After our visit to Strasbourg, we crossed over the French-German border to Baden-Baden. This cosy and relaxing little town is located on the western foothills of the Black Forest in Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

We first made a stop at the tourist information centre on the way entering the town centre to check out what to see and get a tourist map. As suggested by the people from the tourist information centre, we started the town walk at the Trinkhalle (Pump Room).

From Colmar to Strasbourg, we continued our travel in the Alsace region of France. The Germanic name “Strasbourg” means “the city of roads”. Due to its location just west of the French-German border, Strasbourg captures the cultures of both sides.

The old city (Altstadt) centre of Strasbourg was built on the island formed by the two branches of the river Ill. We started out visit at Ponts Couverts (covered bridges linked by medieval watchtowers) in the Little France (La Petite France).

Solva (Solfach, in Welsh) is a picturesque little village I visited some years ago and I think it’s worth writing about it here. It’s located in the southwestern tip of Wales between Newgale and St. David’s along the St. Brides bay. The scenery of the coastal route from Newgale to Salvo is marvellous with magnificent views over the secluded sandy beach.

After having visited Clervaux and Vianden of the tiny European country, the capital city was the last stop of our weekend travel to Luxembourg out of Paris. Everyday, as a relaxed cosmopolitan, Luxembourg City is receiving many tourists as well as European business and political elite.

To get started with the city walk, we parked the rental car not far away from the Clairefontaine Square. Right in the centre of the square is the statue of Grand Duchess Charlotte (a popular ruler of Luxembourg from 1919 to 1964).

Heading east on the Autoroute, towards Alsace region, a friend and I started the weekend trip from Paris early on a Saturday morning. The itinerary included two Alsatian cities – Colmar and Strasbourg as well as a brief visit to Baden-Baden across the French-German border.

Our first stop Colmar, is a charming city famous for its picturesque houses and medieval buildings. We started our city walk at the Little Venice (La Petite Venise). Yes, it’s indeed a postcard-like little area in the city with a canal that has beautiful settings on both sides.

While we were driving down the hill heading for Vianden(we visited Clervaux the day before), a fairy-tale castle on a hilltop came into sight. That’s the Vianden Castle, probably the most visited tourist destination in Luxembourg.

My friend and I decided to first check out the town and find a place for breakfast. We parked the car at a car park right beside the River Our. The riverside view was great with the houses by the banks and the hillside, the splendid landscape of Ardennes as well as the castle at the background.

Just a short train ride from Basel (Switzerland) across the border, Freiburg im Breisgau is the gateway to the Black Forest in southwestern Germany.

We (my wife and I) started our city walk at the Freiburg Tourist Information Office, about 350 metres from the train station. Later along Rathausgasse we saw one of Freiburg’s trademarks – the little canals (about a foot wide) with water running. The canals run along the streets in front of the shops (so, watch your steps when you wander around the town).

It was at one of the weekends, during our stay in Paris, a friend and I rented a car to travel to Luxembourg. Our first stop was Clervaux, a peaceful and cosy town in the northern part of that little landlocked country which shares the borders with Belgium, France and Germany.

Clervaux started as a village during the middle ages and then turned into a market town. It’s a good place to spend a few hours to see what it has to offer as a medieval town without the tourist buses (at least, I didn’t see any).

A historic town situated on the western tip of Cornwall, St. Ives has fabulous coastal scenery, traditional cobblestone streets and sub-tropical gardens made possible by the mild climate warmed by the gulf stream. These have made St. Ives a very popular holiday place in England and there are hotels and B&B’s all over the place.

As part of the trip to Cornwall by rental car with my wife, we stopped by the town for an afternoon. In fact, that was my third time to St. Ives in the similar way.

I was in Paris on a business trip for more than two months and was planning for one of the weekends. I really wanted somewhere outside of France this time. Eventually, the decision was to go to Liverpool because I studied there and looked like it was a good time to visit my friends as well as some familiar places.

EasyJet flew from Paris CDG to Liverpool, so it looked absolutely good for me. Upon arriving, my friend picked me up from John Lennon Airport.

Most tourists who come to Liverpool are either football or Beatles’ fans, so this city is not touristy at all by the British standard.