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England

Manchester: The Village

The Village, also known as Gay Village, is home to one of the most established gay communities in Europe. During summer the area has a special cosmopolitan and continental ambience, attracting gay, lesbians and heterosexuals alike.

Location and how to get to the Village

The Village is set around Chorlton Street and Canal Street and stretch to Dale Street. It includes Sackville Street, Whitworth Street and Princess Street. The Village is really close to Piccadilly Gardens (just a few minutes walk).

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England Featured Articles travel guide

Manchester: Chinatown

Although the first Chinese restaurants appeared in Manchester right after the World War II, it wasn’t until the 1970s that the streets surrounding Nicholas Street, Faulkner Street and George Street became a center of Chinese culture and cuisine.

Today, Manchester’s Chinatown is considered “the Chinese village for the north of England” and represents a genuine experience with people speaking Chinese and signposts in both languages (Chinese and English).

Location and how to get to Chinatown

Chinatown stretches right in the heart of Manchester, behind the Town Hall and really close to The Village and Piccadilly Gardens.

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England Featured Articles travel guide

Liverpool: Beatles Story Museum

The Beatles are world famous and all music fans should consider a visit to Beatles Story Museum, which is filled with photographs, films and other memorabilia of the Liverpool boys. Songs like Yellow Submarine, Yesterday, Hey Jude, Let It Be, All You Need is Love or Please Mister Postman made history and are still enjoyed by the young generations.

Location

The Beatles Story Museum is located in Liverpool, at Albert Dock in the basement of Britannia Pavilion.

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England

English Snooker

English snooker (or international snooker) is a cue sport (billiards game) of British origin. The snooker played today is a modern version of the 16th century billiards game, played with 22 balls: 15 red balls, 6 colored ones (with different point values) and the cue ball.

The regulation table (used in tournaments) measures 6 ft (1.86 m) by 12 ft (3.66 m), has 4 corner and 2 side pockets with cushions that are more narrow than on American pool tables.

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Guatemala travel guide

Staying Safe in Guatemala

safety.jpgWhile Guatemala has a higher crime rate than some of the other countries in Central America, many tourists travel here every year without any problems. Staying safe in Guatemala is an easy thing to do if you follow a few simple rules and keep your wits about you. If you have traveled safely in other third world destination, you should have no problem staying safe in Guatemala.

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travel guide Vietnam

Hoi An

japanese bridge hoi anHoi An was a very important seaport in the 16th century. Today it’s a small city on the coast of South China Sea and has been declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1999.

How to get to Hoi An

The closest airport to Hoi An is Danang. There are frequent flights from Hanoi and Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) into Danang, as well as some flights from the near-by countries.

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Featured Articles Sweden Things to Do

Top Ten Museums in Stockholm

There are more than 100 museums in Stockholm to choose from, but here is a selection. See websites for admission and opening hours.

1. The Vasa Museum (Djurgården) – The world’s only intact 17th century ship, the Vasa, which sank on her maiden voyage in Stockholm’s habor in 1628.

2. Moderna Museet (Skeppsholmen) – Contemporary art from 1900, and photography from the 1840s. The permanent collection includes works by artists such as Duchamp, Picasso, Dalí and Matisse.

3. The National Museum (Blasieholmshamnen, next to the Grand Hotel) – The national gallery and Sweden’s largest art museum. More than 16,000 paintings and sculptures and an extensive collection of applied art, design and industrial design dating back to the 14th century.

4. The Nordic Heritage Museum – Swedish and Scandinavian cultural history.

5. Stockholm City Museum – History and development of the Swedish capital. Free admission.

6. Skansen (Djurgården) – Open air museum with historical buildings, a zoo and an aquarium. Open year round.

7. Ethnographic Museum (Djurgården). Rotating exhibitions on various world cultures.

8. Junibacken (Djurgården). The kids will love this real-life rendition of Astrid Lindgren’s stories. Meet Pippi Longstocking and the rest of the gang.

9. Nobel Museum (Gamla Stan). Located in the old Stock Exchange building in Stortorget, the big square in the Old Town. Learn all about the great minds who have won the prestigious Nobel Prize awarded in Stockholm every December.

10. Abba Museum. It’s not opening until June 2009, but tickets have already gone on sale to see this tribute to the most famous Swedish pop stars of all time.

Photo by: AbhijeetVardhan

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Portugal travel guide

Fatima

our lady of FatimaFatima is a place of pilgrimage for many Catholics in commemoration of the appearance of Virgin Mary (Our Lady of Fatima) to three young shepherds in Cova da Iria.

Location

The town of Fatima is located in the municipality of Ourém, at 187 km / 116miles south of Porto and 123 km / 76miles north of Lisbon.

Our Lady of Fatima

In 1917, three young shepherds –Lucia, Jacinta and Francisco- claimed to have seen the Virgin of the Rosary (Our Lady of Fatima), on the spot where now the Basilica stands. The Virgin of the Rosary appeared on the 13th day of six consecutive months, starting on 13 May.

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Libya travel guide Turkey

Ferries in Turkey

FerriesTurkey is bordered by three seas –Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea -, which means water transport has always played an important role in the country’s transport system. If you are in a hurry the quickest way is to fly to Turkey but if you like to travel leisurely, you should definitely consider taking a ferry.

Ferries provide transport both for passenger and vehicles. They represent one of the best ways to get from Istanbul to the Aegean Sea resorts.

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Portugal travel guide Turkey

Turkey Entry Visa for Tourists

turkey visaBefore starting to plan your vacation in Turkey you should check if you need a tourist visa to entry the country. Then, you need to figure out if you can get the visa directly at the point of entry or need to apply at the consulate. Most likely you’ll need a single entry visa which means you can stay in Turkey for up to three months.

Need to know

E-consulate makes the job easy to figure out if you need a visa. However, the prices listed are those applied at the consulates and not at the point of entry.

Sticker-type entry visa upon arrival

Citizens of the following countries can get a sticker-type entry visa at the point of entry in Turkey: UK, US, Canada, Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands, Italy and Portugal.

Citizens of these countries need to have a passport and pay the visa fee at the point of entry in Turkey.