Luxury holiday venues

Martha's Vineyard is a 100 square mile (259 km²) island off the southern coast of Cape Cod, and is often known simply as "the Vineyard". Located in the U.S.A commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Vineyard makes up most of the County of Dukes County, Massachusetts (the rest of the county consists of Cuttyhunk and the other Elizabeth Islands). It was home to one of the earliest known deaf communities, and consequently a dialect of sign language, Martha's Vineyard Sign Language, developed on the island. The island is primarily known as a summer colony, though its year-round population has grown quite considerably since the 1960s.
The Vineyard grew as a tourist destination primarily because of its very pleasant summer weather — during many summers the temperature never breaks 90°F — and many beautiful beaches.

Wealthy Boston sea captains and merchant traders formerly created estates on Martha's Vineyard with their trading profits, and today, the Vineyard has become one of the Northeast's most prominent summering havens, attracting celebrities like the Clintons, Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Ted Danson and Mary Steenbergen, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Peter Simon, Alfred Eisenstadt, Dan Aykroyd and Donna Dixon, Spike Lee, Michael J. Fox, William F. Buckley, Alan Dershowitz, former US Senator Bill Bradley, Diana Ross, Beverly Sills, Art Buchwald, Walter Cronkite, Mike Wallace, David Letterman, David McCullough, the late Katherine Graham, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Princess Diana.

Martha's Vineyard is one of the traditional resorts of U.S.'s African - American upper class. Due to a long history of racial harmony on the island, many black families started vacationing there over a century ago. The center of black culture on Martha's Vineyard is the town of Oak Bluffs, where many African American celebrities own houses. Its main beach has been dubbed "The Inkwell" by African-American residents.

It now has a year-round population of about 15,000 people in six towns, but in summer the population swells to 100,000 residents, with more than 25,000 additional visitors coming and going on ferries every day. The most crowded weekend is July 4. In general, the summer season runs from June to the end of August, correlating with the months most American children are not in school. Martha's Vineyard Airport links the island to the mainland with scheduled air carrier service from US Airways and Cape Air.

The island has been designated an official American Viticultural Area and is home to the winemaker Chicama Vineyards in West Tisbury.

Bermuda (fully, The Bermuda Islands, alias The Somers Isles) is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the North Atlantic Ocean, situated around 600 miles (975 km) off the coast of the United States. Although commonly referred to in the singular, it consists of around 138 islands, of total area 58.8 square kilometres (27.7 sq. mi). Compiling a list of these islands is often complicated, as many have more than one name (as does the entire archipelago, which, in addition to its two official names, has historically been known as La Garza, Virgineola, and the Isle of Devils). Despite the limited land mass, there has also been a tendency for place names to be repeated ( Tourism is the second largest industry, with the island attracting most of its visitors from the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.

Ile de Ré, France
Glamorous and gorgeous, it's where rich and famous French people go to get away from the paparazzi.

Île de Ré (formerly also Île de Rhé; in English Isle of Rhé) is an island off the west coast of France near La Rochelle, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait.

The island is 30 km long, 5 km wide, and is connected to La Rochelle on the mainland by a 2.9 km bridge, completed in 1988.
During Roman times, Île de Ré was an archipelago made of three small islands. The space between these small islands was progressively filled, by a combination of human activity (salt fields gained from the sea) and siltage.

The area is a popular tourist destination. It has approximately the same number of hours of sunshine as the famous southern coast of France. The island is noted to have a constant light breeze, and the water temperature is generally cool. The island is surrounded with gently sloping, sandy beaches, which are a real treat for families and tourists.

The bridge connecting the island to the continent.The island has a resident winter population of approximately 16,000 residents and a resident summer population of about 160,000. Since the local population is distributed all over the island, it never gets too crowded. The island is covered by bicycle tracks, showing that many residents rarely use cars for transportation. Camping grounds and hotels abound on the island, as well as large supermarkets and all modern amenities. Most families stay on the island for the duration of their vacations.

Night life consists of going to Saint Martin, the main port, or to La Flotte, to walk along the quays and to potter around the shops, which are open very late. Restaurants abound. At night, visitors can also watch the buskers, have a drink and enjoy some of the island's delicious artisanal ice cream, all set in a family friendly atmosphere.

The island has its fair share of celebrities, including Lionel Jospin, who was Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002 and who is known to go there regularly for his holidays.
Sea salt harvest in Ile de Ré.Oysters and fresh fish are always available. There is also a tradition in which the fishermen, upon return from the sea, sell a small quantity of their catch directly on the quays, enabling themselves to buy a drink. Markets are open on a daily basis in the main towns and are a popular place to shop, taste and chat. Even the vendors in the markets come to the island on their holidays. Generally, they work only in the mornings, enabling themselves to enjoy the remainder of the day. Shopping affords a large variety of items, such as comics, books, African articles, ceramics, clothes, artifacts, food, local specialities, tools and souvenirs, in other words, something for every taste.

Acapulco as a holiday resort

Acapulco is a city and major sea port in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 300 km (190 miles) southwest from Mexico City, at 16.85° N 99.92° W. Acapulco is located on a deep, semi-circular bay. Many consider it to be one of the best harbours on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and it is a port of call for shipping and cruising lines running between Panama and San Francisco, California, USA. In 2003 the estimated population was 638,000 people.

View of the Pacific Ocean from an Acapulco hotelFor many years Acapulco has been a popular resort for holiday makers. The city has had its star-spangled times, prompting none other than "Old Blue Eyes" Frank Sinatra to give the place a mention in his all time classic Come Fly With Me. Modern Acapulco still has a great appeal. The vast majority of the tourists now tend to come from Mexico, but several other foreign nationals make appearances in the numerous bars and clubs dotted around the bay come sun down.

In recent years, Acapulco has made some ground on Cancun for Spring Break's most popular resort destinations. Acapulco offers a relatively unknown experience and a larger, international student crowd than Cancun. Approximately 5 million people visit Acapulco every year. Apart from just the beach, Acapulco's best known island Roqueta, is a great resource; the only way to get there is by motorship.

Barbados is an island nation located towards the east of the Caribbean Sea and in the west of the Atlantic Ocean, part of the eastern islands of the Lesser Antilles, with the nations of Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines being its closest neighbours. The island is 430 square kilometres, (166 sq. mi), and is primarily low-lying, with some higher areas in the island's interior. It is located 13° north of the Equator and 59° west of the Prime Meridian, about 434.5 kilometres (270 mi) northeast of Venezuela.

The influence of the English on Barbados is more noticeable than on other islands in the West Indies. A good example of this is the island's national sport: cricket. Barbados has brought forth several great cricket players, including Garfield Sobers and Frank Worrell.

Citizens are officially called Barbadian, however residents of Barbados colloquially refer to themselves or the products of the country as "Bajan". The term "Bajan", may have come from a localized pronunciation of the word Barbadian which at times can sound more like "Bar bajan". The term Barbadian is used less frequently than is "Bajan".

Important areas are schooner bay.

At Sugar Hill estate, where Sir Cliff has a home, where British PM Blair and his wife once stayed. .

The Cayman Islands are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the western Caribbean Sea comprising the islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman. It is known as one of the largest tax havens in the world.

Tourism accounts for 70-75% of the annual GDP of the Cayman Islands and is hence a major part of the economy. Of the millions of tourists that visit the islands annually, 99% stay on Grand Cayman. George Town also serves as a major cruise ship port, which brings in 4,000 -22,000 tourists a day, 5 days a week, depending on the number of ships in port.

Grand Cayman's major tourist attraction is the world famous Seven Mile Beach on which most of the island's hotels and resorts are located. SMB is regarded by many as one of the best beaches in the world.

The Cayman Islands are also world famous as a Scuba Diving destination because of their crystal-clear waters and their proximity to the Cayman Wall. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman are also considered to be elite dive destinations. There are several snorkeling locations where tourists can swim with stingrays.

Other tourist attractions include the black limestone spires of Hell, a turtle farm, and the Mastic Trail, a hiking trail through the dry forests in the centre of the island.

Tuscany is a region in central Italy, bordering on Latium to the south, Umbria and Marche to the east, Emilia-Romagna and Liguria to the north, and the Tyrrhenian Sea to the west. It is often regarded as among the most beautiful parts of Italy.

The region is noted for the production of wine, notably Chianti, one of the most famous wines in Italy. Also cattle and the production of olive oil, principally in Lucca

The region is an important luxury holiday destination. Blair once holidayed with his wife at the villa of Former Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi.

The Highland mountains of Scotland

Many millionaires have holiday houses in Scotland.

Walter Scott romanticised the mountaneous areas of Scotland. The British aristocracy and wealthy then began a fashion of buying up holiday homes. Where they have grouse shooting and game.

The British royal family have bought up land, often with tax money, such as Balmoral. This often causes political problems. While modern Scottish millionaires such as Billy Connoly has a castle, where he often has his US comedian buddies for a visit.

Swiss Alpes Mountians

Villa Holidays and summer chalets in Switzerland. Swiss cottages.

Trivia

Some millionaires and monarhcs have their own permanent holiday destinations where they stay.

In the Soviet Union the political elite often used to holiday in the Crimea.

Wealthy Russians have already made their mark in the more luxurious parts of Europe and America. These "New Russians" account for a significant portion of the market in high-end real estate in London and the French Riviera. They account for a major part of the January rentals of posh Swiss ski resorts and many of the orders for big custom-made yachts.

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