Category: International

From November 22, Zürich’s most famous shopping street, the Bahnhofstrasse, will shine out more brightly than ever. “Lucy”– as the Christmas lights are called – will be switched on. These Christmas illuminations comprise almost 12,000 crystals containing luminescent white, red and blue LED lights that can be controlled individually, producing dots of color of varying intensity in the sky. What’s more, on the same evening visitors can enjoy late-night shopping in the inner city until 10.00pm, fortified by the culinary delicacies and mulled wine on sale at any of the numerous food stands.

Under the motto “Charming Christmas at Bellevue”, the Sechseläuten square will be transformed into a Christmas market with traditional and top-quality products. Not only full of festive markets but also Zurich’s traditional Conelli Christmas Circus is bridging the gap from classic to contemporary circus arts. The different acts are a feast of colours and imaginative performances, likely to enchant even the most demanding public. 

Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and one of the world’s largest financial centres. Most Swiss banks have their headquarters in Zurich and there are numerous foreign banks in the Greater Zurich Area. By far the most important sector in the economy of Zurich is the service industry, which employs nearly four fifths of workers. Located in Zurich, the Swiss Stock Exchange is the fourth most prominent stock exchange in the world. Ten of the country’s 50 largest companies have their head offices in Zurich

SWISS has launched the ‘Official Carrier Agreement Light’, which will offer a 15% reduction for overseas delegates attending international conferences with a minimum of 50 and up to 400 delegates. With a dedicated link provided via the Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau, planners can book and manage all flights themselves

The minister said that the first record achieved was in 2007 when 1.2 million tourists visited spending a total of €1 billion. Up to October this year 1.3 million tourists had visited spending €1.2 billion.

He noted that the Malta Tourism Authority currently had 100 applications related to tourism – 30 for hotel extensions, 70 for the development of new hotels

The Dolmen Hotel in Qawra is going through a continuous refurbishment programme through which it invested €4.1 million between 2008 and 2011 and is investing another €3 million between this year and next year. The hotel had already invested €5.5 million in a major refurbishment programme in 2004. Hotel general manager Alex Pace told Tourism Minister Mario de Marco during a visit this afternoon that the hotel had refurbished

Prague Meridian (14 ° 25’17 “east longitude) passes through the Old Town Square, near the monument of John Hus. It is marked by a long metallic strip and a different type of pavement. From 1652, it was used to determine time in Prague. Originally, the meridian was located near the no longer existing Marian Column which cast shadow on the meridian, thus determining the noon.

The so-called Prague Rocket, the 216 m high TV tower located in the heart of Vinohrady, creates a unique panorama of Prague. This city dominant offers a 360 ° prospect with thematically solved capsules, restaurant, bistro and bar, and a six-star suite – One Room Hotel, situated 66m above the city. The TV tower is also popular for its “Babies”, ten giant fiberglass statues of babies climbing the tower up and down. These were created by the Czech artist David Černý and were installed on the tower in 2000.

Copenhagen has a reputation as an expensive city to visit but, as Hotels.com’s Hotel Price Index 2011 shows, this is far from the truth.

Since the end of the 1990s, Copenhagen has experienced a significant hotel boom. Within the last couple of years the city has expanded its hotel capacity by thousands of rooms.

The resulting increased competition has brought down prices to the point where, according to Hotels.com’s Hotel Price Index, Copenhagen has some of the cheapest hotel rooms in the Scandinavia, with an average room price of less than DKK 900 per night.

While prices have remained steady in Copenhagen, in for example Stockholm, which is currently the most expensive city in Scandinavia, they have increased by as much as 11. 

In terms of other European capitals, Copenhagen is significantly cheaper than cities such as Paris, London and Geneva, where prices have risen by a massive 20% since 2010.

Artipelag is a new and unique international venue where art exhibits, inspiring cultural activities, architecture, music, Swedish design and great dining live side by side with the beautiful archipelago environment. Artipelag is located at Hålludden on Värmdö Island, about 12 miles east of Stockholm. The structure is 110,000 square feet and is carefully located amongst the pine trees and the rocks with a magnificent view over Baggen’s Bay. The late architect, Johan Nyrén, drew up the plans for Artipelag at the bequest of the family-owned business, Babybjörn AB.