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Liverpool, the city that raised John, Paul, George, and Ringo, has just opened a new four-star hotel, designed in the Beatles’ honor. The 110-room Hard Days Night Hotel opened on February 1 in renovated 19th century mercantile building, located in the city’s Cavern Quarter. The hotel is named after the group’s second movie, released in 1964.

The Rooms
The rooms at the Hard Days Night Hotel all contain artifacts and memorabilia from the Beatles career and life in Liverpool. Rooms range from modest standard rooms to the luxurious, $1300/night John Lennon penthouse suite, complete with a white baby grand piano. All rooms include flatscreen tvs and wireless Internet access, among other amenities.

Facilities
Facilities at the Hard Days Night Hotel include two restaurants–an upscale, organic restaurant and a casual Mediterranean bistro, a bar, and an art gallery.

Sightseeing near the Hard Days Night Hotel
The hotel is located adjacent to the Cavern Club, the nightclub where the Beatles got their start. In addition, the Beatles Museum is just down the street and the area boast several Beatles-themed sightseeing tours.

Hard Days Night Hotel
North John Street
Liverpool
L2 6RR
Telephone +44 (0)151 236 1964

Each year in Europe, two cities are named to be the continents Capitals of Culture for the year. It gives sometimes little-known cities the chance to make their name on the world scene - like one of this year’s Capitals, the town of Stavanger in Norway - and others the opportunity to recover a reputation. That’s the case for  the other 2008 Capital of Culture, Liverpool, which wants to return to its musical roots and get past the industrial and welfare problems that it’s perhaps become more famous for.

Last weekend Liverpool officially kicked off its year as a Capital of Culture by welcoming back some of its most famous citizens: most notably, of course, ex-Beatle Ringo Starr came back to perform in the opening concert. Beatles-related tourism is definitely one of Liverpool’s strong points, with museums, tours and memorabilia all being key attractions.

In preparation for the big year - which is also Liverpool’s 800th birthday - the city built a large new arena, and that was the venue for Saturday’s huge “Liverpool the Musical” performance, where Ringo Starr got involved again.

During the rest of the year, all manner of cultural events from exhibitions and concerts through parades and special festivals will take place, so it is definitely a good year to be in Liverpool.

If you are looking for a unique place to have a cocktail–and who isn’t–look no further than the Absolut Ice Bar, located in Stockholm’s Nordic Sea Hotel.

The bar, which features cocktails made from Absolut Vodka, is kept at an invigorating 23 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s so that the walls, furniture, wall decor, and drinking vessels don’t melt. They are all made of ice.

The Absolut Ice Bar is cozy, with just enough room for 30 guests. Reservations are recommended and admission includes a toasty silver cloak and your first cocktail. The bar is open all year and reservations are taken for 45 minute intervals. Call 46 8 50 56 31 24 to make a reservation.

Stockholm’s Absolut Ice Bar, which opened in 2002, is not the only Absolut Ice Bar. A location recently opened in Milan and plans are afoot for more of the icy bars.

(photo © seamusiv/cc license)

Why is traveling over the Christmas period so difficult? Probably because just like us, train drivers, airplane pilots, ticket sales people and station security guards all want to spend the vacation with their families, too.

One of the problems affecting transport over the holiday period can be strikes, threatened at the most difficult time of year, and in the northern hemisphere, severe winter weather can add to the misery.

Great Britain Halts Its Trains

But in Britain and Ireland, the trains simply don’t run at all on December 25 and 26. If you were a traveler visiting these countries over the Christmas vacation, you’ll probably have already found out that regional and intercity trains simply didn’t exist. There was no strike or bad weather, but it has simply been this way for many years - the Department of Transport does not require it and drivers aren’t expected to work. Maintenance and engineering work takes place during the 58 hour closedown, and people who want to travel around Britain simply have to get by with cars and buses.

The Alternative is to Fly

But who’d want to take the train, anyway: budget airlines have increased their market coverage so much that these days it’s often cheaper to fly than to take the train. If you’re a tourist heading to Britain you can probably learn from what the locals do and forget being logical - it might a small country, but the air service seems a whole lot more effective than the trains. Unless, of course, there are strikes or bad weather …

There’s been a lot of talk of late about the high costs involved in a trip to Europe from the US. Along with rising prices in Europe itself (some say that’s been happening ever since the common currency of the Euro was introduced), a weak US dollar has meant that a lot of tourists are finding the costs far higher than they’d anticipated when they started planning their vacation.

Over at Budget Travel there’s been a huge discussion about whether or not the average US traveler can still afford a trip to Europe. Recently about 50% of the responding readers said they had definitely changed their plans to skip Europe in 2008 and instead head to destinations like Asia, Latin America, and even other parts of North America that they have never visited. Others rightly suggest that the eastern European countries are still reasonably affordable and will head there instead of the usual France, Italy or Germany tours.

But if your heart is set on Western Europe, there are some ways to vacation there affordably. For example, you can set an itinerary that avoids the most commonly beaten tourist tracks and see some lesser known vineyard areas of Germany, a less touristy town in Italy or skip Provence and visit another area of the French countryside. You’ll still experience many of the same things - the food, the climate, the people, and the history - but likely you’ll be able to spend a bit less.

Art lovers visiting Paris always make a beeline for the Louvre, but I think the Musee d’Orsay is even better.

You’ll find the Musee d’Orsay along the River Seine, and while it lacks the Louvre’s controversial glass pyramid, I think it’s a much more beautiful setting . It’s housed in an old railway station. Not only is the building impressive from the outside, but the layout of the museum means there are some high vantage points inside where you can look down over much of the museum, and also be reminded of its beginnings as a train station.

The Musee d’Orsay’s collection is mainly French and includes terrific works by Monet and Renoir.

There are six main areas of the gallery, including painting, sculpture, photography, graphic arts, objets d’art and architecture. Some of the items were in fact moved here from the Louvre when the gallery opened in 1986.

Note that the Musee d’Orsay is closed on Mondays; on other days, it opens from 9.30am to 6pm, with a later opening until 9.45pm on Thursdays. It’s good value at just €7.50 per ticket for adults and free for under 18s.

(Photo via flickr cc)

Few cities celebrate the new year with as much style and grace as Vienna, Austria. The city, known for its waltz music and baroque architecture, welcomes the new year with music, fireworks, and lots of dancing.

The festivities include a huge downtown street party with live music, plenty of “sekt,” the German sparkling wine, and dancing. The party stretches from City Hall to Teinfaltstrasse and features live entertainment, food and drink along the route. At midnight the “Pummerin” bell at St. Stephen’s Cathedral starts to ring, heralding in the official fireworks display and the new year.

In addition to the street party, there are a half-dozen or so formal balls, including the famous Imperial Ball, where ladies dance in hooped gowns and gentlemen bow in full jacket and tails.

On New Year’s Day, the Vienna Philharmonic celebrates the coming year with the “neujahrskonzert,” a concert of Strauss music and a holiday tradition since 1939. Tickets are next to impossible to get–there are 30,000 on the waiting list–but the concert is broadcast on television stations around the world, including PBS stations in the United States.

(Photo via flickr cc)

Ever dreamed of spending a week or two on a train, traversing Russia? This dream vacation is a lot easier to organize these days, and there are plenty of different options open to you. Here are some things to consider when planning your Trans-Siberian crossing:

• Which direction? West to east is the most popular with tourists. If you want a more local experience, try east to west.
• Trans-Siberian or Trans-Mongolian? Despite the name “Trans-Siberian” being more commonly used, most travelers actually use the “Trans-Mongolian.” In the middle of Siberia, near Lake Baikal, the train heads south through Mongolia to China. The true Trans-Siberian keeps heading east to Vladivostok.
• Guided or independent? Many travelers opt for a guided tour rather than struggling with learning a bit of Russian. If you travel independently you’re more likely to end up lost somewhere along the way - although that’s half the fun!
• Stopovers or all-the-way? The full journey across Russia takes seven days of non-stop train travel. Most people take stopovers in various cities and places such as Lake Baikal. Of course, then the big decision is which stops to make.
• Hotels or homestays? It’s popular to stay with Russian families along the Trans-Siberian route, and it’s usually more cost-effective than a hotel, plus you get to know some of the local ways.

(Photo via flickr cc)

Next time you visit the Netherlands, you might find there’s a bit more to see of the country. Depending on who wins the current arguments, the Dutch government might soon be creating an island next to the Dutch coast, about 30 miles long and covering almost 250,000 acres, and designed in the shape of a tulip.

It sounds like a crazy idea, but the Dutch are no strangers to reclaiming land and protecting their low lying nation from flooding, so their engineers are some of the best in the world for this. They say they need more land for housing and agriculture, and to protect the coastline from flooding, although of course an island shaped like a tulip would make a pretty neat tourist attraction, too.

But there are plenty of opponents to the plan, including environmentalists who say that suddenly creating an island in the North Sea could cause problems for fishing, bird life and shipping.

Other people have kept themselves busy suggesting other shapes for the island, including of course a cannabis leaf to reflect the country’s very liberal laws. An island shaped like clogs would be another option, or even a wedge of cheese or a windmill.

Barcelona, the capital city of the Spanish province of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, sits along the Mediterranean coastline. The city is known for its lively atmosphere, Art Deco architecture, and wonderful assortment of restaurants. Barcelona is a popular cruise port and a great starting point for a train journey along the southern coast of Europe. It also offers a surprising number of free attractions.

• Gaudi’s La Sagrada Familia: The most famous building in Barcelona, this unique church was commissioned of Antoni Gaudi over 120 years ago and still isn’t finished, although about 90 percent of it is completed. The famous architect died before completion and the city has been struggling to raise the funds for the building ever since. Inside is a museum–or a fee–but the singular structure may be viewed for free from across the street.
• Picasso Museum: Another of Barcelona’s native artists, Picasso always kept Spain foremost in his work and in his heart. The Picasso Museum in Barcelona displays over 3,500 of his works, the largest collection in the world. Admission to the museum is free on the first Sunday of each month.
• Parc Guell: Another Gaudi work, this park was designed to be a residential area for Barcleona’s well-healed citizens, but never sold. Today, the spacious park is dotted with interesting statues, fanciful houses, mosaic murals, and fountains. Admission to the park is free.

(Photo via flickr cc)