Sharing Travel Experiences

If You Can’t Go…A List of Travel Alternatives

by Andy Hayes

I don’t know about you but I’ve always found the phenomenon of city nicknames to be an interesting one. You find many of these “Pearl of the…” and “… of the world” descriptions next to the destination names on the new site feature, The Experience Search. (If you haven’t used it, you should try it. It’s pretty cool.)

So after some investigation you could find yourself with many travel alternatives if you use the city nicknames as a tool of recommendation:

If you can’t get to Venice…

You could go to Saint Petersburg, Russia – Venice of the North. St Petersburg is the most European of any of the Russian cities, and with loads of great architecture and cosmopolitan atmosphere, you’ll find yourself enjoying vodkas with the locals in no time. Which is probably a good thing – it can be a bit chilly.

Or you could go to Stockholm, Sweden – Venice of the North. Regular readers already know the secrets of Stockholm courtesy of my previous interview with Lifecruiser, a Stockholm local and fellow traveller. It is a city by the water, so I suppose it too is deserving of the Venice of the North title.

Or, how about Bangkok, Thailand – Venice of the East? Immortalised by the cheesy lyrics of One Night in Bangkok, the hustle and bustle of Bangkok offers something for everyone, but I’d say it is by far the most over-the-top of our Venetian options.

If you can’t get to Athens…

Then you could easily visit me here in Edinburgh, Athens of the North. You might be tempted to think that Scotland’s capital got this nickname from the National Monument atop Calton Hill, but you’d be wrong. While researching for my upcoming Edinburgh Historic Walking Guide, I found out that it is actually the Old High School (pictured below) whose exemplary architecture gave way for the name. The High School is a real treasure as may of the city greats in arts and architecture were students here.

Or how about crossing the pond to hit Boston, Massachusetts – The Athens of America? In this case, the title is less about architecture and more about Boston’s well regarded status as a knowledge centre. But in any case, the city is one of the America’s eastern ports with loads to see and do. Boston is a great point to explore places like Cape Cod and the shore, as well as heading west/north to enjoy the Northeast’s internal countryside.

If that doesn’t take your fancy, you can stay in America but head for Atlanta, the Athens of the South. This one is a bit of a mystery as I can find many of references, but nothing to confirm why this status was awarded. However, this is a nice city to visit – it’s remarkably more cosmopolitan than many of its neighbours and has plenty of unique experiences. For example, one night I was eating the world’s best burritos in an area that even a Glaswegian would class as scary (if that reference doesn’t resonate with you – let’s just say we were glad the car was still there when we left) and then the next night we were having Cosmopolitans in a rotating restaurant with views of the city from the top of a skyscraper. So really, the sky’s the limit for what you can see and do.

If you can’t get to Paris…

Try Bucharest, Romania – Paris of the East (Or Little Paris). The city experienced a boom in the 19th century which resulted in loads of fantastic architecture, which means Bucharest’s nickname is well earned. I find even photos of the metro system to be pleasing to the eye! Bucharest also has some wonderful arts exhibits and collections, giving a good run to their French counterpart.

Consider yourself warned…this post continues next Sunday….

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Photos by Honza Soukup (St Petersburg), tylerdurden1 (Stockholm), lensburg.chandru (Bangkok), David Paul Ohmer (Boston), dsearls (Atlanta), fanch (Bucharest)

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