classe touriste

Classe Touriste’s years of dedicated travels are now also rewarded in the form of a daily travel blog for De Morgen newspaper, the quality daily in Belgium. We blog about innovative businesses in travel, where to go (or not) and things that other titles never talk about but are 100% Classe Touriste. When we are traveling to unique places, we keep a daily log of what we see, do, eat and drink. The kick-off of this blog  is all about the World Cup and how the world is shaped like a football during a month. After this, we will be going live from Greenland, while exploring this unknown travel destination aboard the famous Hurtigruten. Bonne voyage

As a tribute to the first luxury issue of De Morgen Magazine, the weekly supplement of the quality newspaper De Morgen, Classe Touriste came up with an honest and self-tried Best of Travel list. It took some time to draw up the inventory but in the end, the winners were always our favourites all the way. Read more »

Pack your bags (not more than 20 kg please and no Manolo or Gucci needed anyway), hop on a plane for half a day and embark on a trip of a lifetime. Final destination is Botswana where the mighty lions roar louder, the safari camps are more comfy and the views are more va va voom. If you need a helping hand to select one or two camps out of the numerous luxury options, then follow our advice and be a happy camper. Read more »

What is the result when an Asian country tries to manage the tourism industry by charging a fair amount of entry tax to the adventurous traveller? Plus when it wants to keep far away from the madding backpacking crowds? Take 20.000 visitors a year and mix it with a 100% Buddhist population in a landlocked country with dreamy landscapes that will tantalize every serious travelista. Ok, you have to have a certain budget to get in. But who wouldn’t pay a bit more for a destination where the happiest people in the world live, where chilli peppers are eaten as a vegetable rather than a spice and where the beer, called Red Panda, is devilish tasty? Read more »

Ask Classe Touriste what the best trip in 2009 was? Easy. It’s DPRK, aka North Korea, aka the most secret and closed country in the world. Not really politically correct, we hear you saying? Well, for once we didn’t think about politics and just booked our flights to Pyong Yang. Yes, it’s true; you can travel as a real tourist to this rather unknown country thanks to the professional assistance of Koryo Tours. This English tour operator imports already more than 14 years curious travellers into North Korea. Read more »

Does the real Italian deal still exist? Si, si! You just need to pack your bags and head to the direction of unknown and Mafia reputated West-Sicily to board an aliscafo that will whisk you away from one charming island to another. Welcome to the Isole Egadi, three minuscule freckles in the sun-tanned face of the South of Italy. So far, only local Italians who fill up the island in July and August have discovered these three Mediterranean pearls. Read more »

Close your eyes and imagine Empress Dowager Cixi roaming the century old dwellings of the Summer Palace in Beijing, Wurthering Hights style. If you don’t fancy Chinese concubines, then stay anyway at the magical Aman at Summer Palace, one of the most charismatic hotels in Beijing. This 51 rooms hotel occupies the former dwellings of the Summer Palace and offers a secrets door to access this famous World Heritage Site when “normal” (read: ten thousands of gymnastic, eating, singing and partying Chinese) visitors are not allowed to enter the park. Read more »

Mexico City has never been off the most stylish and interesting cities hotlist. With again more pollution hanging in the air, then H1N1, it’s time to put the spotlight on one of the newest additions to the hotel scène in vibrant MDF. Distrito Capital is owned by hotel entrepreneur Rafael Micha, a man who knows how to turn a hotel into a neighbourhood’s hotspot. White, white, white rooms with smart touches like the yellow Nat Geo binoculars and of course unlimited views over Mexico City. Distrito Capital might be located a bit away from the city centre, in the more businessy Santa Fe area, it still a good bet for those wanting to escape the smoggy city and lounge by the pool together with the beautiful in-crowed of MDF.

During one of our recent visits to Copenhagen, we had the pleasure to dine at Paustian, one of the toprestaurants in the city. Chef Bo Bech has his ways and, more importantly, has also a clear vision of how food should taste. We were happy to read that he got nominated by Food & Wine as one of the twenty rising stars for 2009. Restaurant Paustian is really a must-try if yo visit Copenhagen and as F&W puts is cleverly “an excellent example of the New Nordic Cuisine.” If you want to know how it is like to eat at Paustian, check out this wonderful movie.

We must admit that going around the world in business class, was one of the most exciting things we ever did. With oneworld we flew with Finnair, British Airways, American Airlines, Air Mexicana, JAL and Cathay Pacific around the world for a price of proably one business class ticket to Hong Kong. Real travelista’s don’t have to ask what our top three is. We were extremely charmed by British Airways new World Traveler Class and the T5 facilities at Heatrow. The cabin of the World Traveler Class offers an excellent lay-out in the airplane with a decent amount of privacy for those wanting to sleep or relax. Superb service, tasty food and a good selection of inflight entertainment. Read more »