Recommend August 2014 - (Page 43)

onsitereview europe A P R I L 2 0 14 ON THE TRACKS IN FRANCE carla hunt Hotel Majestic Barriere, a Leading Hotels of the World property located in Cannes. For this Francophile, you can't beat a day that starts with opening your e-mail inbox to ﬁnd a press trip invitation that is totally French: Air France from New York to Paris-window seat 17A, incredibly attentive service and a glass or two of a good Cote du Rhone; Rail Europe from Paris to Cannes on the deluxe double-decker TGV- full-stretch-out seat by the window for panoramas of mountains and Mediterranean; and then hopscotching by coastal rail between Cannes and Nice, all wrapped up in a French Rail Pass. We took it all in as we learned from our guides, Atout France-New York and the Cote d'Azur Tourism, the many reasons that travelers return year after year to the French Riviera (or if you are on a more sophisticated plane, "Cote d'Azur"): A bevy of client-pleasing hotels; new culinary horizons; ﬁve-star celebrity spotting; a lively arts scene; brilliant gardens; belle epoque villas; and a coastline of yacht-packed harbors and sexy beaches. cannes Our ﬁrst nights on the French Riviera are spent in Cannes, never high on this visitor's list. However, when you're on location at countdown-time to the annual curtain rising on the glitz, glamour and talent that pours in each May during the Cannes Film Festival, the fever is infectious-especially when one is tucked into a suite at the Hotel Majestic Barriere, overlooking the Med and just a stone's throw away from the red-carpet entrance to the Palais des Festivals. And when you slow down to smell the ﬂowers, you learn that atop Suquet Hill, where Cannes started as a small ﬁshing village, is the Musee de la Castre, occupying what was once the land-based headquarters of the monks of Lerins. It's a diverting museum of wondrously eclectic items-from archaeological artifacts to musical instruments-and well worth the uphill walk to get there. And speaking of those Cistercian-sect on track monks, 25 now live 15 miles offshore to barcelona from Cannes on the must-visit Ile To learn about Rail Europe's Saint-Honorat in a fortiﬁed nonstop connection between monastery, which, in the Middle Paris and Barcelona, Ages, was among the most imporvisit recommend.com tant in Christendom. The monks do and search "rail europe." God's work cultivating the vineyards and distilling accomplished wines. august 2014 43 43-45 EU RailEurope.indd 43 7/23/14 12:11 PM http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend August 2014

Editor’s Notes
Hotel Desk Chic & New
Tour Talk FAMs to Latin America & Beyond
Uniworld’s S.S. Catherine
The Dish on Las Vegas
The Vinoy Renaissance St. Petersburg Resort & Golf Club
Lanai, Hawaii
CANCUN & RIVIERA MAYA
Double the Charm in Cancun
Grand Residences Riviera Cancun
Tour Operators Do the Talking
The Beat Goes on for Thai Tourism
A Love Affair with Puerto Rico & Four Grand Personalities
Punta Cana’s Melia Caribe Tropical—The Level
Sandals LaSource Resort & Spa, Grenada
On the Tracks in France
Antwerp Sparkles Like a Diamond
Southern Africa

Recommend August 2014