Ultimate Holiday Destinations from Heathrow

10/31/2012

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With new flight routes regularly being added to Heathrow, holidaymakers are truly spoiled for choice. Which country do you fancy exploring? Here are just a few of the latest Heathrow destinations that are begging to be visited.

Canada

Canada is a beautiful country that is synonymous with towering mountain peaks, clean air, clear lakes and some of the best skiing and snowboarding in the world. That’s only part of the story though. Destinations such as Newfoundland and Labrador are rich with history going back as far as Elizabethan times. Take a stroll through the colonial-style neighbourhoods and wonder at the charming, brightly-painted houses. Or would you prefer something a little more cosmopolitan? If so, you’ll want to head straight to Toronto, Canada’s cultural and business centre, where you can find some of North America’s finest shops, bars and restaurants. When you’re ready to take a break from all that shimmering glass and steel, the Great Lakes and Niagara Falls are easily accessible from Toronto.
No less than eight Canadian cities are serviced by Heathrow. Virgin Atlantic now operate flights to Vancouver, to complement those provided by BA and Air Canada. In addition, passengers can fly from Heathrow to Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, St John’s and Toronto.

India

For those who savour the journey just as much as the destination, India is the ultimate traveller’s paradise. Fly to any one of eight Indian cities from Heathrow and then explore this sprawling country at your leisure. From sandy beaches to verdant jungles, India offers a lifetime of adventure. The biggest dilemma you’ll face is determining what to cram in to your holiday – and what to omit. Air India, British Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and Jet Airways all offer flights to a plethora of Indian cities. Pick a destination and then plot your voyage from there. Will you explore the urban sprawl of Mumbai, with its vibrant array of flavours, colours, sights and sounds? Or will you head to Bangalore and take a trek into the wilderness? Today, it’s never been easier to get there and embark upon your own journey across this fascinating land.

Brazil

Brazil has long been a popular destination with holidaymakers jetting off from Heathrow. It’s about to get a whole lot  more popular though, buoyed by the impending World Cup in 2014 and then the Olympics two years later. For those who love to be at the heart of the action, it has to be Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s legendary carnival city. With great nightlife, endless beaches and friendly, flamboyant people, Rio is a hub of activity all year round. It’s also a city awash with culture, from the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer to the country’s only inner-city national park. With British Airways and TAM Airlines both offering Heathrow flights directly to Rio, there’s never been a better time to head to South America and discover what all the fuss is about.
If you’re catching a long-haul flight, you may prefer to arrive the night before and check in to an adjacent Heathrow hotel. In the morning, you can awaken refreshed and ready to begin your adventure. Heathrow Airport now services some of the most exotic locations in the world.

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Discover Rome through Art and Literature

03/06/2012

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Of all the great cities of European history, few have stood the test of time with such resilience, at least in the imagination, as the ancient city of Rome. From HBO to Dan Brown, there's something about the Eternal City that keeps pulling our storytellers back. It doesn't take much searching to see why.
The National Gallery of Modern Art has been housed since 1915 on the Via delle Belle Arti, near the Etruscan Museum. The monumental building is home to the world's largest collection of 19th and 20th century Italian artists, including Giorgio de Chirico, Antonio Canova and Giacomo Manzu, and a wealth of other celebrated figures such as Paul Cézanne, Jackson Pollock, Vincent Van Gogh and Georges Braque.
If you fancy going a little further into history, the Capitoline Museums are the motherlode. Located on one of the Seven Hills, the museum's collection was started by a donation from Pope Sixtus IV of a number of ancient bronze statues to the people of Rome, which were exhibited on the Capitoline Hill. Since then, the museum's holdings have grown rapidly, filling the hill's three palazzi with some incredible marble and bronze statues of emperors, pharaohs and gods. Prepare to be wowed.
Although only a fraction of its former glory, the Colosseum stands as one of the great reminders of Rome's architectural genius and the vast nature of its ambitions. To build such a thing now would be a gargantuan task, to do so in 72 AD is nothing short of phenomenal. One doubts worker's rights and health and safety were much taken into account, however. Certainly judging by the conditions depicted in HBO's classic series "Rome". Here's a clip of Octavian returning from his triumphant campaign in Egypt, back in the days before cheap flights to Rome.
That was about the only clip that was suitably pre-watershed. Anyway, the city also gave us the backdrop for Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, the follow-up to The Da Vinci Code, which sold millions of copies. There are Dan Brown tours around the city, but thanks to our handy Zeemap you can forgo the bothersome crowds and strike out yourself!
No matter your tastes, there's something in Rome for just about everyone!
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