Category: International

Cannes is a city located in the French Riviera. It is a busy tourist destination and host of the annual Cannes Film Festival. It is a commune of France located in the Alpes-Maritimes department.

The city is also famous for its various luxury shops, restaurants, and hotels. On 3 November 2011 it played host to the G20 organisation of industrialised nations.

Cannes has a Mediterranean climate and the city enjoys 12 hours of sunshine per day during summer (May to September), while in winter (December to February) the weather is mild. Both seasons see a relatively low rainfall and most rain occurs during October and November, when 110 mm falls.

Cannes summers are long and warm, with summer daytime temperatures regularly hitting 30 °C (86 °F), while average temperatures are about 25 °C (77 °F). Temperatures remain high from June to September, the busiest time of the year. Despite the hot daytime temperatures, a Mediterranean breeze keeps summer evenings comfortably cool.

Temperatures drop below 10 °C (50 °F) for only three months of the year (December to February). The spring and autumn are also warm, although more suited to those who prefer slightly cooler weather.

As a result of archaeological excavations along the route of the tramway, Nice has rediscovered part of its past as a citadel with walls comparable to those of Carcassonne!

Although it was known that they existed, what was not known was the extent of the remains that have stood up to the test of time and to the destruction carried out by Louis XIV’s soldiers. 800 years of history have gradually been revealed, just 6 metres below Place Garibaldi, before the eyes of archaeologists astounded by the state of conservation of these ancient stones. A major archaeological site has been uncovered: a crypt covering 2,000 m2 (the area covered by the Louvre). The discovery is one of the most important archaeological finds in the last 30 years in France!

 Visitors can now descend to the heart of Nice’s past, admire the walls and stroll beneath Rue Jean-Jaurès and Place Garibaldi among medieval bastions and towers.
 A museographic trail has been laid to make it easier for visitors to walk through this extraordinary, historic 2,000 m2 maze along a gangway built over the floor.

There is no doubt that the crypt will become one of the leading cultural and tourist attractions on the French Riviera. The archaeological crypt “Lu Bastioun” has just been listed as a historic monument.

As the public fairs, galas and the first Christmas parties continue to keep everyone busy here at the Hofburg Vienna, the industry is also turning its attention to the Austrian carnival season which began on 11 November. On 31 December Vienna will celebrate the first ever Le Grand Bal of the Hofburg, a glittering new arrival which will also get the Viennese ball season underway. The city has a total of 21 balls lined up at the former imperial residence in 2012/13. 

The slogan of the Crowne Plaza is “The place to meet”. Event organisers in Berlin will soon have a chance to see for themselves the quality of the hotel chain. 256 rooms including a club floor with its own separate lounge are under construction in the former Postpalais on Potsdamer Platz. It will encompass some 500 square metres of meeting and event space and is due for completion by January 2013. 

The luxury Waldorf Astoria Group will open its first new-build hotel in Europe in autumn 2012. This will be located in the immediate vicinity of Kurfürstendamm and the Zoological Garden. The 31-storey Waldorf Astoria Berlin will feature 232 luxurious rooms and suites and a conference area with a 330 square metre ballroom. 

A five-star residence in the diplomatic quarter in Berlin – the Spanish hotel group “Whim” plans to open its first hotel in November 2012 close to the “Tiergarten” park. “Das Stue” (Danish for “living room”) will have 81 individual rooms and suites, a daylight Spa and two conference rooms. For the hotel, the former building of the Danish embassy, dating back to 1939, was redesigned. The starred Spanish chef, Paco Pérez, is to take over the management of the hotel’s in-house restaurant. 

After an 11-year absence, the MTV European Music Awards will be returning to Frankfurt on 11th November 2012. The Festhalle, part of the Frankfurt Fair & Exhibition Centre, will once again be serving as the glamorous backdrop for this massive international music event. International stars like Taylor Swift and Muse are scheduled to perform live on stage. This year’s award ceremony will be hosted by the German top-model, Heidi Klum. 

The Frankfurt Christmas Market is one of the oldest, largest and most beautiful yuletide celebrations in all of Germany. Idyllically set on the Römerberg and featuring a lush 28-metre-tall Christmas tree, the market exudes a nostalgic holiday atmosphere popular with visitors of all ages. Each year, some three million visitors from near and far flock to the Frankfurt Christmas Market during the Advent season to stroll and cajole amongst the colourfully decorated stalls and booths, which offer everything from handcraft to traditional culinary favourites like “Bethmännchen” marzipan candies and “Brenten” biscuits. 

France has announced today plans to increase its standard VAT rate from 19.6% to 20%.  In addition, the 7% reduced rate, relating to restaurants, construction, and ebooks, will rise to 10%. The 5.5% VAT rate, which applies to food, hotels and entertaining will fall to 5%.  The measures will help fund a limited range of industry investment credits.

The implementation date will be 1 January 2014.

The measures have been announced in response to the publication of the Louis Gallois report on French competitiveness.  This was set-up by the new President, M. Hollande, at the start of this summer.  The primary recommendation of this report, published on 5 November, was a large cut in payroll taxes, funded by a rise in VAT.  This measure was proposed to give a “competitiveness shock” to the French economy which has been stalled over the past few years – although it did not go into recession.  France’s share of the EU export market has fallen from 17% to 13% in under ten years, and it continues to fall behind Germany’s strong performance.  The country suffered a credit downgrade to its much-prized AAA rating by Standard & Poor’s.

The last French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, had put forward a French VAT rise to 21.2%, but this was scrapped following his defeat in this summer’s elections.

There has never been a better time to book Mandarin Oriental, Prague for your next group event.

 

From 1 November 2012 until 31 March 2013, Bed and Breakfast rates start at

EUR 165* for a Superior single room per night while the Daily Delegate rates start at EUR 89* per person, per full day.

 

This intimate hotel, a lovingly restored monastery, was voted the best in Northern Europe in the most recent Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Awards. The city of Prague is delightful in any season, and with our location in picturesque Malá Strana, visitors will experience its charm from the very moment they arrive.