Travel News

Amsterdam is a mecca for first and second-hand clothes. But do not just jump at the first area you see, some precision planning could have you staying in a shopping mall hotel, cycling round the sites, visiting a huge outdoor market and going into the best second-hand shops, and the rest.

Fill your breaks in canal side coffee shops by the quaint shopping area around Nine Streets, grab a handful of bulbs to take home at the end of a kilometre-long road of shops Nieuwedijk-Kalverstraat, which is open on Sundays and buy 50s bric-a-brac chic in some of the city's best-loved stores.

Stay in a shopping centre

For serious shop-a-holics this Amsterdam hotel is in a shopping mall and would be a perfect place to stay. You do not need to leave the 301-room complex at Hotel Okura to browse jewellery, souvenirs, leather and chocolate in the ground-floor gallery. There is also a health centre, so guests can pamper themselves in five-star style as well as eat the Japanese food on offer in one of the two restaurants.

Location, location, location

De Negen Straatjes or Nine Streets shopping centre is a great place to go purchasing because it is in the central canal ring, making the experience more picturesque for that coffee break. De Jordaan is recommended for second-hand wear and antiques while Dam Square has a range of boutiques. Nieuwedijk-Kalverstraat by Central Station is a great kilometre stretch for clothes, finishing in a burst of colour with the Kalverstraat flower market on the Muntplein. You can buy Netherlands tulips here, which are a great gift to take home as bulbs.

Cycle round

Stay at the Bicycle Hotel, which rents bikes for a small charge. Located in multicultural De Pijp, it is one of the cheap hotels in Amsterdam, and there's plenty of world food around the corner. The staff will provide you maps and tips of the best places to shop and visit.

Best outdoor market

The ... read more

A survey of exhibitors at a recent travel trade show in the UK suggests there has not been any sign of a slowdown in holidaymakers' trips. Despite the economic crisis that has seen lows in sterling and the euro over recent months, half of polled travel companies said there had been no change in bookings

However, as households across the world feel the pinch from rising food, energy and petrol prices, commentators recommend people take budget breaks in eastern Europe to make the most of their money, outside the Eurozone.

Sofia

More Easyjet flights to Sofia are set to come online this December with additional planes from budget company Wizzair too. Among the cheap hotels in Sofia is the centrally located Art Hostel, situated by the blossoming nightlife and bar scene. Guests can choose to share rooms or stay in private rooms or apartments.

Sofia is one of the most hotly tipped destinations in Europe for price. The director of the Institute of Social Trade and Union Research in Bulgaria Lyuben Tomev told the Sofia Echo, the cost of living in 2008 would be about 485 Leva (£192) per month for a single person living alone. The Bulgarian city walls date back to the seventh century BC. It's not far from great mountain ranges to walk and the beaches on the Black Sea coast.

Ankara

Pay £30 a night for the Anittepe 2000 Hotel for all the trimmings. There is a rooftop terrace for visitors to sit back and unwind accompanied by a restaurant that serves traditional Turkish cuisine. The hotel includes conference and meeting room for business travellers and it is centrally located by the rest of the cheap hotels in Ankara.

The old part of the city around Ankara Castle has an Aladdin Mosque which hosts art and wood craft. This area has seen a lot of rejuvenation over the years, with many old Turkish houses being restored ... read more

Staying in the best hotels in Paris just got better as a Saudi-based family moved a step closer to investing €141 million (£111 million) in tourism in the city. The Musallam family has held the leasehold to majestic art deco Hotel Prince de Galles in Paris for the last 16 years and now plans to buy the property.

The deal would put Paris on the map for high-end tourism despite the turbulent economic market, said Ed Blum for the company arranging the financing, Molinaro Koger.

Hotel Prince de Galles

Hotel Prince de Galles is one of the best hotels in Paris. It is currently operated as luxury brand by Starwood Hotels with high ceilings, a traditional courtyard and an impressive Art Deco façade. Built in the 1928, the 138-room hotel still retains some of its original charm. It boasts marble floors and gold leaf chandelier features, at least at present.

Purchaser Sheik Ibrahim Mussallam explained: "We are planning to spend a further €80 million on the refurbishment of the property to ensure that the Hotel Prince de Galles continues to be one of Paris' most desirable hotels."

Where can I find it?

It is central to several of the most popular attractions in Paris on the Champs Elysees – one kilometre away from the Eiffel Tower. It is €12 to get to the top. Gustave Eiffel's iconic structure opened a champagne bar on the third floor this summer, so, you can enjoy the view in style within walking distance from your hotel.

A mere 1.6 km away from the Hotel Prince de Galles is the impressionist attraction Marmottan Monet Museum, which boasts housing the largest collection of Monet's work, including iconic paintings The Water Lilies, The Japanese Bridge and The Weeping Willow.

For guests who like more than a stroll, great attraction around Montematre ... read more

With Halloween looming on October 31st, book into a cheap hotel and spend your money getting scared. There is plenty to do at the best theme parks in the UK, France and Germany this autumn.

Alton Towers

The UK's biggest theme park is running a special series of Halloween events from October 17th to November 2nd for £35 for adults and £26 for children. There are plenty of places to stay near Alton Towers, which is located off the motorway in Staffordshire.

Children and adults of all ages will be able to take part because there is something for everyone. Maze, the Terror of the Towers is so scary children under 14 are banned from entering. This is unsurprising, considering the theme park has employed a Master to give chase to anyone who invades his mansion.

Other activities include the shortcut through Gloomy Wood, meeting ghosts and ghouls (who might even be on your ride), spooky shows and terrifying revelations if you follow the caretaker. Accompanying him on his journey into the Boiler House for £8 or get chased by the zombies in the Maize Maze for free. Not for the faint-hearted.

Disneyland Paris

Families with very small children who want to dress up and have fun on Halloween can join in the celebrations at Disneyland Paris from October 4th to November 2nd. Mickey and his friends the Pumpkin Men will be welcoming guests into the park for £34 for adults and £29 for children, alongside stars Jack and Sally from Tim Burton's film The Nightmare Before Christmas.

There are plenty of family-friendly hotels by Disneyland Paris, but other cheap hotels in Paris are only a train ride away from the Marne-la-Vallee/Chessy train station, located outside the theme park's front gate.

Join Mickey and the crew for some Halloween fireworks in front of the Disney Castle or show off your scariest costume at one of Mickey's fancy dress par ... read more

Venice has followed in London's footsteps by taking steps to stop pigeons roosting in some of its most historic buildings in St Mark's Square. According to the Telegraph, bird droppings have caused serious damage to some of the city's most precious tourist attractions, including ducal mansion Doge's Palace and other Unesco World Heritage attractions.

Following in London's footsteps

The London attraction Trafalgar Square, once famous for its pigeons, banned bird feeding in 2003 when the BBC reported £140,000 worth of damage had been caused to Nelson's Column and the surrounding area. Anyone now caught feeding the pigeons at Trafalgar Square faces a hefty cash fine.

In London not everyone was happy about the pigeon ban. Late Labour MP and former sports minister Tony Banks was quoted as saying "Pigeons in Trafalgar Square are part of the London scene enjoyed by citizens and visitors alike" on the website of opposing group savethepigeon. The MP even tabled a motion in the House of Commons complaining about it.

But the Venetian authorities have largely welcomed the reduction in birds to fewer than 1,000 from 20,000, including superintendent of architectural and cultural heritage Renata Codello. She told the Telegraph roosting pigeons had pecked away brickwork and marble at several heritage sites. After a ban on feed vendors, ducal residence Doge's Palace was almost free of pigeons, she added.

Hotelier has tried everything

Pigeons can also do damage to some of the best hotels in Venice and getting rid of the birds has been harder than it looked. Chief executive Francesca Bortolotto Possati of five-star Bauer Hotel, which is two minutes from St Mark's Square, told the LA Times, pigeons had troubled guests.

The hotel tried everything from fishnet tenting, decoy hawks - that blew away - and ultrasound, wh ... read more