By guest blogger Fiona Hilliard

Cheap air fares and an arty, bohemian reputation have seen Budapest rise in the ranks of city break destinations in recent years.

What few travellers realise however, is that the peaceful city is in fact divided – cut clean in half by the scenic banks of the Danube into Buda (think fairytale old town) and Pest (the city’s burgeoning business and industrial pulse)…

» Continue reading “Buda Vs. Pest: What to See in the Hungarian Capital”

Think “spa retreat” and you’re likely to conjure up images of country manors, towelling robes and lying about with cucumber slices on your eyelids. But what if you find the princess treatment a snooze?

If you want more of a wake-up then a wind-down this January, try out bathing rituals at a historic spa city like Istanbul, Budapest, Marrakech or Reykjavik. From bath houses to thermal pools, spa culture here is not so much a pampering treat but part of local life… » Continue reading “Alternative City Spa Breaks: Wake up this January at Bath Houses and Thermal Pools”