TRAVEL AND TOURISM

  Limone sul Garda, a picturesque fishing village set on the shores of Lake Garda in Italy’s northern Lombardy region, is an unusual destination of barely 1,000 residents. It is the most northern spot in the entire world where lemons are naturally grown and has an exceptionally mild climate, considering its location at the feet of the Alps. Perhaps this mix of factors is what has led to the village’s claims of a secret “elixir” to a healthy, long life. Many locals are apparently blessed with great digestive abilities that allow them to stuff themselves with cream-filled cakes and greasy cold cuts without worrying about expanding waistlines or heart problems. These residents have what they call the “Limone gene,” which contains a special protein that destroys lipids and keeps blood fluid. For 40 years, the people of Limone sul Garda have been under scientific observation, with gene-carrying villagers tested as lab rats. Of the 1,000 residents, half are Limone born and bred; and of t...

Asturias, Catalonia, Castile… there are as many regions as you want, and it’s hard to say which one is worth seeing first, because each one is special in its own way. However, this time we bring a story about the Basque city of Bilbao. Gaizka Zuazo, director of the city design club, gave advice on how to spend the best time in it. what to eat in Bilbao? Bilbao is probably not an ideal city for vegetarians because they eat a lot of meat here, especially the famous uleton or T-bone steak. The meat is dried for 40 – 60 days, and then it is served with its own mini rotisserie on the table, so you can prepare it according to your taste. For a particularly good lunch, you should visit the restaurant  Asador Sugarra  in the old town. However, for something a little more special, take a short taxi ride from the center to Kate Zaharra’s restaurant, where you will enjoy excellent food and a fantastic view of the city. Be sure to order the delicious ones  zamburinas  (small sca...

    It’s never too early to start planning for next year’s big trips. National Geographic is getting an early start, too, releasing its Best of the World list in late October with 25 must-see destinations for 2023. Respect — for the people and their cultures, for the land and its conservation — is an overarching theme of the list, which is divided into five official categories. National Geographic’s Best of the World 2023 list: CULTURE Appian Way, Italy Busan, South Korea Longmen Grottoes, Henan Province, China Egypt Charleston, South Carolina NATURE Scottish Highlands Botswana Slovenia Big Bend National Park, Texas Azores ADVENTURE New Zealand Choquequirao, Peru Utah Austrian Alps Revillagigedo National Park, Mexico COMMUNITY Dodecanese Islands, Greece Milwaukee, Wisconsin Alberta, Canada Laos Ghana FAMILY Trinidad & Tobago San Francisco Crosstown Trail, California Colombia Manchester, United Kingdom Switzerland

King Charles, the newly crowned British monarch, wants you to come to stay at his place for your next vacation — but we’re not talking about Buckingham Palace. As it turns out, the King is a major fan of Transylvania (yes, the birthplace of Count Dracula), purchased a home in the Romanian region, and has turned it into a guest house for visitors to enjoy, according to Reuters. The royal purchased and restored an 18th-century Saxon cottage in the Transylvanian village of Viscri after first visiting the region in 1998 and reportedly falling head over heels for the area’s beauty. The home, formally known as Zalán Guesthouse, is available for overnight stays, with proceeds going toward his local charitable foundation. “The Prince of Wales hopes that his guesthouse will encourage more people to visit Transylvania and, in this way, promote sustainable development,” the guest home’s website explained. “Proceeds from the guesthouse go to The Prince of Wales Foundation in Romania, memb...

Monday might be just another day of the week, but if one adds majestic mountains, glacial lakes and impressive green landscapes, they give birth to a totally different mood. Dushanbe is the capital and the largest city of Tajikistan, a country of rare natural beauty. Meaning “Monday” in Persian, the city is named after its historical Monday market. In fact, this region holds much more than just memories of its provincial past. The country itself is one of the most inspiring high-altitude landscapes on the planet, with over 90 per cent of its terrain teetering in the clouds. Besides, the quiet capital of Tajikistan, hidden amongst unsurpassed views and natural splendour, offers unique opportunities for those who would like to visit the “roof of the world” to see the mountains of incredible beauty with the highest peaks in the territory of the former USSR. A land of progress For centuries, Dushanbe was a small agricultural village in Central Asia that was largely unknown around the globe...

  Tucked beside Austria and Slovenia, the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region is now offering travellers free train fares plus extra complimentary perks as a bid to encourage travellers to explore the wonders of the region – which include the Dolomite mountains, golden coasts and sprawling vineyards until 31 May 2023. The local tourism board noted that it will refund all inbound train journeys to four cities within the region: Trieste, Udine, Grado and Lignano Sabbiadoro. The cherry on top? The initiative also includes a complimentary FGVcard valid for 48 hours. This grants travellers free or discounted access to public transport alongside attractions, museums, guided tours to historical sites, exhibitions like Banksy’s in Salone deli Incanti (open 25 November to 10 April 2023) and more. In the capital of Trieste, a border town carved between Slovenia and Italy, and Udine, with its perfectly restored old town, globetrotters can marvel at the roman relics...

Despite having a population of just 2,400, Vevčani has attempted to declare independence from two different countries over the last five decades. It was Independence Day in the Republic of North Macedonia, a landlocked Balkan country sharing borders with Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and Serbia. Along the northern shores of Lake Ohrid, bright yellow sunbeams of North Macedonian flags fluttered in the breeze that swept down from the Jablanica Mountains as bands played, rakia flowed, and beers were cracked open in celebration of independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. On 8 September 1991, the Socialist Republic of Macedonia declared independence from Yugoslavia and became the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Not content with their new government, on 19 September 1991, the town almost unanimously declared itself an independent republic, with just 36 out of 2,000 locals voting against the motion. All this culminated in 2002, when the libertarian ...