A New Place for the Best Views of Old Havana
The Gran Hotel Manzana Kempinski La Habana has opened in Havana. It's the Cuban capital's first five-star luxury hotel, located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Old Havana. And it is the first foray into the Americas for Europe's oldest luxury hotel group Kempinski.The hotel is a revival of an historic six-story colonnaded building begun in the late 1800's. It lived through various incarnations as Cuba's first European-style department store, a silent film theater, and later,...
Video: Seabourn Experience: Shopping with the Chef at the Saigon Market
They call it Shopping with the Chef, and it's one of the most memorable of our Seabourn Moments. The Ben Thanh Market in District 1 is one of the earliest surviving structures and a symbol of Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon, which is still the name of HCMC's District 1. A market has been located here in on the river since the early 1600's.Who better than the executive chef on our Seabourn cruise from Hong Kong to Singapore,...
Video: Spiritual Journey at a Traditional Sweat Lodge
Costa Maya is world famous for ancient Mayan ruins, but traditional culture is still alive for visitors looking for authentic experiences.We met a local shaman who practices the spiritual beliefs of Mexico's ancient, indigenous peoples. On this shore excursion from our Carnival cruise, he shares with us the spiritual and wellness traditions of his ancestors, including a sweat lodge ceremony followed by a dip in sacred waters.Start your Trip!Copyright BestTrip.TV/Influence Entertainment Group Inc or Rights Holder. All rights reserved. You...
The Writing's on the Wall in Chicago... Literally
American Writers Museum is the newest addition to the city's Cultural Mile. It is the first and only museum of its kind celebrating the US literary scene and the men and women who captured and shaped American culture, point of view, history, lifestyle and language through pen and ink.From Mark Twain to Harper Lee, John Steinbeck to Jack Kerouac, Dorothy Parker to Dr. Seuss. Authors, poets, songwriters, novelists from the earliest moments of American history articulated a unique American Voice...
Paris Landmark Hotel Re-Opens after $200-million Renovation
When you renovate a palatial, historic landmark on one of the most famously elegant squares in one of the most fabled travel destinations in the world, there's a lot at stake.The Hotel de Crillon has dominated Paris' storied Place de la Concorde since the 1700's. Originally the Parisian home of the illustrious Count de Crillon, the palace has been the site of world-changing events, where Marie Antoinette had music lessons, international treaties were signed (including French recognition of the American...
Falling for Small-Batch Spirits in Niagara
Plan a trip to Ontario’s Niagara region, and your list may include the iconic Falls, world-class theater at the Shaw Festival, fine dining inspired by the region’s orchards, most definitely a wine tasting, especially Niagara's famous ice-wine.Visitors have another way to taste the fruit of those vines in a most unexpected way. BestTrip.TV's Lynn Elmhirst Meets the Maker: Master Distiller Geoff Dillon.Local small-batch distiller Dillon’s Unfiltered Gin 22 is a true product of Niagara: grape-based, and enhanced by the flavors...
Outdoor Active Travel in Downtown Vancouver
Vancouver may be Canada's most famously 'outdoorsy' major city. Even in a city that drives Canada's vast Asia-Pacific business, athletic wear is more common than pinstripes! Nature thrives right on the city's doorstep: a gorgeous, picturesque harbor and bay, snow-capped mountains surrounding the city, and breathtaking Stanley Park, one of the world's top urban green spaces. For vacationers and cruise travelers in Vancouver, outdoor activities top the list of things to do. Even if you're traveling to Vancouver on business,...
Face to Face with the World's Largest Solid Gold Buddha
Most of the time, breaking an historic religious icon does not turn out well. But when workers moving a large and very old but otherwise unremarkable plaster statue of Buddha in Bangkok in 1955 dropped their load, they got lucky. The accident revealed an amazing secret: the plaster with modest inlaid glass decoration was a decoy shell concealing the world's largest solid gold Buddha.By Lynn Elmhirst, Producer/ Host, BestTrip.TVHidden in Plain SightThe design of the Buddha suggests it dates to...
Forget Chocolate Bunnies. Check out this Video of Chocolate Dresses in a Paris Fashion Show
Why scramble around outdoors in spring rain or snow for a chocolate bunny or some foil-wrapped chocolate eggs... when you could be in France, watching (and smelling!) chocolate fashion parading down the catwalk? That's just one of the delicious experiences BestTrip.TV had when we visited the elegantly-named Salon du Chocolat, an annual event in Paris celebrating all things chocolate. The chocolate costumes are not for eating, but most everything else is. You'll find tastings, edible art, and an incredible display of things...
Why Inject Adventure Travel Into your Next Vacation
We get it. You really need a break. Downtime. Relaxation. Time to book a vacation so you can… Try a new adventure. Does 'adventure travel' sound way too energetic, even the opposite of what you need in a holiday? Think again.Lynn Elmhirst, Executive Producer, Host and Travel Expert from BestTrip.TV, explains why finding a way to leave the beach and make soft adventure part – or all - of your next holiday, whether it's a cruise, multi-generation family vacation, a...