Greenwich is one of the gems on a visit to London that has the added benefit of being less crowded than some of the more popular attractions in the centre. You have the wonderful history of the Royal Observatory, the prime meridian of the world and source of the universal measurement of standard time, the National Maritime Museum, which in addition to its magnificent architecture also tells the story of when Britain used to rule the seas, and the Cutty Sark, the last of the greater clipper ships that sailed between Britain and China bringing back the riches of the East. But its also about the cute village feel of Greenwich village, the wide open parks that surround Greenwich and the views across the River Thames, nearby skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and of central London
Maybe won’t make everyones’ list when trying to hit all of the famous sights of London for a weekend (see here for the top 10 and must sees for a 2 day visit to London – 2 days in London and top 10 things to do), but certainly a highlight for day 3
Extra tip 1 – be sure to also have a venture down to the Greenwich Foot Tunnel which is a tunnel only for pedestrians that connects Greenwich to the Isle of Dogs on the other side of the Thames. You can easily find it right by the water and the Cutty Sark and is one of those fun quirky London things to check out
Extra tip 2 – Greenwich makes a cracking series of beers, called Meantime. You can find the beers in many of the pubs in Greenwich, but its also worth a visit to the Meantime Brewing Company which is around a 15in walk along the river
Geneva is about as Alpine, fresh and clean a city as you can imagine. Sitting by the Lake Geneva shoreline and with the Alps surrounding it, its setting is quite simply beautiful; its streets all have the elegance of of what you’d imagine a world-city sitting on the border with France and Switzerland to look like; and the cosmopolitan feel with the likes of the WTO, WHO, Red Cross, World Bank HQs, and supposedly 180 nationalities living here, make it a truly cosmopolitan city
But . . . its a tad dull and far from the highlight of Switzerland. Give yourself half a day to wander along the lake shore and swim / paddleboard in the lake near the swans from the Bains des Paquis, and half a day if you can get a spot to see Large Hadron Collider at CERN, but no more
For train pub crawls across the North of England, most people will naturally turn to the Trans Pennine Real Ale Trail (and see further details here –The Trans Pennine Railway Real Ale Trail), but also consider the East Lancashire Real Ale Trail which is far quieter (less stag dos / bachelor parties), shorter with only 7 stations and includes some of the trip being on an old steam train. Its a much more chilled out and, I suppose in many ways, real North of England experience
For those beautiful Pyrenees views, its hard to beat the area just to the south of the town of Lourdes and, in particular, the easily accessible Cirques de Gavarnie with its sensational mountain amphitheater and laid back surrounding villages that provide a host of accommodation options. The mountain behind, Mount Perdu, is actually now a UNESCO World-Heritage site both for its outstanding natural beauty and human settlement going all the way back to the Upper Paleolithic period (40,000 – 10,000 B.C.). It’s only 1.5 hours walk from Gavarnie village to the the best views of the amphitheater and to see some of the waterfalls that are super impressive just after it has rained
Just one tip – the ease of accessibility of Cirques de Gavarnie means it is also the busiest of the three natural amphitheaters nearby. Be sure to also consider Cirque de Troumouse and the most remote – Cirque d’Estaube, if you are keen to avoid the busy spots
The Palaces of Mysore are grand and surrounded by very pleasant gardens. Not bad if nearby in one of the cities like Bangalore, but . . . the main Mysore Palace is the second most visited sight in all of India only behind the Taj Mahal . . . so it is rammed and not quite worth the hassle
Very brief review this time as it was years ago that I visited
Its only around a 1.5hour drive from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, so I’d suggest it is a must visit if staying longer than 2 days in Dubai. The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, with its squinting bright white marble, beautiful interior and sheer scale is the obvious must visit spot, but also give yourself time for a drink in the luxurious pink Emirates Palace with its gorgeous terrace overlooking the sea
Olinda might just be one of the most picturesque places in the world. Set on a tree-covered hill next to the big North East city of Recife, Olinda is full of art workshops, galleries, churches, museums and lots, and lots, a bright graffiti. You find yourself meandering through this UNESCO World-Heritage listed Old Town’s tree-lined streets just taking endless photos of the bright colours. It must be truly immense when carnival is here
Top tip – Carneiros Beach. It was back in 2013 that I visited Olinda, so a lot will have changed and I won’t into a detailed review. But my top tip is to consider a day trip down to the Carneiros Beach area to the south of the city. Many people make the 4 hour trip up to Pipa Beach, which is nice and often on the highlights reel for this part of Brazil, but Pipa is far more catered to surfing / kite surfing and partying. Whereas, for picturesque beaches, Carneiros is beautiful and has the added advantage of having mangrove swamps to check out and various places to coat yourself in the mineral rich mud that is along the shore. Your hotel can easily arrange for you to get down there and take a boat out. Combined with Olinda, this makes a double picture-perfect trip
Sao Paulo is Brazil’s biggest city and, with that, comes the nightlife, the restaurant scene and the various other hedonistic things to get up to in a place with 20m+ Brazilians. The thing is though, as a standard visitor, you’ll basically get all of this in Rio, yet in Rio you also get the world class attractions, stunning beaches and glorious bay settings. Whereas Sao Paulo doesn’t really have any particularly redeeming features other than being a giant Brazilian City. The Jardins District is nice, but its not enough of a pull unless you’re passing through anyway. I’d recommend prioritising at least 10 other experiences in Brazil ahead of Sao Paulo
Teotihuacan is a must if visiting Mexico City. The pyramids are probably not as intricate as those in the Yucatan for the Maya or in Peru for the Inca, but what they lack in intricacy they make up for in sheer size – the site is huge (it was once Mesoamerica’s largest city) and is dominated by the two giant pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. Be sure to climb the Sun Temple for the best views over the whole ancient city
If flying the long haul from Europe to Australia / South Pacific, it’s actually quite nice to time your flights so that you have half a day or so in Brunei, which is about the right amount of time needed. Customs allow you to clear and have a wander / taxi around to see the city and come back for the final leg of the flight
For a fun half day, I’d suggest jumping in a water taxi to the small group of stilt villages just over the water on the south bank of Kampong Ayer, then head back to the centre to take a view of the Omar Ali Saifuddien Mosque and try the local sticky specialty of Ambuyat in one of the food courts of hawker stands
Not exactly a highlight of South East Asia, but it serves a purpose to break up the 24 hours on a plane
