Travel News:

Ancient city of Petra braces for influx of visitors
Archaeologists are calling for urgent measures to safeguard Petra, the ancient rose-red rock city recently picked as one of the new seven wonders of the world, saying an increase in visitors could damage it unless protective measures were taken. "Choosing Petra as a world wonder has made the public even more aware of the need to conserve this unique heritage that we have," said Khairieh Amr, a senior archaeologist with Jordan's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.
More information at: USA Today Travel

Montenegro: An Adriatic Stretch Is Awaiting Its Riviera Moment
The British writer Rebecca West once called Budva, the largest and northernmost city on the Montenegrin Riviera, "a little white tortoise against the blue sea." Not much has changed over the course of two wars, a Communist regime and almost 70 years since she wrote that: Budva is still a white-walled jewel jutting into the glass-clear Adriatic Sea, a dramatic entry point to the miles of beaches that stretch south toward the Albanian border.
More information at: NY Times Travel

Taking in the Tour de France -- in style
Standing five bodies deep into a French roadside crowd mid-July (the standard Tour de France spectating scenario) you learn a lot about yourself: the strength of your vision (was that brief pastel blur the peloton?); the sophistication of your olfactory receptors (is that Eau De Drunk Dutchman I detect?); and the depths of your desire to experience le Tour in some other way.
More information at: MSNBC Travel

Valencia: America's Cup coincides with tourism boom
The America's Cup is only one part of an aggressive urban transformation plan for Valencia that began 19 years ago. Valencia has taken a big leap forward; it is now a more open and cosmopolitan city than it was before and the people -- locals and visitors -- are embracing it.
More information at: CNN Travel

Hip digs without the high prices
If you've been looking for lodging that delivers more bang for fewer bucks, you may be in luck. Thanks to the development of several new hotel chains, travelers are increasingly enjoying high-tech amenities and cutting-edge style without spending $200 or more a night.
More information at: MSNBC Travel

Scarpetta, the 'little shoes,' in Padua, Italy
At Padua's Piazza delle Erbe, the market is closed, the merchants are gone and shadows have replaced harsh sunlight. As if waiting to reclaim their square, students spill out of colorful bars -- drinks in hand. Clustered around tall but tiny round tables that tip on the big, rough cobbles, they sip their drinks and dip bread in shallow dishes of plush olive oil. Their drink of choice is a spritz, an aperitif made with two bitter alcoholic liqueurs (Campari and Cynar), white wine, and sparkling water, garnished with an olive and a red wedge of blood orange.
More information at: CNN Travel

Culinary Milan
But of all culinary trademarks, the most elegant is the winey, saffron-gilded risotto Milanese, the short, wide-grained vialone rice from the Po Valley, creamy with butter and marrow then etched with grated Parmesan, whether as a course in itself or as an accompaniment to the spoon-tender braised veal shank, osso buco.
More information at: NY Times Travel

Mississippi Big Game Lodges
Lodges and their staff exist to put you in a situation where the game will likely be. Then, at the end of day, you can come back and have a comfortable room, a shower and a good meal sitting at a table with other hunters and like-minded people.
More information at: MSNBC Travel

Surprising Shanghai
With its grandiose colonial buildings, ultramodern skyline and hyperkinetic downtown streets, Shanghai rarely fails to make one heck of a first impression. And while the city's glamor may eventually fade under the stress of traffic, crowding and pollution, there is more than enough here to keep a short-term visitor enthralled and entertained.
More information at: CNN Travel

A Guide to Dublin Pubs for Golfers (or Anyone Else)
You can't hit the golf courses near Dublin without visiting the pubs. It would be like going to Dublin and skipping St. Patrick's Cathedral or Christ Church, like going to Dublin without thoughts of James Joyce, the Easter Rising, the potato famine or the IRA in your head.
More information at: MSNBC Travel

Lots of Information on the Web to Plan Your Fall Birdwatching Trip
There's plenty of information on the Web to plan a trip anywhere in the country -- from the East Coast, where hundreds gather to watch hawks and other birds land on their way south, to the Pacific, where you can see sea birds and also migratory mammals making their annual trek.
More information at: CNN Travel

Dresden's 800th Birthday
There aren't many cities that deserve to celebrate a birthday as much as Dresden does. Nearly destroyed by Allied bombs in World War II, Dresden, a historic city on the Elbe River in eastern Germany, has reclaimed its splendor. Six decades after its devastation, Dresden is turning 800 this year with great fanfare and a newfound confidence that is evident from the city's rebuilt skyline to its rapidly evolving night life.
More information at: NY Times Travel

Walk the Coastline of Australia
Indigenous Australians and fishermen have been walking the coast forever, but last December, Parks Victoria made it official -- carving out a tidy 57-mile trail, adding clear signs and giving it an appropriately grand name: the Great Ocean Walk.
More information at: CNN Travel

Great Food in Lucca
Its food is among Italy's most compelling -- almost certainly the best in Tuscany. The difference between food in Lucca and the rest of the region is perhaps best epitomized by one of the town's most representative dishes, tortelli lucchese.
More information at: NY Times Travel

350 Miles of Ozark Trail
The trail, not nearly as famous or as long as the Appalachian Trail, nonetheless offers 350 miles of rugged, backwoods country through the biologically diverse Ozarks. The Ozarks' peaks lie at an altitude of just 1,200-1,800 feet, but they constitute the only significant highlands between the Appalachians and the Rockies.
More information at: CNN Travel

Spend a day in Madrid
It says something about the abiding appeal of Madrid that even after it suffered horrific terrorist attacks on its train system in March of 2004, visitors didn't take it off their lists. Instead, Madrid's tourism numbers remained steady, and Spain as a country continues to get more tourism -- from all parts of the world -- than any other country on the planet.
More information at: MSNBC Travel

Wine Bars in New York
NEW York City can lay claim neither to popularizing the modern wine bar (London) nor bringing it to America (San Francisco). And, for a time, the city was known more for its winos than its vinos. But the last 25 years have been good to wine lovers in New York, so feel free to be picky, even finicky, during your visit.
More information at: NY Times Travel

Adventures in Shopping: Bangkok
They're crowded, sticky and sweltering hot, but when it comes to bargain-hunting, Bangkok's markets are well worth the effort.
More information at: MSNBC Travel

Some Tips on Tipping
One of the most vexing aspects of traveling abroad is deciphering the tipping customs in a country: How much do you tip the waiter, the cab driver, the hotel porters and valets?
More information at: CNN Travel

Watch a Medieval-style Castle Being Built
Guedelon castle is about one-third finished, with imposing sandstone walls that rise up out of the red Burgundy soil. It's a living history lesson and a successful tourism project: Last year, 245,000 visitors admired the work of Guedelon's stonecutters, carpenters, potters, rope-makers and blacksmiths.
More information at: MSNBC Travel