Vienna at your fingertips

VISITORS to Vienna can now gain access to more than 60 of the city's most popular attractions, tours and museums directly via their smartphones with the newly launched mobile version of the popular #Vienna PASS sightseeing card (www.viennapass.com).

The mobile Vienna PASS places the best of the city at the visitor's fingertips and makes it possible to use the pass within seconds of purchase. An email booking confirmation contains a link to the free Vienna Guide app for iOS or Android devices, which acts as a platform to download the mobile pass. The Vienna PASS customer then simply scans the app's barcode straight from their smartphone to gain entry at a featured attraction.

The app also acts as a digital guidebook, containing full details on all Vienna PASS attractions as well as maps of the city and essential tourist information. Once downloaded, all of the app content including the mobile Vienna PASS is available without an internet connection.

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Hiking & Cycling in Hong Kong

HONG KONG may be known as a modern and cosmopolitan city, famous for its myriad skyscrapers, shopping options and dining hotspots, but the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is aiming to shed light on a different side with the launch of their latest campaign Hong Kong’s Great Outdoors. 

The new campaign encourages Aussies to don their active gear and set out to explore a more organic side of the city, one that is far removed from its buzzing urban centre. To show visitors what they are missing out on, the HKTB has recruited a handful of local photographers, including: landscape photographer and a Hong Kong National Geographic 2013 photography winner, Will Cho; veteran outdoor sports photographer, Elvis Mo; a Nature Conservancy 2017 photography winner, Jessica Li; and renowned photographer, Romain Jacquet Lagreze, best-known for his “Vertical Horizon” photo series, showcasing the geometric lines of Hong Kong.

HKTB’s newly published guidebook “Your Guide to Hiking & Cycling in Hong Kong”. The guidebook is available from visitor centres around the city or as an e-version and is divided into three different themes: Hiking in Heritage; Picture-Perfect Vistas; and Geological Wonders, with each section detailing suggested trails, along with the estimated time required and difficulty levels. Visitors are free to escape the hustle and bustle of the city at their own leisure and discover the surrounding beauty whether it be spectacular cityscapes; remote beaches; rustic villages; serene islands; or historical and cultural landmarks. The guidebook also features cycling trails for those who are keen to explore at a slightly faster speed.

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Run wild

A GUIDE to 40 of the best trail, fell and skyrunning routes in the Lake District has just been published by Cicerone Press. 

Highlights include Helvellyn skyline and Scafell Pike direct, the Langdale Horseshoe and Borrowdale. The guide also has information on the history of fell running, races and adapting for the fells.

Kingsley Jones the author of Trail and Fell Running in the Lake District, studied geography and glaciology at university. He has climbed the north faces of the Eiger, Matterhorn and Grandes Jorasses in the Alps, and led expeditions to mountains all over the world. Through mountaineering he developed a passion for a minimalist approach in the mountains, and soon discovered trail running as an ultimate form of fast and light travel. He runs a mountain running and guiding company (www.icicle.co.uk), and so divides his time between the Alps and the Lake Distict.

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Bristol in Rough Guides Top Ten Cities

#BRISTOL made it to number four in the Rough Guides Top ten cities to visit beating Atlanta and Osaka to make it in the top 5.

Here are the top ten:

1. Paris, France

2. Isfahan, Iran

3. Nairobi, Kenya

4. Bristol, United Kingdom

5. Antwerp, Belgium

6. Medillen, Colombia

7. Atlanta, USA

8. Osaka, Japan

9. Guadalajara, Mexico

10. Palma, Mallorca

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Picture Credit: Ali Mannan 69752950@N04/28700545590 #Bristol via photopin

Lonely Planet releases guidebook to Nikko

LONELY Planet has released a custom guidebook for #Nikko in #Japan which can be downloaded in PDF format for free. 

The guide is called “Discover Nikko”, and offers readers an impressive 36 pages of information on attractions in Nikko and how to get there via Tobu Railway from the convenient jumping-off points of Asakusa or Skytree in Tokyo.

The guide is split into 5 themed sections: Shrines and Temples, Nature, Eating, Excursions and Festivals, with a final section, Getting Around, on local transport options once in the Nikko area.

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Picture Credit: @yojosemere flickr.com/photos/39468369@N02/30505579095 Nikko, #Nihon - 2016 via photopin

AA guides to Scotland & Ireland

GUIDES covering Scotland and Ireland have been published by the Automobile Association (AA).

They feature all of the best places to visit in the countries, including things to see and do, where to eat, and what’s nearby. 

With town plans and locator maps, the guides are compiled by experts with local knowledge of the hidden treasures to be found off the beaten tracks. 

The AA Guide to Ireland costs £15.99, and the AA Guide to Scotland is priced at £13.99.

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How to see Stockholm

SIGHTSEEING in #Stockholm will become easier with the launch of the Stockholm Pass, enabling entry to more than 60 attractions, monuments and museums, plus boat and bus tours. 

Priced from 595 Swedish Krona (£48.75) for a one-day adult pass, it works on a scan-and-enter system, acting as a ticket into the city’s best attractions and tours. It includes a free guide book.

It is available as a one-, two- three- or five-day purchase.

www.stockholmpass.com

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In the footsteps of St Francis

A GUIDEBOOK re-tracing the steps of St Francis of Assisi across #Umbria, #Italy, has been launched by Cicerone Publishing. 

Stretching over 28 days and 340 miles, ‘The Way of St Francis: From Florence to Assisi and Rome’ connects significant places and dusty paths from the life of the saint and makes them available to pilgrims and walkers seeking to follow in his footsteps.

Sandy Brown, from Seattle in the US – an ordained minister and long-distance walker – has re-traced the path of the patron saint of animals and the environment to produce a 288-page guidebook.

The walk gives travellers the opportunity to experience the places where the saint lived, prayed, and worked, as well as venturing into the green heart of Italy.

The guide highlights the region’s lifestyle and focuses on its tranquillity, history, culture, and the hospitality of its people.

Each Umbrian town, says Reverend Brown, on the route has treasures of art, history, culture, tradition, and cuisine waiting to be discovered.

‘I've walked many pilgrim trails in Europe,’ he says, ‘and none are quite as magnificent as the path from Assisi to Rome. 

When I walked this route in 2013, I knew instantly that I wanted other walkers from all over the world to share in the experience of this fascinating trail, so I took pen to paper and wrote the first English copy of The Way of St Francis.’

‘The Way of St Francis: From Florence to Assisi and Rome’, £16.95, is published by Cicerone – a specialist travel publishing house.

www.cicerone.co.uk www.umbriatourism.it

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15979685@N08/14333907108">Castelluccio di Norcia - Umbria, Italy</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)