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).

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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.

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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.

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