The archipelago enjoys a superb climate, making it a favorite in summer, when tourists flock to the island’s main towns to enjoy the vibrant nightlife and gorgeous scenery.

Santorini has a Mediterranean climate with warm and dry summer days and mild but somewhat wetter winters. Summers from June to September see daytime temperatures between 26 °C and 30 °C and nights of 20 °C or a little more. December to February is wintertime with temperatures usually around the 15 °C mark and nights about 5 °C cooler. Most of the rain falls from November to February, summers are almost completely dry.

Summers from June to September see daytime temperatures between
26 °C and 30 °C.

Santorini (Thira) National Airport (JTR) offers a range of flights. Thomas Cook Airlines and Thomson Airways fly to/from London, Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham, while Easyjet flies to/from London as well. Air Berlin flies to/from Nuremberg and several other airlines serve Brussels, Oslo, Athens, Thessaloniki, Rhodes, Crete, Mykonos, Milan, Vienna, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich and Stuttgart. Note that some of the charter and low-cost airlines only fly during the summer period (April-October).

There are at least four boats daily to Naxos (three hours), Paros (three to four hours), Ios (1¼ hours) and Piraeus (nine hours) and two boats a week to Tinos (five hours), Kythnos (eight hours) and Folegandros (1½ to 2½ hours). Change at Naxos for Amorgos. Seven boats weekly go to Anafi (one hour), Sifnos (7¾ hours), Sikinos (2½ hours), Heraklion on Crete (4½ hours) and Skiathos (18½ hours).

The post Santorini appeared first on Prime Living.

Sights in San Diego

Balboa Park

Balboa Park – Balboa Park is America’s largest urban cultural park. It contains a large number of museums, performing arts venues, gardens and horticultural institutions and attractions (including the famous San Diego Zoo). There’s something for everyone at Balboa Park. Some highlights in the park include Mingei International Museum,

There is so much to see and do here.

Reuben H Fleet Science Center, San Diego Natural History Museum, The Old Globe Theater, San Diego Zoo, United Nations Building, Japanese Friendship Garden and Botanical Building with Lily Pond. There is so much to see and do here that you could easily spend your entire visit to the city just at Balboa Park. Address: 1549 El Prado, Phone: (619) 239-0512, Hours: Grounds are open 24 hours a day. Individual attractions have their own operating hours. edit

San Diego Zoo

San Diego Zoo – The world-famous San Diego Zoo is divided into two parks; one located in Balboa Park is a traditional Zoo, and the other is a Wild Animal Park located north of the city. Expect to spend a full day exploring the zoo. The entire San Diego zoo accommodates more than 4,000 creatures ranging from giant pandas, kangaroos, and gorillas all housed in natural environments. Address: 2920 Zoo Drive, Phone: (619) 231-1515, Hours: Open from 9am, every day of the year. Closing hours vary between 5pm and 9pm depending on the time of the year., Price: Adults: $42. Children: $32 (aged 3-11). edit

Other Sights and Activities

Sea World is home to the famous killer whale named Shamu and several other stunning marine animals. Watch the acrobatic skills of Shamu and her buddies. There are various exciting and spine-tingling rides too like Journey to Atlantis, Shipwreck Rapids, and many more. Located at 500 Sea World Drive. Phone: (619) 226-3900.

If you are a history lover then head to Old Town. This is considered the birthplace of California and was the site of the state’s first permanent Spanish settlement. It is now home to a selection of historic buildings and a lot of Mexican restaurants and shops. It may feel a little gimmicky at times, but it is a fun outing and an enjoyable part of the city. Great place to have some lunch while enjoying the mariachi players strumming the sounds of Mexican music.

The post Imperial Beach appeared first on Prime Living.

London is a legacy of their colonialist past and a great contributor to its vibrant culture today: according to the 2001 census, over a quarter of the population of London was born outside the United Kingdom. Home to Big Ben, the Queen of the United Kingdom, the Tower of London, Piccadilly Circus, Buckingham Palace and fish and chips in your local, London provides days of distraction for the first time tourist. For return visitors, London’s size and diversity offer something new to see on every trip. The city is the biggest in the UK and one of the biggest metropolitan regions in Europe with almost 14 million inhabitants.

London consists of the City of London, 32 boroughs and two liberties, which are informally divided into the following sub-regions.

How, you may be wondering, can there be a City of London within London itself? Because the modern municipality – the Greater London Authority – does not govern the actual City of London.

The City of London itself is located on the north bank of the Thames.

The City of London itself is located on the north bank of the Thames in the eastern part of the modern city center. This was the Roman city of Londinium, and in its modern incarnation it is the world’s largest international financial center. It is a separate Ceremonial County from the Greater London and occupies a square mile, in comparison to the 609 square miles (approximately 1,500 square kilometers) of Greater London. Its cathedral is St Paul’s.

Central London, like any other city center in the world, is the place where the hive of activities and sights are concentrated. There is no official definition for the Central London boundary. Colloquially, Londoners refer Central London as the Zone 1 of the city’s public transportation fare zoning system. Zone 1 covers the City of London; part of the boroughs of Camden, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, and Tower Hamlets; and the City of Westminster.

The only borough with a city status within Greater London is the City of Westminster, a couple of miles upstream adjacent to the west of the City of London. This is the seat of government, and its protestant cathedral is the church of St Peter’s, otherwise known as Westminster Abbey.

West London is the area on the west side of London, on the north bank of the River Thames. The boroughs in this unofficial sub-division are Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon, Hounslow, and Kensington and Chelsea.

The London boroughs of Barnet, Camden, Enfield, Haringey and Islington are located in the area known as North London.

The north eastern part of London – the east of the north bank of the River Thames – is commonly referred to as East London. The boroughs in East London are Barking and Dagenham, Hackney, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest. The Summer Olympics in 2012 will be held on this side of the city.

South East London, the eastern half of the south bank of the River Thames in London, is occupied by the boroughs of Bexley, Bromley, Greenwich, Lewisham and Southwark.

Popular attractions in the south-east.

Popular attractions in the south east include the Cutty Sark, Maritime Museum and the Royal Observatory, home of 0° longitude, the Prime Meridian.

South West London is the western half of the south bank of the River Thames in London. The boroughs in this part of London are Croydon, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Merton, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton and Wandsworth.

The post London appeared first on Prime Living.

Skyscrapers are packed into a relatively small skyline on Hong Kong Island, as the fast-paced lives of business people tick away at ground level. Hong Kong retains its culture in rather remarkable fashion, with traditional street vendors occupying alleyways between said skyscrapers, floating restaurants operating in the harbor, or fishing families recalling Hong Kong’s origins as a fishing village. These emblems of Chinese culture are all but invisible from the heights of Victoria Peak; but the breathtaking spectacle of Hong Kong’s skyline, harbour and outer islands leaves no room for disappointment.

Uman settlement in the area now known as Hong Kong dates back to the late Paleolithic and early Neolithic era. The area’s earliest recorded European visitor was Jorge Álvares, a Portuguese explorer who arrived in 1513.

In 1839 the refusal by Qing Dynasty authorities to import opium resulted in the First Opium War between China and Great Britain. Hong Kong Island became occupied by British forces in 1841, and was formally ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Nanking at the end of the war. The British established a crown colony with the founding of Victoria City the following year. In 1860, after China’s defeat in the Second Opium War, the Kowloon Peninsula and Stonecutter’s Island were ceded to Britain under the Convention of Peking.

In 1898, under the terms of the Convention for the Extension of Hong Kong Territory, Britain obtained a 99-year lease of Lantau Island and the adjacent northern lands, which became known as the New Territories. Hong Kong’s territory has remained unchanged to the present. During the first half of the 20th century, Hong Kong was a free port of the British Empire.

Hong Kong was a free port of the British Empire.

Japan invaded Hong Kong on 8 December 1941 in the Second World War. The Battle of Hong Kong ended with British and Canadian defenders surrendering to Japan on 25 December. During the occupation, civilians suffered starvation, rationing, and hyper-inflation Hong Kong lost more than half of its population in the war. In 1945 Great Britain regained control of the colony. Hong Kong’s population recovered quickly as a wave of migrants from China arrived for refuge from the ongoing Chinese Civil War. When the People’s Republic of China was proclaimed in 1949, more migrants fled to Hong Kong in fear of persecution by the Communist Party. Besides the influx of immigrants there was also a flow of businesses mainly from Shanghai and Guangzhou that moved to Hong Kong.

Hong Kong rapidly industrialised, with its economy becoming driven by exports, and living standards rising steadily. The construction of Shek Kip Mei Estate in 1953 marked the beginning of the public housing estate programme, designed to cope with the huge influx of immigrants. Trade in Hong Kong accelerated even further when Shenzhen, immediately north of Hong Kong, became a special economic zone of China, and established Hong Kong as the main source of foreign investment to China. During the 1980’s China took over the role of Hong Kong as a heaven for lowcost labour, and Hong Kong’s economy became based on services.

In 1983, Hong Kong was reclassified from a British crown colony to a dependent territory.

In 1983, Hong Kong was reclassified from a British crown colony to a dependent territory. However with the lease of the New Territories due to expire within two decades, the governments of Britain and China were already discussing the issue of Hong Kong’s sovereignty. In 1984 the two countries signed the Sino-British Joint Declaration, agreeing to transfer sovereignty to the People’s Republic of China in 1997, and stipulating that Hong Kong would be governed as a special administrative region, retaining its laws and a high degree of autonomy for at least fifty years after the transfer. The Hong Kong Basic Law, which would serve as the constitutional document after the transfer, was ratified in 1990, and the transfer of sovereignty occurred at midnight on 1 July 1997.

The post Hong Kong appeared first on Prime Living.

Barcelona saw the rise and fall of the Visigoths, Moors and Franks, eventually becoming a part of Castile in 1714. Franko’s authoritarian dictatorship in the 20th century restrained Barcelona’s potential, but the last few decades have witnessed the evolution of Barcelona into a vibrant and modern city. Barcelona is a major center of business, design and fashion, and its rich history has gifted it with countless pieces of the finest architecture, some of which are now included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Barcelona is a vibrant city with a never ending list of things to do; from nightclubs to tours of the Old Town and its pubs, to family-orientated fun-parks, museums, windsurf lessons and more. Art and architecture are a major draw card for the city, in particular the stunning works of Barcelona’s most famous architectural son – Antoni Gaudi.

Barcelona is listed number one in the top 10 list of beach cities

Barcelona is listed number one in the top 10 list of beach cities, according to National Geographic. Barcelona has no less than seven beaches, total of 4.5 kilometers. Sant Sebastià and Barceloneta beaches are the most popular ones and also the biggest at around 1,100 meters in length. These two beaches are separated by The Olympic Port from the five other city beaches: Nova Icària, Bogatell, Mar Bella, Nova Mar Bella and Llevant. These beaches average around 500 meters and were opened as a result of the city restructuring to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. Barceloneta Beach was voted in 2005 as the best urban beach in the world and the third best beach overall, according to the docu-film “Worlds Best Beaches” by Discovery Channel.

It’s located in the Barceloneta neighborhood, also famous for its many restaurants and nightclubs along the boardwalk. But these beaches are overcrowded. If what you want is sunbathe, take a bath and enjoy your holidays more quietly, you have to go to the beaches placed on the outskirts of Barcelona. These beaches are Sitges, Vilanova and Calafell in the southern part of Barcelona, and Blanes to the north. It doesn’t take too much time to get there, and you can go by train or by car (if you don’t have one, you can rent it). Avoid the busier months of July and August if you can though, also here.

The post Barcelona appeared first on Prime Living.

Located along the northern Californian coastline, the weather here can be a little less sunny and generally colder compared to the southern parts. September and October are considered the most reliable months for a visit. Famous for the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz, San Francisco will occupy you for at least a few days, but its friendly atmosphere and diverse suburbs will probably keep you longer than you intended to.

San Francisco is awash in fun activities for practically everybody. Events and happenings in everybody’s favorite city are always changing. The local visitors’ bureau has a really good events calendar, with information about what’s currently going on in town. Alternatively, try the Fisherman’s Wharf website for a list of everything happening at the city’s most popular tourist attraction.

Don’t forget to check on which days museums offer discounted entrance, or are hosting special events such as film festivals or parties!

San Francisco can be downright cold at some times. Because it’s right on the bay the temperature stays about the same all year round. Even in the summer, a thick jacket is needed in the evenings if you’re going to walk around. September and October are normally the more stable months with the highest chance of dry and sunny weather.

Temperatures during the summer peak at 21 °C on average.

The months of May through September are dry with temperatures during the summer to peak at 21 °C on average and with an average low of about 10 °C. From November through March, rain is a common occurrence with mild winter temperatures at an average low of 7 °C and peaking at about 15 °C. Snowfall is extremely rare in San Francisco, as is frost. Fog can be a problem year round, reducing visibility sometimes for days.

The post San Francisco appeared first on Prime Living.