Take a look at any newspaper lately and you’ll likely see the words “Greece” and “Athens” within the first pages. Those reports of the economic crisis and street protests will have some thinking twice about a visit to the country this summer, but they should not have to. In Athens life goes on as usual despite everything, and judging from the city’s most high-profile openings, things even look better than ever.
There is the recent Matsuhisa Athens, the latest from celebrity chef Nobu Matsuhisa providing views of the Saronic Gulf and a martini bar listing creations by mixologist Dale DeGross who gave the world the Cosmopolitan, plus the same tasteful interiors and expert Japanese cuisine found at the other Nobu restaurants, including the first one in Greece, in Mykonos.
Also hot is the new Salon de Bricolage, the city’s first members’ club. Located in upscale Kolokani, it will be accepting just 350 members but each member can always bring three friends along. Its aim is the promotion of gastronomy, art, well-being, and entertainment in an exclusive environment.
These are just two perfect places to check out this summer in Athens, together with the recent (and Uward-nominated) Acropolis Museum before hopping on a ferry to Mykonos or Santorini. Who said anything about a crisis?

-See the complete Athens city guide.
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Designed by Berlin and Paris-based architects Gonzalez Haase, the new Antonios Markos Conceptual Boutique is Athens’ first concept store. Standing on natural beige stone floors is a variety of products from international labels, while the walls reveal shards of mirrors. Except for those mirrors, the entire space is painted white, with the fashions hanging from metal rails, and shoes and hats displayed throughout the two floors.
As indicated in our Athens shopping guide, Kolonaki is one of the city’s top shopping areas, with Voukourestiou street as one of its must-go addresses. With the opening of Antonios Markos there, you can place it higher on your to-do list in the Greek capital.
Address: 35 Skoufa & Voukourestiou Street

-See the complete Athens city guide.
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The last decade has brought some radical changes to the travel industry. From low-cost airlines, to last-minute online booking, to the large number of stylish hostels, to the boutique and design hotel concept. There were even new destinations, with Eastern Europe (particularly Prague and Budapest) becoming one of the most popular city breaks in the world. Even the city break concept is new, with travels now escaping to somewhere else on a long weekend, or on a business trip, and not waiting for a longer summer vacation to go somewhere.
As one decade closes and another one begins, it’s time to wonder how and where we’ll be traveling ten years from now. What can already be predicted is that during the 2000-teens decade, some cities will stand out more than others. They will either host the world’s major events, or will unveil brand-new projects that will capture the attention of the world’s media and travelers.
At UCityGuides.com we’ve taken a look at the calendar and took our insider knowledge of the world’s top cultural cities, and came up with a list of the cities that will most grab the attention of the travel industry. From New York‘s new World Trade Center and Freedom Tower, to a cleaned up Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics, to the emergence of Lisbon as a cultural hotspot, to the rejuvenation of Seville, we give you a preview of what you’ll be excited about visiting in the near future. You’ll discover that some old destinations are new again, and that some often-overlooked cities will no longer be a secret.
For complete details, take a look at the full list of the 10 City Breaks for the Next Decade.

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Athens recently opened its most fashionable hotel. Fashion House has 115 fabulously designed rooms, a hip cafe, bar, and restaurant, as well as extra services such as personal shoppers, dog-walkers, and stylists. It’s located in the city’s main commercial district and is perfect for leisure or business travelers looking for a hotel with style. It includes a 24-hour business center and offers free wireless internet access throughout the entire space. It covers eight floors designed with a different fashion theme by Greek designers and artists, and that includes the cafe made to look and feel like a luxury private jet.
These photos illustrate what you’ll find, and for additional details and booking information see our special booking page: Classical 2 Fashion House Hotel

-See the complete Athens city guide.
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At the moment the building is still going through last-minute preparations (although a temporary exhibition has already been on display on the ground floor), and UCityGuides has been taking a look around. We have taken photos of the exterior to bring to you (see below), a structure designed by New York-based architect Bernard Tschumi. It is found only 400 meters below the south side of the Acropolis Hill, and the state-of-the-art interior will showcase around 4000 treasures from the ancient Acropolis. Not included are the famous Parthenon Marbles that currently belong to the British Museum, but that Greece has been working hard to recover and place in this new space.
On the ground floor you can also see the recently-excavated remains of Athens’ 5th century BC streets, but that is the only ancient part of the building. It is a modern glass-walled construction, an ambitious project to make the country’s wonders of the past shine brighter in the present and the future. So starting this month you’ll be able to span 2,500 years of history in the new, modern and exciting Athens doing justice to its ancient treasures.

-See the complete Athens city guide.
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For all of that, UCityGuides.com has created the Uwards, the travel awards highlighting the best of what’s new in the urban world. There are 15 categories this year, which are:

-Best airport
-Best airport magazine
-Best in-flight magazine
-Best hotel group
-Best new building
-Best new body & soul experience
-Best new rooftop bar
-Best new members’ club
-Best new concept
-Best new cafe
-Best new restaurant
-Most welcomed new opening
-Best new business hotel
-Best new boutique hotel
-Best new hotel

To find out what won these Uwards, see UCityGuides’ Uwards – Urban Travel Awards page.

If there is one travel market that doesn’t seem to ever be affected by global economic crisis is the gay market, as gay and lesbian travelers tend to always have more disposable income.

The two major international gay events this year will be the EuroPride taking place in Zurich in May, and the World Outgames in July in Copenhagen. This year is also the 60th anniversary of Stonewall, so expect special celebrations in every gay pride march around the world this summer. One to see to be believed is São Paulo’s, with an estimated 3.5 million participants making it the city with the biggest gay pride celebrations in the world.

Other cities not exactly known for a happening gay scene are slowly opening their closet doors and becoming major gay hotspots to be discovered this year. If you go to São Paulo’s gay pride, be sure to take the opportunity to also visit Buenos Aires which is only a short flight away. Its Axel Gay Hotel is one of the best (and most stylish) gay hotels in the world, and the city’s reasonable prices are just as attractive as its people.
In Europe, choose one of its sunniest destinations, the very pink Lisbon with its beaches and lively street life.

If you prefer to stick with the always-popular Mykonos, be sure to also spend some time in the Greek capital — Athens has much more to explore than just the Acropolis and ancient ruins.

UCityGuides offers you a list of the 9 gay destinations you should experience in 2009, and you can find what they are in the travel gaydar page.