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People walk around the Binnenhof, the political centre of the Netherlands in The Hague.
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Fasten your seat belts, everyone. This week's CNN Travel newsletter is brought to you on the ground. Leave your jet engines behind, stop seeing the world through a screen and take a deep breath of the sweet aroma of adventure.
There are few things in life more enjoyable than strolling through a new neighborhood in a new city and stumbling upon cute shops, bars, eateries, and public spaces. But decades of car-centric policies have left many cities around the world lacking in pedestrian-friendly streets, finds a new study called “The ABCs of Mobility.”
The larger and wealthier a city is, the more likely it is to be a less walkable city, but as statistics from a survey compiled by The Economist show, there are plenty of exceptions.
Quelimane, a Mozambican port city of 350,000 people, emerged as the most walkable of the 794 cities surveyed in the study, but there are also some lesser known destinations in Europe (whose biggest cities rank significantly higher than their US counterparts).
In the Netherlands, Utrecht (3rd place), with its tree-lined canals, and The Hague (27th place), with its magnificent monuments, offer quieter alternatives to tourist hotspot Amsterdam (66th place).
The northern Spanish port city of Bilbao (8th) is famous for the Frank Gehry-designed Guggenheim Museum, while Leon (9th) boasts Roman ruins and a Gothic cathedral.
Finally, in Tyrol, the Alpine region where Italy and Austria meet, Bolzano (14th) offers the chance to come face to face with Ötzi the Iceman at its archaeological museum, while Innsbruck (25th) offers world-class skiing and mountaineering.
Now, when things get a little difficult Too Get hands-on and realistic as you explore this amazing world of ours.
A US military veteran was just trying to photograph an owl when he ventured into the Wyoming wilderness, but an angry mother grizzly bear had other ideas. Here's how he survived “the most violent event.” [he’s] It's something I've never experienced before.”
Wild tourists are becoming more of a concern for locals on Spain's Costa Brava. The resort near Barcelona has announced it will fine people who bring in sex dolls or wear genital-themed costumes, posing a major problem for the bachelor and ladyboy parties that flock to the area. New measures in Playa Darro also mean that toplessness is banned in urban areas.
But well-behaved nudists are more than welcome at Playa de Cavallet in Ibiza, Spain, which also features in our updated roundup of the world's best clothing-optional beaches.
No matter how you plan on getting ready to hit the beach this summer, our partners at CNN Underscored, a CNN-owned product review and recommendation guide, have a guide on how to cure razor bumps.
There's no better way to avoid traffic jams, noise, and pollution than to move to Antarctica. But there are drawbacks: no running water, you'll have to watch DVDs in your bungalow like it's 2005 all over again, and, surprisingly, a lot less privacy than you'd expect.
Returning to warmer climes, the Kansas couple moved to Portugal for its low cost of living and “family and leisure” ethos. Now, two years later, the wife is so happy with her life in Portugal that she told CNN, “We're going to put her ashes in an urn and bring her back to the U.S.”
And in France, it was the laid-back lifestyle of the Aude department near the French Pyrenees that drew the Los Angeles artist to relocate to the medieval village of Cyssac – plus the low cost of living. Here's how she found her cozy hideaway.
01:17 – Source: CNN
Airplane bunk seats make a comeback – but with a twist
We're wrapping up this installment in our focus on the laid-back lifestyle with some very important aviation news: bunk seating on airplanes is back, this time in first class, and CNN Travel went to Germany to try it out.
She kissed a woman on the Trans-Siberian Railway 32 years ago.
Then she flew around the world to find her.
These cities are known as some of the best in the world when it comes to food.
Here's why.
The world's longest serving flight attendant has died at the age of 88.
Bette Nash was truly a legend in the sky.
Rome is building an eight-storey underground museum.
But the treasure keeps getting in the way.
