Cruises - Azores Cruise Club

Mont St-Michel, Cherbourg
kotor, Montenegro See page 62 for details
la roChelle, France
Once voted the best place to live in France, La Rochelle’s so beautiful even Hollywood
couldn’t resist its charms. Part of the blockbuster movie, Raiders of the Lost Ark,
was filmed here. All fairytale towers and Gothic gates, the waterfront is fringed by
ice-cream coloured town houses and cafés. And just behind the marina is a maze
of cobbled streets lined with 18th-century shopping arcades.
• Visit the aquarium where cavernous shark tanks, jelly fish tunnels and coral-filled
dark rooms vie for your attention. More than 10,000 creatures are spread over
two floors here but the sharks are the big draw.
• Take a boat trip to Fort Boyard. You might recognise its prison-like exterior
from the game show of the same name, but it was originally built by Napoleon
to protect the coast.
• The island of Re is completely flat, but the high life is yours for the taking
when you stop here. The restaurants serve up oysters as standard and the
boutiques are dripping with designer labels.
lisbon, Portugal
Lisbon’s enjoying a long-awaited spell in the limelight, and quite rightly so.
Famous for its infectious energy, Portugal’s trendy capital stands shoulder to
shoulder with the likes of Madrid and Barcelona. Stroll through tram-clattering
cobbled streets taking in gems like Jeronimos Monastery and Belem Tower,
an ancient castle guarding Lisbon’s harbour.
• Make a beeline for Alfama, the ancient Arab quarter, and haggle for
take-home trinkets in its atmospheric Thieves Market.
• Fall in love with the town of Sintra. Loved by Portuguese royalty and
English nobility, its thick forests and surrealist architecture are a refreshing
contrast from urban Lisbon.
Visit your local travel shop | 0871 230 2800 | thomson.co.uk/cruise
Calls cost 10p per minute plus network extras. The cost of calls was correct at the time of publication.
See page 3.
Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy Florence, Italy
Lisbon, Portugal Kalamata, Greece
livorno (for Florence & Pisa), Italy
Get ready to be impressed – this is your gateway to the dazzling riches of
Florence and Pisa. A living monument to the Renaissance, Florence might be
famous for its art galleries, but the entire city is like one gigantic piece of artwork.
Beautiful buildings, picturesque piazzas and stunning sculptures are
everywhere you look. Marvel at Michelangelo’s David in the Accademia.
Clap eyes on Botticelli’s Birth of Venus in the Uffizi Gallery.
• Pisa’s another Tuscan treasure. Make a beeline for the Campo dei Miracoli,
an exquisite square which harbours the city’s cathedral and, the famous
Leaning Tower.
• Explore the scenic Tuscan countryside, passing Medieval hill towns that look
as if they’ve been caught in a time warp. It’s the perfect place to enjoy a little
wine tasting in the sun.
• Cruise along the royal canals of Livorno. Have your cameras ready as you sail
through colourful 'New Venice', a labyrinth of canals, waterways and bridges.
messina, Sicily See page 63 for details
motril, Spain
Motril is set in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, in the heart of
the Costa Tropical. The region got its name thanks to its sub-tropical climate,
so expect a landscape blanketed in lemon groves, orange trees and palms.
• Motril is only 40 minutes’ drive from the historic city of Granada. The headline
attraction here is the Alhambra Palace. All fountain-dotted courtyards and
extravagant interiors, it’s often dubbed the Eighth Wonder of the World.
• The Alpujarras region, on the southern slopes of the Sierra Nevada,
is home to a cluster of whitewashed, forgotten villages that offer up
spectacular views of the towns below.
naples, Italy See page 64 for details
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