Gare Du Nord Travel

One of the most popular places to visit when in Brazil is Rio de Janeiro. This city is known as the marvelous city and has one of the most beautiful settings in the world. It boasts beautiful beaches and breathtaking views.

While in Rio you can view the Christ the Redeemer statue which sits on top of Corcovado.

There are also a multitude of beaches that you can visit depending on your lifestyle. Rios main beaches include Arpoador, Barra da Tijuca, Botafogo, Flamengo, Leblon, Leme, Pepino and Vidigal.

Rio is also home to some wonderful museums, including the Museu Historico Nacional. However, the Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio De Janeiro houses Brazil’s most important collection of modern art. If you are interested in learning more about Brazillian history, be sure to visit the Museu da Republica.

Another great city is Sao Paulo. It is South America’s largest city with over 17 million residents and is Brazils financial, commercial and industrial heartland. As a tourist, you will not want to miss it’s famed nightlife or grand shopping opportunities.

Salvador da Bahia is the state capital and is split into upper and lower sections. This city is perfect for a long walking excursion because most of Salvador’s museum, palaces and churches are concentrated within Cidade Alta. This is also the place to find local craftsmanship finds. Head for the Mercado Modelo to find the best in Brazil, with a focus on rich African flavors. Salvador is known for being the center of Brazilian music and other great clubs and bars featuring live music of Brazil.

If you are interested in exploring underground lakes like Lago Azul and viewing spectacular waterfalls, be sure to visit the Diamantina National Park.

Travel to Northern Brazil and you can visit the Amazon River. You can also visit one of the world’s biggest and most spectacular falls located where Paraguay, Argentia and Brazil meet. If you are more interested in seeing some exotic wildlife be sure to visit the Pantanal Wetlands. The huge area extends into Bolivia and Paraguay.

A heavenly village nestled on the coast is Jericocoara. While there you can take in awesome views of a sparkling white sand-dune desert and a gorgeous turquoise sea.

Brazil ‘s capital, Brasilia, and does not have a lot to offer the tourist as the cities of Rio and Sao Paulo or the Northeast section of the country. However, there is some interesting architecture to see. A guided tour is recommended if you want to venture into the capital.

If you are lucky enough to visit Brazil anywhere from December to March you can participate in Bahia’s Carnival which is a lavish festival with memorable parties, music and great Latin American food. Carnival in Rio takes place in February/March. Local residents dress in lavish, colorful costumes and it is known as one of the biggest parties in the world to celebrate Lent.

Brazil has many other cultural things to offer than just beautiful beaches. Take a trip to Brazil to explore and learn about this rich country in South America.

The first step is to decide which areas you most want to visit and plan an itinerary. Then you can begin to decide on accommodations. A variety of choices are available from the more affordable hotels to the more expensive resorts. Information on hotels and other rentals can be found and reserved online.

Hotels and Dining

Bavaria is home to large cities such as Munich and many smaller resort towns as well. There is a range of vacation and accommodation opportunities around the state. Smaller resort towns, such as Prien, are smaller than Munich, but still offer plenty to do. Hotels, shops and restaurants are all in walking distance from the train station. The same is true for Munich.

In many resorts, bus services are offered to and from the resort to surrounding attractions. If you plan to stay in the resort and use the bus service, you may not need to rent a vehicle during your stay. If you want to branch out and explore more of the surrounding areas of the region, or if you just want the freedom to go on your own schedule, you may want to rent a car.

There are thousands of restaurants throughout Bavaria for dining. Schweinsbraten is a common food in most places. This is a pork roast with dumplings and gravy. Fresh fish, such as trout and salmon are common foods in the area and are served in most restaurants. Bavaria is home to many beer halls that serve traditional German cuisine with a variety of local beers.

Sightseeing in Bavaria

Bavaria is home to a few castles you can explore. These were built by King Ludwig II. The castle is ornate and resembles Versailles in Paris. The castle and surrounding gardens are open for touring. The areas around the Herrenchiemsee castle have plenty of activities, such as swimming, fishing, hiking, bicycling, boating and windsurfing.

Herrenchiemsee castle was intended to be a replica of Versailles. It has manicured gardens, elaborate decorations and a hall of mirrors. The original plan called for seventy rooms, but it was never finished. There are twenty rooms in the finished part of the castle. Ludwig was declared mentally unfit to rule and was removed from the throne before his plans could be carried out.

Bavarians Forest Zoo has over 300 native animals in natural surroundings. You will see elks, bison, water birds, birds of prey, owls, wild cats, deer, otters, badgers, cranes and fish in the zoo. A main focus is on protecting endangered species, research and preserving the natural habitat of the animals.

Bavaria is home to a wild west theme park. Pullman city is located just north of Munich and has a typical American wild west theme. The park features re-enactments of gun fights, Indians and stage coaches. The main street area is complete with plank sidewalks and clap board facades on replica buildings. It is reminiscent of western towns commonly seen in the movies and old western television series.

The park has activities like shooting galleries, music and rodeos. There are re-enactments of the American Civil War at the park. Guests are often seen dressed up in cowboy or Indian costumes, both adults and children. Lodging at the park includes hotels, log cabins and even teepees. This allows guests to experience the wild west all day in the park and at night as well.

If you’ve got a strong stomach and an adventurous spirit then Zorbing is the perfect adrenalin fuelling start to your day. Zorbing, or Sphering as it’s sometimes known, found its way to the UK from New Zealand, along with many other whacky sports like bungee jumping. Basically, you are harnessed into a giant inflatable plastic ball and sent shooting down a hill, reaching speeds of up to 30mph! You can also try “eclipse-sphereing” where the terrifying downhill run is done in complete darkness.

This is not for the faint hearted! Your hill-roll will last anything from 30 seconds to a minute, which doesn’t sound long, but when each second is packed with adrenalin fuelled heart stomping take your breath away sensations, it’s more than long enough to get your kicks!

So, hopefully your head has stopped spinning, and you’re back on your feet the right way up. It’s time for a spot of blindfold driving. Jeremy Clarkson eat your heart out! Teams shout instructions at the blindfolded driver of the sporty 4×4, who, despite being completely disorientated and confused must steer the vehicle safely round the course.

There’s a huge variety of action packed activities on offer here, so why not try some 4×4 off road-ing or the forest experience, where you’ll learn essential outdoor survival skills. If you fancy a fitness challenge, then have a go at smashing some time records on the Jungle Assault Course as you cover two acres of land attempting to negotiate rope ladders, scramble nets, walls, bridges and pools, to name a few. If you do well, a place on the Krypton Factor may well be yours!! Speed freaks and rally fans have to try the Rally Driving experience; after a tutorial from qualified instructors you’ll be let loose on the tracks in a full-specification Peugeot Rally Car.

Next, we’re heading to the countryside, for something a little calmer; but equally breathtaking. The stunning scenery of the Peak District is the setting for this adrenalin trip; but it’s not the hills or mountains, it’s the underground caves, caverns and mines that you’ll be exploring. You’ll be taken into a unique and totally different world, as you discover some incredible wonders of nature. This is an all day event, and you’re likely to get very wet, so don’t forget waterproof and dry clothing. And ladies, if you’re very lucky, you may even spot a leftover caveman looking for a new mate!

Being an island paradise with the ocean and reefs all around, every panorama is filled with the bright, sunlit water, startling in colour. Many people will opt to scuba dive during their Maldives holidays and find that the true beauty of this paradise is actually underwater.

With its gradually sloping sea beds, warm shallow waters, good visibility and reef-sheltered bays, the Maldives are a safe and easy location to be schooled in the use of Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (SCUBA). But as well as the practical concerns, the aesthetic effect of the tropical environment makes Maldives holidays great for learning to scuba dive. The sand of the beaches and the sea bed is formed from powdered coral, so it is fine and white, which means the shallows are illuminated by the intense sunshine, which easily penetrates the clear water.

There is something comforting about the shallow nursery pools where you will get accustomed to the equipment; they offer a more natural surrounding than the enclosure of a swimming pool. The first time you rest on the seabed, at a depth of perhaps as little as five metres, it is quite a sensation being able to settle without any urgency for breath. Once you have passed the tests to ensure you know the safety drills, your dive instructor will accompany you on dives further away from the island. This is when your Maldives diving holidays get really exciting: swimming farther out to deeper reefs and taking a boat out farther still, giving you the freedom to visit any number of reefs in the local area.

For more advanced or qualified divers, the Maldives can rival the best dives sites of the Red Sea or Great Barrier Reef. As well as turtles, guitar fish, reef sharks and eels, you might witness giant glimmering shoals of silver tuna in the distance, or the graceful silhouettes of manta rays. Your hotel and dive centre will offer a variety of dive sites so you can build an exciting schedule of diving for your Maldives holidays. Your itinerary might include some wreck dives or reefs beyond the protection of the atolls where the currents are stronger, or perhaps a visit to the area where the sea shelf drops off abruptly into the darkness of the Indian Ocean, giving you the opportunity to see even larger fish.

The fish are almost unavoidable on Maldives holidays: even knee deep in the gentle breakers, small translucent fish approach with curiosity. Often hotels will put out scraps, feeding the fish from the walkways or quays so that the residents can see the variety of life in the shallows. The reefs themselves which encircle the island atolls are home to innumerable species of tropical fish of yellows, purples, reds and greens, which move and feed among the reef. As you swim among them, you can hear the parrot fish gnawing on the coral.

With luck, by the end of your Maldives holidays, you will have earned a PADI Open Water Diver certification, which will allow you to participate in scuba diving worldwide on subsequent holidays. However, you will have to choose your next destination carefully; the visually stunning underwater world of the Maldives is a hard act to follow.