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The ancient wall painting fragments that caused a feud between Egypt and the Louvre Museum in Paris (see my article Luxor Relics Repatriated ) have been returned to Cairo.

The five frescoed pieces – believed to be from a 3,200-year-old tomb in the Valley of the Kings near Luxor – arrived by air last week.

French officials had maintained that the Louvre had acquired the fragments, known as steles, in good faith. But Egypt’s antiquities department said the Louvre bought the fragments in 2000 and 2003 despite knowing they’d been stolen in the 1980s. It broke off ties with the museum in October, saying they would be restored only when the fragments had been returned.

Egypt is stepping up demands for the restitution of many relics, including the Rosetta Stone, on display in the British Museum, and the bust of Queen Nefertiti in the Neues Museum in Berlin.

“Everything which was stolen from us should be given back,” said Zawi Hawass, the head of the antiquities department.

by Andy Moreton

If you’re travelling to Luxor to see the wonders of the Valley of the Kings, take a look at Luxique’s two selected luxury hotels: the Old Winter Palace and the Hotel La Moudira.

My seasonal award for the most thoughtful travel gesture this holiday time goes to Air Berlin.

The airline – the second biggest in Germany after Lufthansa – is allowing passengers to take their Christmas trees with them on flights at no extra cost. Customers can take trees of up to two metres (six feet) in height until Christmas Eve on condition they notify the airline at least 24 hours in advance.

Titus Johnson, Air Berlin’s manager in the UK and Ireland, said: “Most of the demand for this comes from our German customers – it seems they can’t bear to be parted from their trees at Christmas. After all, it was Queen Victoria’s [German] husband, Prince Albert, who brought the tradition with him to England in the first place.”

The trees will, of course, go in the hold, not on the empty seat on the aisle. I’d love to witness the scene at the baggage carousel!

by Andy Moreton

There’s going to be a new film festival on the international calendar to rival Cannes, Venice and Berlin.

The Spanish island of Majorca is hoping A-list celebrities will flock there when it launches its festival in April 2011. It wants the event to provide a new cultural attraction for tourists and put Majorca on the map in the arts world.

The festival organiser is David Carreras, a well-known Spanish film director who’s been living on the island for five years and is anxious to showcase its beauty to the world. “The island is stunning, we have beautiful scenery and it would be perfect to hold an international event like this,” he said.

Side-shows such as concerts and food demonstrations would run alongside the main festival, said Carreras. His ultimate aim is for a film studio to be built on Majorca in 2015.

The island already has an impressive list of celebrity residents and visitors, including Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Claudia Schiffer and Jack Nicholson. The film industry has already done wonders for the likes of Cannes and Venice, and Majorca is hoping it will help the island branch out from offering just beach holidays.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can arrange the best possible rates at nearly 30 luxury hotels in Majorca, including the including the famed Residencia in Deià. It was voted by readers of the Condé Nast Traveller magazine in 2008 the most popular leisure hotel in Europe and it was where Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber held his lavish 60th birthday party.

The leading business publisher, Forbes (of ‘Rich List’ fame) recently announced its experts’ pick of Europe’s most luxurious hotels.

Among them are the following six which are available to book at the best rates through Luxique. Alongside is a snapshot of the jury’s verdict:

• Le Meurice Paris: ‘Modern elegance, with the opulence of Versailles.’

• Claridge’s, London: ‘The destination of choice for the world’s celebrities and royals.’

• Grand Hotel du Cap Ferrat, St Jean Cap Ferrat, France: ‘A legendary hotel that epitomises and exudes old-world glamour, while simultaneously offering modern amenities for today’s discerning traveller.”

• Hotel Adlon Berlin: ‘An historic masterpiece, in a prime location, provoking a sense of awe upon arrival.’

• Corinthia Grand Hotel Royal, Budapest: ‘Behind the opulent and grand façade lies the fully restored 19th-century spa where guests can enjoy anything from a mud or seaweed bath to an array of full-body wraps.’

• Villa d’Este, Lake Como, Italy: ‘A much-vaunted palazzo hotel that has dazzled royalty, celebrities, billionaires and chic in-the-know jetsetters for more than a century.’

by Andy Moreton, with acknowledgements to Richard Carnell of Forbes.com.

As well as being an historic event, the 20-year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall earlier this month brought a welcome tourist boost to the city.

More than two million visitors made their way to the German capital – a new record for the city. Hundreds of thousands of Berliners and guests took part in the celebrations at the iconic Brandenburg Gate. Around 2,800 international journalists were accredited for the event and images were broadcast around the world.

The head of Berlin’s tourism organisation, Burkhard Kieker, said Berliners had been able to show the guests what they had done with the city in the 20 years since the fall of the Wall.

“The fact that the world loves this new Berlin is confirmed by the steadily rising numbers of visitors – even in the thick of the global economic crisis,” said Mr Kieker.

“The appeal of Berlin as a site of freedom, as a focal point of European history and a city where people can live together in a climate of tolerance and openness will continue to grow in the future,” he added.

by Andy Moreton

If you’re intending to see the city’s transformation for yourself, take a look at Luxique’s carefully-selected list of luxury hotels in Berlin, including the famed Adlon, recently described as: ‘An historic masterpiece with an unrivalled location, exceptionally attentive staff, Michelin Star restaurant and immaculate interior.’

It’s the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall next month, and the occasion will be marked by various events in the city.

When the East German government built the wall in 1961, it didn’t take into account the ingenuity shown by those who were prepared to take any risk to try to escape the oppressive communist system.

While some flew over the barrier in hot air balloons and others were smuggled in secret compartments in cars, several hundred took advantage of the soft, sandy soil under Berlin to tunnel their way to freedom.

Now, that secret tunnel network has become one of the most popular attractions for tourists and locals alike. And their guide is often Hasso Herschel, who, in the 1960s and 1970s, helped dozens escape through the secret tunnels, some of which he dug with his own hands.

Mr Herschel, who escaped to West Germany with a forged passport in 1961, dug several illegal tunnels under the wall, the first in September 1962. It’s reckoned that about a fifth of the estimated 71 projects were successful. Often they were discovered by troops or secret police before they could be used. Others collapsed, were flooded or buried by loose soil.

Details of the underground tours can be found at http://berliner-unterwelten.de/

and for information on the city’s anniversary celebrations, go to http://www.mauerfall09.de/

by Andy Moreton

Whether visiting for the anniversary celebrations or at any other time of the year, Luxique can guide you through the best of the luxury hotels in Berlin.

The currywurst is something of a national dish in Germany and it’s become so revered that it’s just got its own museum.

A currywurst is a pork sausage that’s fried, chopped into slices and served with lashings of a special curry and ketchup sauce. It’s served at many a street-side kiosk on a cardboard plate with a plastic or wooden fork, together with bread, chips (fries) or potato salad.

The currywurst has been Germany’s favourite snack since 1949 and to mark this 60th anniversary, the 5 million euro (£4 million / $7 million) currywurst museum opened earlier this month – right next to Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin.

Visitors are greeted by a human-sized currywurst puppet and a replica Berlin sausage-stand, before embarking on an interactive tour which traces the dish from its humble origins to the present day. The museum hopes to attract some 350,000 visitors a year.

Not everyone’s crazy about the dish being honoured in this way. At a media preview, demonstrators from Germany’s Vegetarian Society gatecrashed the exhibition, sporting pig snouts and arguing in favour of a vegetarian alternative.

by Andy Moreton

Luxique has some mouth-watering deals at some of the best luxury hotels in Berlin.

Visitors to Berlin this year will find the artwork on the largest remaining section of the Wall brighter and more colourful than usual.

The reason is that the artists who created the murals have been asked to re-do them in time for the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Wall in November.

The 4,265 ft stretch of wall, the world’s longest open-air art gallery, was decorated by 118 artists from 21 countries in 1990 and was declared a historic monument by the Berlin city government in 1992.

The East Side Gallery, as it’s known, has become one of the city’s top attractions, but it’s been damaged by the weather, exhaust fumes, vandals and souvenir-seeking tourists.

The head of the artists’ association at the East Side Gallery, Kani Alavi, said four of the original artists had set to work and another 82 had promised to participate.

But some artists have refused to join in the effort and are demanding 15,000 euros (£13,000 / $20,000) in compensation instead of the 3,000 euros (£2,600 / $3,800) on offer, arguing that they have not received a fair share of the Gallery’s earnings over the years.

by Andy Moreton

Events are going on in Berlin throughout 2009, culminating in a grand public party at the Brandenburg Gate on the actual anniversary of the fall of the Wall (November 9). If you’re planning a visit, browse Luxique’s selection of luxury Berlin hotels, including the celebrated Adlon Kempinksi.

The German capital, Berlin, displays a certain modesty with its advertising slogan: ‘Poor, but sexy.’

But it seems to work because so far, Berlin has bucked the trend of the crisis-hit global travel industry. Last year, it welcomed 7.9 million tourists, breaking its own record for the fifth consecutive year with a gain of 4.2 per cent from 2007.

Tourist numbers have soared since the 1990s - most of them visitors from the former East Germany rediscovering half a city they were banned from seeing under Communist rule.

But Berlin is attractive to foreign tourists too, because its prices are low while its image is cool. A four-star hotel room in Berlin will set you back around 150 euros (£140 / $192), less than half what a similar hotel in Paris or London would cost.

Low-cost airlines are also fueling Berlin’s tourism success. The city is the second biggest hub for low-cost airlines behind London.

Tourism officials are realistic about the difficulties of the coming financial year, but hopeful at the same time. “We may take a cut, but Berlin is very competitive with cities like Paris or London in terms of what you get for your money,” said a spokesman, Christian Taenzler. “That goes for the price of a cappuccino right up to tickets for cultural events.”

by Andy Moreton

Luxique can offer great deals at some of the best luxury hotels in Berlin.

There are plans to recreate the most famous outdoor musical event of the 1960s – Woodstock.

It’ll be 40 years this summer since Max Yasgur’s dairy farm in Bethel, New York, was turned into a four-day love-in, featuring some of the greatest names in popular music.

The original co-promoter, Michael Lang, wants to mark the anniversary with two free concerts in August, the first at an unspecified location in New York and the second at Berlin’s disused Tempelhof airport. He’s hoping to woo Woodstock veterans The Who, Santana, Joan Baez, Joe Cocker and Country Joe and the Fish.

It’s early days in the planning process – sponsors have to be found and the authorities in Berlin haven’t yet given permission for the former airport to be used.

There have been doubts about whether Tempelhof would be a suitable European venue. As one Berliner commented: “This airport was one of the Nazis’ strongholds, there’s not much peace and love to be found there.”

by Andy Moreton

You might have enjoyed camping out on the land in ’69, but these days you probably want a bit of luxury. Luxique offers an unrivalled selection of fabulous boutique hotels in New York and luxury hotels in Berlin.