7 Ways to Travel the World from Your Home
Amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have now been isolated into our homes. Working from home can be hard to adapt into, especially if you have small children…
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Amid the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic, many of us have now been isolated into our homes. Working from home can be hard to adapt into, especially if you have small children…
Aubrey Beardsley, a major new exhibition of over 200 works celebrating the artist’s brief but astonishing career opens 4 March at Tate Britain London. This will be the first exhibition…
Former AsiaLIFE Cambodia Managing Editor, Marissa Carruthers provides some insight into five of the more interesting things to do in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from sampling the local food to exploring…
From the CN Tower to watching the Maple Leafs or visiting the largest museum in Canada, there is a myriad of things to do in Toronto, writes Jonathan Hiltz. To…
The Jack in the Green Festival takes place in the Sussex coastal town of Hastings – 1066 and all that – traditionally over the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. A festival steeped in English folklore…
Nick Knight has worked with the likes of Alexander McQueen and John Galiano. The visionary photographer has directed videos for Tom Ford, Lady Gaga and Kanye West…
The longest day of the year in the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is a time when the days really get long and the nights are short. There is no better time of the year to celebrate…
We’ve all heard of St Patrick’s Day, but how many of you know of St David’s Day? The much neglected patron saint of the principality of Wales is celebrated on 1 March each year…
As ultimate travel experiences go, a voyage to Egypt ranks right up there with the best, but as Mark Bibby Jackson writes, a Nile Cruise on the SS Sudan ship…
Mark Bibby Jackson visits the beautiful medieval city of Kortrijk in Flanders to discover a place rich in history, with a wonderful cuisine and excellent spa. One of the great…
The largest winter festival in Western Canada, the Festival du Voyageur, or “Festival of the Traveller” for the non-Francophones out there, is a celebration of all things wintry. Held every February…
The Pasifika Festival NZ is the biggest festival to celebrate the cultures of the South Pacific. It is held in Auckland New Zealand in March. The Pasifika Festival attracts around 60,000 visitors, has over…
The world is getting smaller so they say with less new places to explore. Think again. Espousing the philosophy of undertourism, Travel Begins at 40 suggests alternatives places to visit…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise visit Newmarket races in Suffolk and take in the Jockey Club Newmarket, finding it a fascinating excursion. It was easy to fall for Lyrical. A…
Dance like nobody is watching – well, there’s little chance of that happening in today’s modern world with Instagram and selfie sticks. There are thousands of cultural dance festivals around…
Coral Glennie reviews Oliver Green’s loving account of the story of the London Underground, or Tube as it is referred to by Londoners. You don’t have to be a railway…
The Cape Town Minstrel Carnival, or Kaapse Klopse, is a festival held on 2 January each year, but in 2020 it is on 4 January. Also known as the Tweede Nuwe Jaar (or Second New Year…
In the second of this two-part series featuring his favourite Bangkok attractions, Johan Smits leads us off the tourist trail to five nostalgic gems. Bangkok Attractions: Scala Cinema Remember the…
The Berlin International Film Festival, also known as the Berlinale, takes place every year and is one of the most important and most visited film festivals on the planet with films screened from all…
After hiking in the Jungfrau Switzerland, Mark Bibby Jackson discovers some of the cultural things to do in Lausanne Switzerland, including a most wonderful platform for the arts. There is…
In the first of this two-part series on things to do in Bangkok, Johan Smits brings us to seven of his favourite creative and green spots that Bangkok is hiding…
Roger Hermiston and Eileen Wise swap the land of Constable for that of Wordsworth and embark on a voyage of gastronomic delights on their Lake District Holiday. It was at…
After visiting the capital Dhaka and taking a voyage to the Sundarbans mangrove forest, Johan Smits continues his Bangladesh travel by road, river and rail, encountering ancient relics and huge…
One of the Big Apple’s most popular events, NYC Broadway Week, takes place in late January to early February coinciding with a plethora of other offers, making New York much…
For many an appreciation of the culture of the country or community that you visit on your holidays is a major part of the travelling experience, especially for the more mature traveller.
Whether you are taking a short city break to Amsterdam or Paris, or going on a longer trip to a distant and exciting land, your experience is enriched by an appreciation of the local culture.
Ideally, time your trip to coincide with a major festival. At Travel Begins at 40 we have a whole section devoted to some of the most colourful and spectacular festivals from around the world. So whether it is the whirling dervishes of Konya, Nagaland’s Hornbill Festival, the Tsagaan Sar in Mongolia or Benin’s Voodoo Festival that tickles your cultural fancy, let us guide your way.
Visiting an unfamiliar country can lead to a bit of a cultural shock, but don’t let this put you off making that special journey. Often it is when we leave our comfort zone that we reap most rewards.
Not that we always have to travel that far to have a rich and rewarding cultural experience. Hull is the current city of culture in the UK, and a trip there can be a surprisingly rewarding experience. Enjoy it.