Unique luxury hotels, fashionable travel and much more

If the Royal Wedding created an interest in Europe’s architectural treasures, there are a host of affordable cities that offer incredible sights and history to match that of the 1000-year-old Westminster Abbey. Consider spending a few days in a luxury hotel in London to recreate your own royal London experience before flying on to a second city of culture.

London’s prime sights are of course Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament (which are not as old as you might think!), the Tower of London with the crown jewels and the famous Westminster Abbey.

From there, Barcelona is just a short hop away. Luxury hotels in Barcelona can be found right on the famous Las Ramblas where street performers entertain visitors as they browse the flower stalls or sit at an outdoor café. If the street is a little noisy, there are plenty of other luxury hotels to choose from near the Passeig de Gracia shopping mecca, overlooking the port and beach or in the Old Cathedral district. Antoni Gaudi’s unique architecture can be seen all over the city from the UNESCO listed Park Guell, which is filled with his sculptures, to the iconic spires of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral.

Other options include the French Riviera, a hotspot with celebrities and the place to spend the summer if you have a private yacht. Those preferring to stay on dry land will find Nice has a delightful old town filled with squares lined with historic architecture.

If you want to combine blue seas and sunny skies with 2000-years of history then choose one of the 6000 Greek Islands. Luxique has an excellent choice of luxury hotels in Crete, which make a great base for discovering the many churches, monasteries, castles and forts that the island is known for.

by Gillian at Luxique Luxury Hotels

I’ve written before about the scourge of pigeons in the centres of many cities visited by tourists.

One city, Barcelona, is now taking drastic action by hiring a company to catch and kill a quarter of the pigeons that frequent the Catalonian capital.

Barcelona City Council has described it as a ‘plague’ that’s causing damage to the city’s monuments through the corrosive droppings. It’s ordered the extermination of 65,000 birds during the next 18 months.

The technique involves luring unsuspecting birds into a small area to feed. A large net is then ejected from a catapult, which traps dozens of the pigeons in one shot. They are then taken away and asphyxiated.

The head of the council’s pest control unit, Victor Peracho, said the insistence by some people on feeding the birds, coupled with the warm climate, had caused the population to become uncontrollable.

The decision has upset some animal rights groups. The President of the Association for the Defence of Animals, Carmen Mendez, said: “It’s cruel and in the end it will do nothing to curb the pigeon population.” She argued that extermination methods only resulted in the pigeons laying more eggs to compensate.

Meanwhile, London – which has long had a pigeon problem – is suffering a new urban menace: seagulls. Many more birds have been attracted inland by rubbish on the streets and in landfill sites.

Seagulls have been known to dive-bomb pedestrians if they feel threatened or are protecting their young. However, a spokesman for the Royal Society for The Protection of Birds, Tim Webb, commented: “They’d much rather poo on people than peck them.” Charming.

by Andy Moreton

Have a flutter and book your luxury hotels in Barcelona and London through Luxique – we have an unrivalled selection.

There was something of a shock for 135 passengers heading for Milan in Italy on an overnight sleeper train. They woke up in Zurich, Switzerland.

Travellers boarded the carriages of two trains on Sunday night in the Spanish city of Barcelona – one was destined for Zurich and the other for Milan. They travelled in convoy to Lyon in France where, in the early hours, technicians were to split them and send them their separate ways. But they confused the destinations.

The staff on one train realised the mistake at the Italian border and the train was sent back, finally arriving at its destination three hours late. However, the Salvador Dali travelled all the way to Zurich before the error was realised.

Still confused? Let a spokesman for Renfe, the Spanish rail company, explain: “Signallers made a mistake during the points switch in Lyon. The drivers of the two locomotives went the right way but they left Lyon with the wrong set of carriages.”

This ‘train hotel’ service called Elipsos is particularly popular with British students who spend the summer inter-railing around Europe. Its slogan? Wake Up To A New Skyline.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can help you find a luxury hotel in Barcelona, Milan or Zurich … whether you’re there by accident or design.

Bullfighting has been banned by the parliament in one region of Spain.

Catalonia, an area in the north-east of the country with a strong separatist movement, has become the first part of the country’s mainland to outlaw the centuries-old tradition. It’s been banned in the Canary Islands for some years.

The ban, which will come into force in 2012, has been actively sought by animal rights activists, who want it extended across the whole country. Some have confronted matadors inside the ring or staged naked demonstrations.

Alessandro Zara, from the Spanish animal rights group Equanimal, said a worldwide ban would one day be a reality. “We will see it in our lifetime. One community after another will accept that bullfights are barbaric and have no place in a modern and ethical society,” he said.

However, some Spaniards see the vote as having more to do with Catalonia’s drive to reduce Madrid’s political influence than with the protection of animals.

The number of bullfights across Spain has dropped by a third in recent years, mainly because of the budget constraints of local governments, which often fund the spectacles. In Catalonia, there are now just over a dozen fights a year and the Monumental bullring in Barcelona is about the only place in the region that still stages them.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique offers a selection of luxury hotels in Barcelona and  throughout Spain – city and seaside.

A holiday resort in Spain has brought in measures to try to repair its image after becoming a haven for drunken British tourists.

Salou, on the Costa Dorada south of Barcelona, is threatening fines of up to £250 for people going around the streets in bikinis or with bare chests. Swimwear is being banned from all but beachfront bars and restaurants, and those caught drinking alcohol on the streets or having sex on the beach could be prosecuted.

More than 5,000 British students aged between 18 and 23 crowded into the town over Easter to attend the ‘Saloufest’, an annual party organised by university sports clubs. Locals complained about drunken behaviour.

“We want to ensure that Salou has a good image,” said the Mayor, Pere Granados, explaining the new measures. Alberto del Hierro, Councillor for Tourism in Salou, added: “One shouldn’t be allowed to walk the streets or enter public buildings in unseemly apparel. It gives the city a low-class look.”

The Daily Telegraph’s Madrid correspondent, Fiona Govan, says the bikini ban signals a growing unease in Spain against those sunburned northern European tourists who offend the local population by walking in the streets, dining in restaurants and even doing their shopping in little more than beachwear.

Earlier this year, I reported that the regional capital, Barcelona, had stopped short of introducing a similar ban but had embarked on a campaign urging tourists to dress appropriately when away from the beach.

by Andy Moreton

Whether soaking up the sun on the beach or the culture in the city, Luxique has an unrivalled selection of luxury hotels in Barcelona and many other parts of Spain.

The tongue-in-cheek attempt to segregate tourists from locals in New York City (see post last month) seems to have spread to Barcelona – one of Spain’s leading holiday destinations.

A lone protester has been out in the dead of night in the old quarter and daubed markings on the streets to separate tourists and Barcelonans into different lanes. Every day, the city hall sends out workmen to paint over the markings.

Barcelona’s security councillor, Assumpta Escarp, who also represents the old quarter, thinks the action may have been inspired by the New York City pranksters. She’s called for the mysterious protester to come forward and explain what it’s all about. “They should be brave and explain exactly why they want segregation,” she said.

It may be that, although tourism brings in much-needed wealth, it’s increasingly making native city-dwellers feel strangers in their own streets.

As Giles Tremlett in The Observer (London) put it: “Budget airlines, stag parties, a thriving nightlife, five kilometres of beach and the city’s famously liberal atmosphere have all combined to turn its famous and colourful Las Ramblas boulevard into a heaving mass of slow-moving, camera-toting or beer-swilling foreigners.”

by Andy Moreton

Despite Tremlett’s less-than-flattering description, the city remains a must-see, with plenty of stunning sights. Book your luxury hotel in Barcelona through Luxique.

It’s a sight not seen in many major European cities – tourists strolling about in their swimwear.

But Barcelona in Spain is both a metropolis and a seaside resort, and the locals are so fed up with the scantily-clad visitors that there’s a campaign to get them to cover up as they leave the beach.

The municipal authorities in the popular Catalan city have printed posters showing a couple in swimming costumes with a red line through it, alongside another couple fully-dressed without the red line.

A spokesman for the city hall said: “We want to make people understand that it’s an attitude that we don’t like. It’s not banned or punishable, but it’s something we don’t think is civil.”

The posters will be put up in the underground (subway), on buses and in other public areas. The city’s mayor has also sent letters to businesses, hotels, bars and restaurants encouraging them to download the poster and display it on their walls.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique’s Top Destination guide says Barcelona is a gem of a tourist destination – you’d better believe it! We can offer a choice of more than two-dozen of the best luxury hotels in Barcelona – both traditional and cutting-edge.

Sometimes it takes an Olympic Games to rejuvenate a city – think Barcelona in 1992.

And with under three years to go before London’s turn, some forgotten city treasures are being dusted off for the benefit of the visiting throng.

One such is the British Telecom (BT) Tower (formerly the Post Office Tower), until recently considered an unfashionable 1960s monolith that served merely as a handy way of getting your bearings in London’s West End.

The 581-foot tower, opened in 1965, has suddenly been given new life. Not only was it the venue for a spectacular firework display to mark 1,000 days to the Games, it’s been given the honour of holding a 500-foot high Olympics countdown screen.

And now there’s even talk of reviving the once-famed revolving restaurant on the 34th floor. BT is said to have recently begun searching for celebrity chefs to oversee the restaurant, which was closed 30 years ago amid security fears.

The rotating floor where the restaurant would be situated takes 20 minutes to complete a circuit - roughly 10 minutes less than the London Eye. It’s likely to have seating for 60–70 diners. It’s thought BT would like to have it open by Christmas 2011, although a spokeswoman said rather tersely:

“We don’t comment on rumour and speculation.”

by Andy Moreton

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

The Catalonia region of Spain – which includes Barcelona and the Costa Brava resorts – has announced a crackdown on the supply of cheap drinks in bars and clubs.

Among other things, it’s banned the ‘Happy Hour’ promotion, in which people are typically offered two drinks for the price of one, and the practice of clubs supplying free drinks after payment of an entrance fee. Violations could result in a fine of up to £6,000 ($9,800).

Barcelona is a popular destination for young Britons holding pre-wedding stag (bachelor) and hen (bachelorette) parties, but these sometimes end in drunkenness and debauchery.

But it’s likely that the new measures are equally aimed at the young Spaniards who engage in what are known as botellones – drinking jamborees in which students crowd public squares, drink heavily and disturb the peace.

“We must protect citizens,” said Catalonia’s public health director, Antoni Plasencia. “We want to impede the uncontrolled consumption of alcohol.”

by Andy Moreton

Luxique has a wide and varied selection of luxury hotels in Barcelona, as well as in other parts of Catalonia, including Tarragona and Girona.

The beautiful and vibrant Spanish city of Barcelona has just earned a less welcome tag – the pickpocket capital of the world.

In a survey carried out by a major the holiday review site, the Catalan capital was even ranked ahead of Rome, where the problem has been deep-rooted and much-publicised. Prague was third.

The travel review site based its rankings mainly on comments made by its website users. Particularly notorious was Barcelona’s famous boulevard, La Rambla, which has also recently become a magnet for street prostitutes. One tourist commented: “The place is rife with pickpockets …. I know of three people who were victims in the four days we were there!”

A spokesperson for the travel review site said: “The combination of an awe-struck traveller and a bag bulging with local currency, not to mention passports, cameras and credit cards, is an appealing prospect for any light-fingered thief.”

Don’t be put off from going to this delightful city, but read the useful safety tips on the Barcelona Tourist Guide website: http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/general/barcelona-safety.html. And for accommodation, you can do no better than browse Luxique’s comprehensive selection of luxury hotels in Barcelona.

by Andy Moreton