered by the new measures, as is Trastevere, whose narrow alleys are lined with bars, and Testaccio, home to popular nightclubs.

The ban, which remains in effect until March, has bar-owners up in arms. One said: “We have to be vigilant about rules that smell of Prohibition,” referring to the United States’ all-out ban on alcohol in the 1920s.

by Andy Moreton

Heading for the Eternal City? Browse Luxique’s extensive collection of the best luxury and boutique Rome hotels.

New York City is challenging Las Vegas as the premier US destination for marriage ceremonies.

The new Manhattan Marriage Bureau has just opened after a $12.3 million (£8.4 million) renovation and newlyweds are said to have been enthusiastic about it. Officials are hoping it will boost tourism during uncertain economic times.

At its former location, happy couples were greeted at the entrance with orders to empty their pockets and pass through metal detectors. The new experience is meant to be a bit more romantic; dreary bathrooms have been turned into spacious dressing rooms with recessed lighting, and there’s a huge photograph of City Hall that couples can use as a backdrop for pictures. You can even hand your iPod to the chapel clerk, who will play the music of your choice during the ceremony.

“We’re taking Las Vegas on,” said First Deputy City Clerk, Michael McSweeney. “The city hopes to advance New York not just as a tourist destination, but as a marriage destination.”

NYC & Company, the city’s tourism agency, said one hotel had already created a wedding reception package tied to the new location, and the agency said it planned to market New York as a wedding destination abroad.

But Las Vegas, it seems, will continue to have the edge for couples who want to tie the knot without delay. While there is no required waiting period in Vegas, couples in New York must wait 24 hours after filing a marriage application before holding their ceremony.

by Andy Moreton

I’ve just been re-visiting an old haunt – the seaside resort of Brighton on the south coast of England.

Coincidentally, I see it’s one of the Great British Getaways for 2009 recommended by our friends at the magazine, Condé Nast Traveller.

Brighton became popular towards the end of the 18th century through the patronage of the Prince Regent. He spent much of his leisure time in the town and had the Royal Pavilion constructed. The Victorian era saw the building of many other attractions, including the Grand Hotel and the Palace Pier.

These days, Brighton is a vibrant town with attractive architecture, plenty of shops of all kinds - especially antiques and clothing - and restaurants. And it’s all neatly contained within a small area. With a big student population, it has a young feel.

Brighton is only about an hour’s train ride from London and there are some really chic boutique hotels to enjoy. We agree with Condé Nast that two of the coolest are Drakes, which is set in two Regency townhouses with great sea views, and Myhotel Brighton, where cutting-edge design meets feng shui.

by Andy Moreton

Italy is to embark on a project to open up miles of 14th century waterways that have fallen into disrepair.

The aim is to allow tourists the opportunity to travel by slow boat from Lake Maggiore to Venice via Milan. The restored canal system would eventually link up with the River Po, winding its way to Venice by way of Pavia, Piacenza, Cremona and Ferrara. It will be a chance for visitors to ‘drift past the Italian Renaissance landscape.’

The project, costing a billion euros (£886 million / $1.3 billion), aims to revive what was once a main transport artery, as confirmed by casual references in Shakespeare to Milan as an inland port.

The first part of the route was originally used to transport marble from quarries in Piedmont to build Milan’s Gothic cathedral, which was begun in 1386. The trip, using horse-drawn barges known as cagnone, took two weeks, with each barge carrying up to 50 tonnes of stone.

The canals began falling into disuse in the 1930s, as goods were transported by road and rail instead of water. They became unnavigable either because of neglect or because dams were constructed for irrigation. Electronically-controlled locks will now be built.

Some of Milan’s canals have already been restored for picturesque boat trips, including the oldest one, the Naviglio Grande, now lined with boutiques and cafés.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can offer a wide selection of luxury and boutique Italian hotels, including some of the finest in Venice and Milan.

Google Earth, which allows web-users to look at satellite images of practically anywhere on the planet, is now offering a virtual tour of one of the world’s leading art galleries.

Viewers will be able to scroll around a three-dimensional representation of the Prado Museum in Madrid and examine in the finest detail fourteen masterpieces by artists including Velazquez, Fra Angelico and Goya.

A spokeswoman for Google Earth said the paintings had been photographed in very high resolution and contained as many as 14 gigapixels.

“With this high-level resolution you’re able to see such fine details as the tiny bee on a flower in The Three Graces by Rubens and delicate tears on the faces of the figures in The Descent From The Cross by van der Weyden,” she said.

The arts correspondent in the Guardian newspaper in the UK, Jonathan Jones, applauds the new technology, but says there are many things about the Prado that can’t be rendered digitally. “The world’s greatest museum bar, for one thing, and the atmosphere of its galleries.”

If you’re heading to the Spanish capital to see the art treasures ‘for real,’ book a luxury Madrid hotel through Luxique. We offer nearly two dozen, many of which are within walking distance of the Prado.

by Andy Moreton

The dust has settled on the UK government’s decision to allow a third runway at Heathrow Airport – but only for the moment.

Battle lines have been drawn – with the government, business and the airline industry on one side and, on the other, a conglomeration including environmentalists, local residents and celebrities.

Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson is one of the celebs who have joined with Greenpeace to buy a strip of land near the condemned village of Sipson in an attempt to stall the construction of the runway.

It promises to be a lengthy process with much legal action. The new runway (plus a sixth terminal) is not likely to be ready until 2015 at the earliest, and more likely 2020 or later.

There’s also a real possibility that it will never be built at all – if the opposition Conservative party win the next election, the whole project is likely to be scrapped.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can offer some of the finest luxury London hotels as well as a London guide to getting around.