Singapore is one of the popular cities in the world with a cosmopolitan culture and an example of peaceful co-existence of people from highly divergent ethnic origins. It is a multi-racial, multi-religious country. Singapore is the only country in entire Asia to have English as the first language, along with Chinese, Malay and Tamil languages predominant among the population. Singapore is among the richest countries in Asia, the others being Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Brunei, Hong Kong and Macau.

Singapore has been rated as the tenth most expensive in the world for living and is in the third place in terms of living costs in Asia after Tokyo and Osaka. As such, a weekend break in Singapore must be planned properly to suit your particular budget. In spite of its high cost of living, Singapore possesses accommodations of various types that allow all categories of tourists to visit Singapore without putting a big strain on their purses.

Singapore contains 63 islands, apart from the mainland of Singapore. The climate of Singapore is classified as tropical rainforest. Singapore possesses an even, pleasant climate throughout the year, with the maximum and minimum temperatures recorded being 35.8^oC and 19.4^oC. Nearly one-fourth of the land area of Singapore consists of natural reserves and forests. The Bukit Timah Nature Reserve and Singapore Botanic Gardens are the most favourite tourist spots. Estimates show that more than 10 million tourists visited Singapore during 2007.

When you plan for a weekend break in Singapore, you should include the Orchard Road district in this small country. This district is famous for its shopping facilities and is a popular tourist draw. The government had legalised gambling and two casino resorts had come up at Sentosa and Marina South. Hence, you can enjoy various gambling games in Singapore without any hassle. Sentosa has been exclusively developed as a holiday resort island. Themed attractions like Waterworks, iSPACE, Underwater World, New Ming Village, Wild Wild Wet and Science Centre Singapore are places that must be visited by every tourist.

The major attractions of Singapore are the Merlion Park, Singapore Flyer, Cable Car, Tiger Sky Tower, eXploreKid Family Park, Haw Par Villa, Singapore City Gallery, Sentosa CineBlast and Sentosa 4D Magix. The other important tourism spots that can be visited during a weekend break in Singapore are the Asian Civilisation Museum, Escape Theme Park, Jurong Bird Park, Kent Ridge Park, Singapore Zoo and Pulau Ubin. If you have a free night, you can go to the Night Safari, a wildlife park which is viewed at night.

If you are a food lover, then the July Singapore Food Festival that displays the variety in Singapore cuisine should never be missed. The Singapore cuisine is a blend of various ethnic origins that include Chinese, Malay, Indian, Tamilian, Thai and continental food varieties. The varied food items can be enjoyed not only in hotels and restaurants but also in pavement stalls that are quite delicious and cheap. The local hawker centres of Singapore present seafood items like crabs, oysters, squid, crab and clams, apart from halal food items like Hainanese chicken. The popular local dishes available in the hawker centres are mee pok, satay, sambal stingray, bak chor mee and laksa.

Venice is known as a romantic and aesthetically beautiful city in the world, with its several waterways and narrow alleys. It is called by several pet names, such as ‘City of Canals’, ‘City of Bridges’, ‘City of Water’ and ‘Queen of the Adriatic’. It is said that the city of Venice is slowly sinking and visiting it as early as possible is one of the best decisions. Venice is an ideal place to spend a weekend break. The city had been built on an archipelago containing 117 islands. They are criss-crossed by 177 canals surrounded by a shallow lagoon. There are about 455 bridges to connect the various parts of the city between these canals.

Due to the large number of visitors to this famous city in Italy, it is better to avoid places that are thronged by tourists heavily, such as St. Mark’s Campanile. Several quite tourist spots such as San Giorgio Maggiore and calm districts with native Venetian residents like Castello and Cannaregio are ideal to spend a relaxing weekend. Other major attractions of Venice are the St. Mark’s Basilica, the Piazza San Marco and the Lido di Venezia. The last one is visited by thousands of film industry people such as actors, celebrities and critics.

If you desire to mingle with the locals in a party atmosphere, then the smart but tiny bars near the fish market on the San Polo area of the Rialto Bridge is the best place. However, the local laws of Venice City do not allow bars to remain open throughout the night. If you wish to spend the entire night drinking and dancing, you will have to head to the industrial town of Mestre situated on the mainland.

The Alberoni beach lying on the southern tip of the Lido, with forests in the background, is one of the most scenic spots you can find anywhere in the world. Naturists abound in this beach and weekends are usually quite crowded. In Venice, you can enjoy your breakfasts in the Campo San Luca area south of the Rialto Bridge. Lunch-breaks with wine, known as ‘ombra’, and the famous local dish, cicchetti, must be in Calle dei Do Mori area. You can taste the delicious toasted sandwiches in the middle of the night in the bars and small restaurants near the Rialto Bridge. Most of them are open up to 2-00 am.

For a leisurely weekend day, you can take a river boat or vaporetto around the Laguna and visit the rustic but quiet island of Torcello. You can also take a train ride to view the spectacular buildings of Palladio, the most famous among them being the Teatro Olimpico. If you like walking around, then a guided walking tour is ideal. You can admire the famous squares, the narrow streets and the numerous bridges of Venice at a slow pace. The cobblestone alleyways are among the best picturesque spots in the world.

During the weekend, you should not miss the gondola ride. The 35-minute ride along the Grand Canal to the Rialto Bridge will allow you to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of this enchanting and romantic city. The Rialto Bridge was the first bridge built across the Grand Canal. The guided walking tour and the gondola ride are offered by many travel agencies for about $50 to $60 a day per person.

Hawaii is an ideal place for relaxing weekend breaks, though you might miss several important sights in such a short trip. The Polynesian culture of Hawaii itself is a major attraction, with warm welcome by simple and honest people, who mix with tourists without any complexes. Some of the interesting weekend breaks in Hawaii are provided here that are not normally visited by the average tourists who limit themselves to the beaches and water sports.

Picture by speedphotos

The first interesting spot that you should visit during a weekend break in Hawaii is the Haleakala Mountain in Maui. It is one of the largest mountains on earth. Though the height of the mountain is only 3,000 feet above the sea, it extends up to another 20,000 feet under the sea in the water. The park surrounding the volcanic area of the mountain spreads for more than 27,000 acres. When you reach the top of the dormant volcano, you will be surprised at the hollowness inside that goes to about 3,000 feet deep. Further, the crater is 7 miles long and 2 miles wide. The sheer enormity of the crater of the volcano takes your breath away and many tourists claim that witnessing the volcanic crater has been one of the most powerful and electrifying experience in their entire lives.

Picture taken by antigone78

Another similar tourist spot with a difference is the Waimea Canyon on Kauai. This canyon was termed as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific by Mark Twain. The canyon is 10 miles long, 1 mile wide and the depth of the canyon is more than 3,600 feet. The light and shadow playing on the colourfully striated rock layers during the daytime is an extraordinary and out-of-the-world sight. The spectacular view leaves all the visitors speechless and wonder at the immensity of nature.

Photo by mnapoleon

One of the best ways of unwinding from the city-accumulated stress is to relax at the gold courses in Hawaii. The golf architects have created more than 80 golf courses with enchanting topography, flowering vegetation and lush green fairways on 6 idyllic Hawaiian islands, such as Kauai, Maui, Oahu and Big Island. The golf courses range from sandy beaches to coral sea cliffs and upcountry rainforests. The constant backdrop of the Pacific Ocean for all these golf courses must be seen to be believed.

If you love to shop and particularly interested in Polynesian artefacts, then you should never miss the shopping area of Waikiki. The entire place is full of elegant art galleries, individual artists’ studios, quaint shops and giant shopping centres. The unique items include custom jewellery, handcrafted artefacts and gifts made of wood, glass, fabric and ceramic, tropical flowers, surfboards, exclusive Hawaiian furniture, music CDs of Polynesian music by local musicians, macadamia nut cookies and T shirts dyed with that special red dirt of Hawaii.

The last item in the agenda of weekend break in Hawaii is the cuisine. The variety that you find in Hawaii is due to the various cultures that have blended here seamlessly. You will be delighted to taste the fresh and flavourful fruits, herbs, vegetables and seafood prepared by innovative chefs trained in the art of Chinese, Korean, Japanese, American and European cuisine. At the end, you will be repeating the Hawaiian word ‘ono’ meaning delicious several times involuntarily even during your short weekend break. You will come back to Hawaii repeatedly for more.

Acapulco is a major sea port in Mexico on the Pacific coast, situated about 300 km southwest of the capital, Mexico City. Acapulco is one of the world-famous beach resorts, visited by all types of people that include normal tourists, adventure sports lovers, weekend holiday seekers, millionaires, Hollywood starts, and other celebrities. The deep, semi-circular bay of Acapulco had converted it into a major port from the colonial period of the country’s history. Even today, it is an important port of call for ships and cruise liners that operate between San Francisco and Panama. Acapulco is an ideal place for weekend breaks, offering a wide variety of tourist entertainment diversions. Some of the major weekend break leisure activities are presented here.

Beach Entertainments in Acapulco

The long stretch of the Pacific coast offers several enchanting beaches. In the main bay, the beaches of La Angosta, Dominguillo, Homos, Honda, Caleta, Condesa, Icacos, Playuela, Tamarindo, etc. offer lot of opportunities for the weekend travelers and regular tourists to relax in a variety of ways. The other various beaches and bays around Acapulco and the islands surrounding it also provide a variety of weekend break activities.

The visitors indulge in sunbathing, horseback riding, boat tours, yacht hire, scuba diving, snorkeling, deep sea fishing, surfboarding, sailing and other water sports. The calm waters of the bay area of Acapulco allow scuba divers to inspect and enjoy sea mountains, sunken ships, cave rock formations, coral formations, and a wide variety of marine species such as whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, etc. Several scuba equipment providers in Acapulco tender excellent support to scuba divers with high quality equipment to reduce risk in deep sea diving. Cliff diving and bungee jumping are the other popular but slightly risky sports activities in Acapulco.

San Diego Fort

The historic building in Acapulco is the San Diego Fort, built originally in 1616 and situated near the main square. It was destroyed in the middle of the seventeenth century by the Dutch and was brought down again by an earthquake after it was rebuilt. The fort was built back in 1783 and the moats, the 5 bulwarks and the battlements still remain. At present, the San Diego Fort houses the Acapulco Historical Museum that displays the history of the port from the pre-Hispanic period up to its independence, apart from several temporary exhibits.

Great Bars, Restaurants and Night Life

Acapulco is renowned for its night life for the last several decades. The high-rise hotels have dance clubs, poolside cocktail bars, traditional bars and informal lobby bars. Many of these bars provide free live entertainment. The beach bar zone along the Costera Road facing the ocean attracts the younger crowds, mainly due to its alternate rock. Most of the bars in the zone are located between the Continental Plaza Hotels and the Fiesta Americana. The dress code is informal and they open in early evening. However, many of the night clubs open only after 11 pm and continue until early morning hours. This exceptional night life enjoyment attracts thousands of weekend break tourists to Acapulco.

When you plan to spend a weekend in Paris, it is not an easy task, not because of lack of facilities, but due to the too many tourist attractions and travel related activities that abound in this charming cultural capital of the world. Very few people are unaware of the famous landmarks of Paris, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, the Musee d’Orsay, the Champs-Elysees, the Place de la Bastille, the Louvre, and the Arc de Triomphe. However, the attractions of Paris do not end with these major tourist spots. Some of the famous fashion, haute couture or high dressmaking and luxury brands of the world had originated from Paris.

Charles Frederick Worth in the nineteenth century is considered the father of haute couture. Born as an Englishman, he established himself as a leader in the French Fashion Industry. This led to the development of several designer dress houses in Paris. Yves Saint Laurent is termed as the first person to popularize the culture of haute couture to the world. Other reputed names like Pierre Cardin, Louis Vitton or LVMH, Frank Sorbier, Jean Paul Gaultier, Chanel, Christian Lacroix and Christian Dior followed suit. The fashion shows conducted in Paris on a regular basis display the creations of these designers, as well as the haute couture collection of dress designers from other parts of the world. Hence, shopping for fashionable dress is one of the topmost priorities in any weekend break in Paris.

Paris is also famous for the various large opera houses such as Opera Garnier and Opera Bastille. Opera Garnier organises classic operas and ballets, while Opera Bastille conducts programmes that are a mix of classic and modern opera performances. Concerts, indie music and rock music are provided by the Elysees-Montmartre, the New Morning, La Villette and the Le Zenith hall. French cinema had given birth to some top-notch film directors like Jean-Luc Goddard, Francois Truffaut, Claude Lelouch, Luc Besson, and Claude Chabrol.

The main attractions of Paris draw millions of people from all over the world. The Louvre is the most visited museum in the world with an average of more than 8 million visitors every year. The Louvre houses the world-famous Mona Lisa and the statue of Venus de Milo. It is estimated that the Notre Dame de Paris is seen by about 12 million people a year. The Basilique du Sacre-Coeur and the Eiffel Tower receive about 8 million and 6 million visitors respectively every year. Excelling all these attractions is the Disneyland Paris, recording 14.5 millions tourists from France and other foreign countries visiting it in 2007.

People interested in nightlife throng the Moulin Rouge cabaret dancehall for its staged dance display dinner theatre spectacle. The Parisian cuisine had its origins in the ancient French culture but had become highly diversified today due to the immigration of people not only from different regions of France but also from other distance countries like Spain, the United States, China, Japan, Thailand, India, Mexico, etc. The various roadside bistros, the restaurants and bars of Paris are a treat to gourmets and connoisseurs of food and beverages. In Paris, you are most likely to find out that your weekend break is over even before you had really started. This will force you to visit Paris frequently.

New York City and its attractions are so vast that a weekend break might never be enough to enjoy all the delights that this city offers for tourists. New York is often referred to as the Big Apple and it is said that one bit of it is never enough. Still, it is possible to visit the most important sites and attend to the major programs and events during a weekend, if the planning is done in a proper manner.

For a new visitor to New York, the city might appear like a film that had been put on fast forward, with the speeding yellow cabs, the hurrying pedestrians, the unending vehicular traffic, etc. You might even feel like a total stranger in a new, mysterious land. That is the effect of this economic capital of the world on you. Still, you need not lose heart. You can easily identify yourself with the city and its landmarks, once you start remembering all the movies and TV series that had been based on life in New York. In fact, Manhattan is one of the maximum features places in movies and TV shows.

The weekend break of New York can start with visits to the most famous landmarks of the city, the Statue of Liberty and the Empire State Building. When you had seen and appreciated these two popular sites, the time to enjoy the individuality of New York begins. You can stare at the glittering, giant-sized neon signs of the Times Square in awe. Next in line are the fashion houses situated on the Fifth Avenue. Follow it up with a visit to the concrete canyons that exist in Wall Street, the economic epicentre of the globe. You can even indulge yourself with munching popcorn sold by the roadside carts that are manned by loud-mouthed vendors.

After covering these glamorous spots, you can take a diversion to the cool neighbourhoods of Chelsea, Soho and Greenwich Village. Cocktail lounges, cafes, upscale boutiques invite you to empty your purse. This is where you have to be careful and spend within your budget. Further, the sheer mind-boggling variety of food available in New York is likely to astound you. It is believed that New York has got more than 20,000 eateries and you can gain a few kilograms of weight in one weekend, if you are not watchful and control the tickling of your tongue-buds. The eateries include cheap hotdog stands on roadsides, oyster bars, smart bistros, classic and traditional American diners and high-priced star-rated restaurants. They are supplemented by seafood bars, burger joints and ethnic-centred eateries that offer you Mexican, Chinese, Continental, Indian, Japanese, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Thai, Malaysian and delicacies of several other countries and regions.

The nightlife of New York is one of the most exciting. You can pound the dance floor the entire night in this city that presented disco dancing to the world. The neighbourhoods near Broadway like Chelsea or Greenwich Village or areas such as East Village or Harlem dish out all types of music such as punk, rock, metal, jazz, etc. at ear-shattering decibels. The theatres of Broadway provide unlimited enjoyment with comedy shows, ballets, operas, concerts, dramas, etc. Once you had tasted the life of New York during a weekend, you are going to keep coming back for more and more.

Leeds is legendary for its nightlife. From cheesy nighclubs like Oceania to funky house in Northern Light. Call Lane is a street steaming full of cool bars. If you want a night out on the cheap head to the student district of Headingley.

Art & Culture:

If you are not too hung over head to the City Art Gallery, here you will find some of the top UK art colletions or if you want to enjoy art in the outdoors try the Yorkshire Sculpture Park. The Royal Armouries Museum is really top class and worth a visit. Here you can practice some crossbow amongst other things  – and the best thing about it is that it’s free. If you like castle Leeds has what has been acclaimed as the most romantic castle in England.

Leeds Castle by Gailf548

Need To Know:

When to go: Anytime of the year is good but summer is probably best as winters can be rather wet.

Getting there: From London King’s Cross there is a direct train or you can go on National Express bus that leaves from Victoria.

Getting Around: By foot in the city centre and anywhere else by bus.

Going Out: 1 Pint costs about £3

Accommodation: Compare 100′s of Hotels in Leeds

If you are living in the UK The Cotswolds offers a wonderful weekend break. The atmosphere is serene with limestone villages in a rural setting. The valentines period is always popular so you might just be in time to find a last minute hotel deal in the Spa town of Cheltenham.

Shoud you decide to stay in Cheltenham do make sure you also visit beautiful villages such as Snowshill and Painswick nestle in the Cotswold Hills, which sure to delight any visitor any time of the year. One that really struck me on my visit was Snowshill, this village known for its exceptional unspoilt beauty and for the views over the Severn Vale to the west.

Snowshill Manor by Andrew

If you are too late for Valntines don’t let that put you off a whole year, it’s never too late  – weekend breaks in the Cotswolds are memorable whatever the occasion.

There are several annual festival & events ranging from Jazz Festivals in April, Cheese rolling in May to Stroud food Festival in September. For a full list of festivals visit http://www.cotswolds.com/site/whats-on/festivals-and-events

I reccomend exploring by car as this allows you to explore neighbouring cities like Bath, oxford and Stratford.

However if you just want to relax without running around the train is a good option too. Gloucestershire & the Cotswolds are at the heart of the British Rail network with main trains to the Cotswolds from London, the Midlands and the North and the South West of England. There is a direct link from Heathrow Airport. Trains from London depart from Paddington Station and have a fastest journey time of 1hr 40 minutes to Gloucester and 2 hours to Cheltenham. There is a direct link from Birmingham Airport with a fastest journey time of 1hr 15 minutes to Cheltenham and 1 hr 30 minutes to Gloucester.

For detailed rail information and prices please look at the following sites:
www.nationalrail.co.uk or www.thetrainline.com

If you are travelling from overseas for a few days break the easiest airport for travelling to the Cotswolds is Birmingham, a 1 hour drive away. Of the two London airports, the region is best accessed from Heathrow. The 65 mile drive should not take more than 90 minutes. Gatwick airport is 2 hours drive away. Gloucestershire Airport is just 10 minutes from the centre of the beautiful Regency town of Cheltenham Spa and the Roman city of Gloucester.

The River Dove flowing through Dovedale in the Peak District National Park (U.K.)

The peak district in the UK makes for a perfect choice and setting for a weekend break. Throw yourself into a weekend of rock and water based activities in the Peak District. The area offers a unique opportunity to try rock climbing, abseiling mine-exploration orieteering across some the uk most striking landscape.

Whether its down a small rock face or the Miller’s Tale Viaduct, instructors can teach you each discipline from begginer level upwards, or you may choose to put your trust in your least reliable mate with a day of orienteering.

Peak District Cave

Explore the spectacular cave systems in the heart of the peak district national park, which is home to huge caverns of stalactites and underground waterfalls. Much of the mine exploration is centred in Derbyshire, where old workings – such as the Blue John Cavern – can be investigated Castelton Caverns.

Better still, combine a day climbing white knuckledup a rock face with a day white water rafting in a Canadian style canoe.