The Kilkenny Observer Friday 11 February 2022
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kilkennyobserver.ie
Travel & Leisure
Nine places to visit in south of France 1. MOUNTPELLIER Tourists looking for style should head to Montpellier. From pristine beaches to private homes, this beautiful town in the South of France has it all. Art enthusiasts should visit the Musee Fabre, an excellent museum that displays old master paintings, current art, and installation elements. The Montpellier Parc Zoologique, France’s second-biggest zoo, is also located in the neighbourhood. Furthermore, Montpellier exudes a trendy and youthful vitality because of the university student population. 2.ARLES Arles is a beautiful French town that is a Unesco World Heritage Site due to its richness of Romanesque style architecture. Since Julius Caesar established it, it has been an important cultural center and trade harbour. Every shift of a tourist’s gaze is always a picture-perfect scene.
It thus illustrates why Vincent van Gogh lived here for several years. As a result, this city with such a rich and influential tradition is a fantastic destination to explore. 3. SAINTTROPEZ Saint-Tropez is a small fishing resort famed for its picturesque town and stunning beaches. This enticing seaside resort persuades travellers with its attractive port and quaint medieval town center. Tourists may also trek the Sentier du Littoral, a beachfront route with breathtaking countryside views. In addition to its vintage appeal and beautiful landscape, Saint-Tropez has a multitude of recreational and cultural sites. Furthermore, visitors should spend time around the Place des Lices to absorb the atmosphere of Saint- Tropez. 4. CARCASSONNE Carcassonne offers visitors the sensation that they have
stepped into a scene from a fairy tale. Enormous walls encircle this magnificently maintained walled medieval town. Viollet-Le-Duc renovated sections of the medieval walls and turreted towers in the 19th century, giving it a Disneylandlike feel. While visiting this place, visitors may picture what lifestyle was like in a typical Middle Ages village by wandering Carcassonne’s tiny passageways and cobblestone streets. Carcassonne is a town in the South of France that tourists would love to visit. 5. GASCONY The old feudal legacy of the Gascony Region in Southwest France contributes to its peculiar character. Farmlands cover the rolling terrain in a multicoloured patchwork, while hilltops are studded with majestic fortresses, walled medieval cities, and tranquil rural villages. La Bastide in the land of the Gascony enables visitors to enjoy the leisure and
Should you keep your hotel keycard? IS it okay to keep your hotel keycard after you check out? For a souvenir of your stay, particularly if, pandemic permitting, you do a lot of travel. Among travel experts, it
appears that there’s no right or wrong answer. In fact, nobody could point to a specific policy saying you are required to return your used keycards, though some mentioned that they’ve
seen receptacles specifically designed to return the keys, oftentimes with a sign claiming they’re recycled. First, the majority of people who keep hotel keycards on purpose tend to do so
healing of a peaceful getaway. This beautiful hotel has exquisite yet straightforward guest rooms, a good restaurant, a sauna, a swimming pool, a courtyard, and bikes to explore a nearby picturesque path. 6. AVIGNON Did you know Avignon was home to the Papacy for almost seven decades? It’s crazy to think that if things had gone just a little bit differently people from around the world would be flocking to Avignon and not the Vatican. Avignon is a town immersed in ancient religious history and boasts the gorgeous architecture that one would expect from such a location. Avignon is most renowned for the Palais des Papes, Europe’s most enormous Medieval palace. The palace also hosts art galleries, conferences, and celebrations. Outside, hilltop meadows, ponds, and groomed terraces are welcome. The Musée Angladon, which
because they save them as mementos from really great trips and use them to track their travels. “I write down where I stayed, the date and the reason and bring them out to think of memories,” one person said. A major trend for people who keep the keys is that it simply happens by mistake. “I just forget I have it,” many people say. That’s easy to understand, as so many hotels now offer digital checkout, allowing for guests to be on their way without ever thinking about the key in their wallet. Another reason people keep room keys is because they believe that the cards have personal information stored on them that could be misused in the wrong hands. Generally speaking, hotel keycards contain very little information and essentially nothing about your personal identity or payment details. The data stored is pretty
houses the only Van Gogh artwork in Provence, is well worth visiting. 7. NICE Most people who think of the South of France think about Nice. It is a magnificent city with long esplanades and large parks. It is also the fifthlargest city in France; therefore, visitors will not be weary for a single moment in this city. Tourists should visit Nice for something like the beach, the magnificent medieval town center, and some reasonably delectable French cuisine. Essentially, if travellers seek a calm and sufficiently lavish trip in the South of France, they should go to Nice. 8. ROCAMADOUR Rocamadour, a cliff-top town in southern France, is wellknown for the Cite Religieuse, a renowned religious site. The village is situated above the Dordogne River and offers breathtaking natural views.
much limited to the room number, a timeframe for which the key should unlock that door and maybe a guest number that helps track your stay in the hotel’s computer system, according to an investigation by USA Today newspaper. With that in mind, it’s important to keep track of your hotel keycard — especially when the card could still unlock your door — but nobody can steal your identity or credit card number if you do lose it. On the other side of the debate, people have some strong reasons for giving them back, starting with the most environmentally friendly reason: recycling. “If they can keep using them for the next guests, I’d leave it rather than it being useless,” one person said. And that’s true. Many hotels do recycle keycards, as they can often be reprogrammed over and over again. “Reduce.
Among the religious structures is the Chapelle Notre Dame, which features a remarkable Black Madonna monument. The neighbouring Gouffre de Padirac, a magnificent tunnel that tourists can tour on foot and by boat, is especially popular with visitors. It is, in fact, France’s most famous underground tourism destination. 9. VERDON GORGES Verdon Gorges is one of the most tourist hotspots in the South of France. The Verdon Gorge is a massive calcareous rocky canyon that surprises people worldwide. This cliff is located in the center of a natural reserve with vegetation and animals. Boating, skydiving, canoeing, bike riding, and horse riding are just a few of the sports accessible in the Verdon Gorge area. Furthermore, this spectacular 700-meter-deep river canyon provides a wide array of leisure activities.
Reuse. Recycle,” was a common response. But a trend was that a lot of people who return their keys for recycling seem to be unsure if that’s actually the case. A lot of these comments started with “I think” or “I assume,” which leads me to believe that hotels could probably get even more keys back to be reused if they were more upfront about what happens with them after the fact. Many hotels have return boxes, but maybe it’s time to make those more visible and include more information about how keys are recycled and what happens to the data stored on a key after it’s returned. Maybe hotels could even reward people who return keys with a small points bonus or farewell amenity. Or, to truly simplify the situation, guests could just leave the key on the nightstand.
