gtrekker

The BBC Profiles provide an economic, historical, and political overview, with a section on current leaders. The Profiles also list the media outlets, which include television and radio stations and the press.

National Geographic's People and Places feature provides a short overview of the destination and include a Features section with related articles, photos, and videos, depending on the destination.

Travel + Leisure Magazine's guide to the greatest hotels worldwide as selected by its team of reporters and editors.

Weatherbase provides historical weather information such as "average number of day above 90," "average number of days with thunderstorms," and other similar types of data.

From website: Vacations
In Greece, you are standing at crossroads of cultures, colours and civilisations, you feel the grandeur of history and the warmth of being at the southernmost part of Europe, you discover the evolutionary process of thought, influence and experience.

A country with a uniquely affluent historical past, inhabited by people gazing confidently and optimistically into the future...click for website

Up-to-date information provided by the State Department on matters such as passport and visa requirements, safety and security, crime, health and medical issues, any areas of instability, and the location of the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. It also links to Travel Warnings for that country, if there is one.

Frommer's Forums are divided into countries, and all the messages relating to a country are presented in a list that makes it easy to browse through the topics.

Review site with hotel reviews and candid photos posted by users.

Concierge.com destinations guides include information on getting there, getting around, lodging, places to eat, see and do, ... etc. Although Concierge.com may not have as many hotel recommendations as some guide books, they provide hotel photos along with the recommendations. The destinations guides also have links to articles about the destination published by Concierge.com or Conde Nast Traveler.

Frommer's has put a substantial amount of content online, making Frommers.com a good resource for travel planning. The site is easy to navigate since all the destinations are organized by similar topics such as "Getting There," "Restaurants," and "Suggested Itineraries."

USA Today's Country Guides have information on topics such as Money, Health, Accommodations, Entertainment, Top Things To Do and See, Getting There, Getting Around, Climate, and Map. You can also select the topics you are interested in and create a mini guide that puts all the information on one page for easy reading.

These dreamy islands are full of international flavor, amazing parties, and old-world charm.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published July 2005
"A man needs a little madness," said Zorba the Greek. Cristina Nehring flirts with it herself on Crete, an island with a savage landscape and proudly untamed people.

"No worry!" he beamed. "I'm too young to die." Giannis had just leaped from a cliff into his boat, slipped, and skidded wildly across the glistening deck. I looked at him as he fell-muscular, finely featured, a Greek statue. "Yes," I said lamely, "you are far too young to die." ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published July 2005
The glitterati have always known that the best place to escape the prying eyes of the press and the public is on an island of one's own

Tiberius Of Roman emperor Tiberius's many island holdings, the best known is southern Italy's Capri. He set up house there in A.D. 26, after soothsayers warned him that remaining in Rome would be unwise. The forbidding cliffs and elevated rocky terrain of Capri afforded him the security he sought; it was also a great place to throw a party. Tiberius built 12 villas on the island, where, legend has it, he lured pretty young things for beach-side bacchanalia that still inspire some visitors today. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published March 2006
Sprinkled throughout Europe are fairy-tale hamlets that offer a taste of the Continent as it used to be-places where simple pleasures and centuries-old rhythms seem to slow the world's very rotation, and where even the stillness speaks volumes. "Guidebooks privilege cities and sites, but the history-not to mention the romance-is often far more potent in villages," writes Cristina Nehring, who took her thesis on the road last summer to three countries: France, Greece, and Italy. There, she discovered entire cultures writ small-in the scent of lavender, a taste of black truffle, and the Hellenic art of doing absolutely nothing ... click for full article

From Lonely Planet
Like an ageing courtesan of uncertain provenance, Marseille harbours many secrets, places great importance on appearances and, despite countless facelifts, still sags at the corners....click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published August 2007
Cruise ships may ply the same waters, but don't assume that all itineraries are created equal. Here, our top picks in ten popular spots around the world-and why we think they're the best. ... click for full article

Virtual Tourist has user reviews on topics such as Hotels, Things To Do, Restaurants, Local Customs, Nightlife, Off the Beaten Path, Tourist Traps, Transportation, ... etc.

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published April 2004
You. And you don't even have to run like Pheidipides. Athens is racing to a glorious finish in time for the August Olympics. Bob Payne finds renewed excitement in a European capital that was too long neglected ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published November 2002
Drifting round the world in a balloon in eighty days seemed to work back then, but Michael Kinsley had other ideas in 'Around the World in 80 Hours.'
The question is: Can you circle the earth using only normal commercial transportation, get at least a tourist's taste of its varied sights, sample some of the luxuries available to the high-bracket traveler, and be back in New York within eighty hours? And can you enjoy it? ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published April 2004
Attending the ancient Olympic Games was not for the faint of heart
With the Olympics returning to the land of their birth this summer, nostalgic images of the ancient Greek Games are cropping up all over Athens-even on city buses, whose flanks are emblazoned with the torsos of Adonis-like discus throwers. But in all the excitement, one of the less flattering traditions of the classical Olympics tends to be forgotten: logistical chaos. Throughout antiquity, the prototype athletic festival was renowned as an organizational nightmare, and an endurance test for spectators as much as for athletes. In fact, the whole experience was so famously grueling that a master once threatened an unruly slave with a visit to the Olympic Games as punishment. ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published March 2007
From spectacular mountains to iconic islands, Ron Hall traces a success in preservation that uses tourism to sustain magical villages. And with uncommon beauty comes uncommon value ... click for full article

From Conde Nast Traveler
Published June 2006
Your indispensable guide to 35 rigorously vetted villa rental agents in 16 countries ... click for full article