The most romantic month of the year is here, the time when everyone starts thinking about Valentine’s Day or a romantic getaway.
Whether for Valentine’s or for a honeymoon at any other time, we have created the list of the world’s 10 most romantic cities in the world.
Of course there are the predictable destinations always associated with love and romance, but also others you may have overlooked.
Think of strolls down tree-lined boulevards, picturesque neighborhoods, fairytale architecture, magical views, horse-drawn carriages or trips down a canal, passionate dancing, and sensory pleasures. Think any of these seductive cities: THE 10 MOST ROMANTIC CITIES IN THE WORLD

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BRASSERIE ROSSIO GOURMET
The just-opened Altis Avenida Hotel faces two of the city’s main squares, so naturally the top floor was reserved for the restaurant in order to serve fabulous views along with fabulous food. Just like in the hotel rooms, the décor of the restaurant is contemporary but slightly inspired in the 1940s, the decade of the building’s original construction. On the menu you have a selection of classic French dishes under the direction of Michelin-starred chef José Cordeiro, and you can enjoy them on the terrace when the sun is out, bringing you even closer to the views.

FLOWER POWER FOOD
One of Lisbon’s coolest flower shops, one you can always trust for the most special flower arrangements for someone special or a special event, is now also a café. Of course the café space is decorated with plants for a fresh and relaxed ambience, all very laid-back and perfect for a light meal. You can choose a dish of the day, salads, or sandwiches, all for less than 10 euros, or go for just a glass of wine accompanied by Portuguese cheeses. A small area with gourmet products allows you to take the finest ingredients to cook at home.

LARGO
An inexpensive meal at Flower Power Food allows you to save to splurge at the new Largo Restaurant. It’s found right by the city’s opera house, with an interior by Miguel Câncio Martins, the Portuguese designer who created the interior of Paris’ Buddha Bar. The owner is Miguel Castro e Silva, one of Portugal’s most acclaimed chefs, here presenting a menu of contemporary Portuguese and international cuisine. The prices are not the cheapest in the city, but the top quality of the food and the sophistication of the space and service certainly justify them.

MANIFESTO
Another star chef with a new restaurant is Luis Baena, a talent developed next to some of the world’s biggest culinary names such as Paul Bocuse. His restaurant is in the Santos Design District and has a fitting interior revealing a stylish pop/Warholian look. The creative menu is whatever the chef is inspired to prepare, but always blending his Portuguese and international know-how.

PORTAS DO SOL CAFÉ
One of Lisbon’s most beautiful viewpoints is now even more attractive since the opening of Portas do Sol Café. It’s on the terrace of the same name and serves light meals to the beat of a cool, chill-out soundtrack during the day, and drinks to the sounds of live DJs on Friday and Saturday nights. But here’s a warning: the views and ambience will make it hard to leave.

ROSSIO WINE BAR
End your day with a glass of Portuguese wine as you overlook the bustling Rossio Square from the windows of this new bar inside the renovated Internacional Design Hotel. Or you may choose a cocktail instead, either before or after dinner, as the hotel’s restaurant is right on the other side of the room. The menu spans all continents and uses organic products.

TEASE
The coolest shopping street of Lisbon’s Bairro Alto district now has an equally cool café for you to take a break. The big “tease” here are the cupcakes, which are irresistible as soon as you set your eyes on them. In a city so rich in pastries, cupcakes are only now becoming popular, and that’s in no small part thanks to the “Sex and the City” series. The interior is small but decorated in such a glamorous pink/red-hot style that Carrie Bradshaw would certainly approve. Whether or not “Tease” achieves the success of New York’s “Magnolia” with long lines at the door only time will tell, but considering that one of the owners is also behind one of the city’s hottest cocktail bars (Cinco Lounge, recommended in UCityGuides’ Lisbon bars guide), you can say this has a recipe for success.

-See the complete Lisbon 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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TOP 10 MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES IN THE WORLD

-See the complete Lisbon city guide.
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Travelers from around the world have voted in the last few months and have finally decided which are the ultimate urban creations of all time:

GRACHTENGORDEL CANALS, AMSTERDAM
The monumental result of 17th century urban planning that created one of the most pleasant and beautiful cities in the world.

PASSEIG DE GRACIA, BARCELONA
With a concentration of the most unconventional architecture and remarkable designs in the world, this is arguably the world’s most stunning boulevard.

BRASILIA
An entire city completely designed in innovative contemporary architecture where buildings are sculptures, most of them created by one single architect. A unique, monumentally modernist city.

STRØGET, COPENHAGEN
The longest pedestrian shopping area in Europe is the perfect example of how a city’s better quality of life is in part thanks to its pedestrianized centers.

BAIXA, LISBON
Before Haussmann’s Paris there was Pombal’s Lisbon, a grid of broad streets lined with earthquake-resistant buildings that was the world’s first prefabricated and anti-seismic system for large-scale construction, and Europe’s first great example of neoclassical design and urban planning.

THE WHITE CITY, TEL AVIV
Home to the largest concentration of Bauhaus buildings in the world, this is an outstanding example of 20th century town planning and architecture. It is an unique urban center unlike any other in the world, where planners carefully considered residential, environmental, commercial, and cultural needs to assure a high quality of life.

OLD TOWN, WARSAW
An extraordinary example of restoring centuries of history, culture, and heritage, brick by brick.

-See all the nominees and get more details here: 7 Urban Wonders of the World.
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Tel Aviv beach

1. Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro
   Not only is Rio de Janeiro blessed with some of the world’s most dramatically gorgeous scenery, it also offers some of the most beautiful beaches together with urban pleasures. While Copacabana may be the most famous of all its beaches, and Leblon an increasingly attractive beach and neighborhood for sunseekers, it is in Ipanema that you’ll find the best of the city. Its golden sands are filled with flawlessly-sculpted bodies playing sports, jogging, or getting wet in the Atlantic, and that’s just the beginning of a day and night of posing and partying. Cross the avenue and you’ll find some of Rio’s best restaurants, or simply enjoy an açai juice or caipirinha at a cafe. Sitting on the sand or from a cafe table, take some time to admire the majestic peaks in the distance, the body-conscious strollers on the wave-patterned boardwalk, and soak up the sensual atmosphere all around.
2. Tel Aviv
   Tayelet (“Promenade” in Hebrew) is Tel Aviv’s sandy Mediterranean coastline lined with beach cafes and hotels. Often the site of parties and beautiful sunsets, it’s the city’s most irresistible area, the place everyone flocks to after a stroll down the trendy Sheinkin Street. After a day under the Mediterranean sun, the bronzed bodies clean themselves up under the freshwater showers and move on to Tel Aviv Port, a sleek seafront promenade that is a hot nighttime destination. It is actually an attractive spot at any time of the day, from brunch to evening jazz performance, especially on Shabbat.
3. Miami Beach, Miami
   In no other city in the world is the beach the main attraction. In Miami, it is the reason it receives so many tourists, curious about experiencing its parade of steroids, silicone, and sand-and-sun worshipers. When you finally take a break from that, the many cafes in the Art Deco District are another distraction, although the year-round heat will soon take you back to the ocean and eye candy. Miami is the ultimate see-and-be-seen destination, and the people-watching continues beyond the beach. The flashy clubs are for a night before another day at the palm-studded beach, and the joys of a flamboyant urban resort life.
4. Barceloneta, Barcelona
   An already exciting city can only get better with a beachfront. So when the Olympics came to Barcelona in 1992, its Mediterranean coastline got a makeover, and the result is Barceloneta Beach. Flashy hotels and restaurants have opened by this new sandy attraction, and it’s now a magnet for the city’s coolest crowds at any time of the day and night. That means you can work on your tan during the day, and later show it off at the clubs of any part of town. You can actually walk to the center of the city, strolling down a walkway lined with palm trees, cafes, and some exciting modern landmarks such as Frank Gehry’s 200-foot-long sculpture of a fish.
5. Venice Beach, Los Angeles
   L.A.’s bohemian beach is packed with bodybuilders, tattooed bodies, and all kinds of eclectic groups in its golden sands full of palm trees. In between them are rollerbladers, green lawns, galleries, cafes, and surf shops on the must-stroll Ocean Front Walk facing the beach. Venice Beach is a paradise for people-watching and by far the most interesting beach in Los Angeles, and arguably the most beautiful. Observe the human and natural spectacles and you’ll have a picture of what Los Angeles is all about.
6. Bondi Beach, SYDNEY
   Just as famous as Sydney’s Opera House are the city’s beaches, with waters always taken over by surfers and dolphins. Within minutes from the center of the city you’ll be stepping on golden sand, and the exact place to head to is Bondi Beach. It’s a crescent of sand faced by a variety of shops, often packed by sun and wave seekers. It’s a world-class surfing destination with a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere and a melting pot of crowds, from rich to poor, from young to old.
7. Tamariz, Lisbon
   Take the train from Lisbon’s central Cais do Sodré station to the seaside town of Cascais and you’ll be taken on a waterfront ride through a number of urban beaches. Step off the train in Estoril, just after the city’s Tagus River becomes the Atlantic, and stay laying on Tamariz Beach. Facing it from across the road is Europe’s largest casino, while standing above the sand is a castle belonging to the royal family of Monaco. Those were built when this coast was a haven for exiled royalty and European nobility during World War II, and the place still retains a certain faded glamour. On the sand you’ll be competing for space with crowds from Lisbon, its suburbs, and tourists on the hottest days, and for a refreshing drink or a meal, there are a number of bars facing the ocean. On summer months, this beach is a summer club at night, with tanned bodies dancing and drinking the night away.

Ipaneama Beach, Rio de Janeiro

Tamariz Beach, Lisbon

Venice Beach, Los Angeles

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Lisbon is preparing itself to become a major design destination. Its Santos Design District is slowly becoming an attractive neighborhood for the design-savvy, the ExperimentaDesign biennial returns later this year, and today it’s opening its Design and Fashion Museum. Referred to as MUDE, the museum is an expanded reincarnation of a design museum that opened in the city in 1999 but that closed in 2006 to make space for the Berardo Museum of modern and contemporary art. It’s reopening in a building formerly used as a bank’s headquarters in the city’s main pedestrian street downtown, and although the entire collection won’t be shown until next year, a major exhibition appropriately titled “Preview” will already be on display on the ground floor from now until October of this year.

This first exhibition presents innovative 20th century design and fashion pieces, with fashion being especially highlighted as it’s the first time that the collection is publicly displayed. It was assembled by Portuguese businessman Francisco Capelo, and wasn’t part of the previous design museum, forcing the addition of fashion to the museum’s name. So you’ll also see works by Droog Design, Russel Wright, Le Corbusier, and Charles & Ray Eames together with those of Vivienne Westwood, Yves Saint Laurent, and John Galliano among the 170 pieces that make up this inaugural exhibition in a space purposely left unrenovated. The interior still has an industrial/building site look, making the design and fashion pieces truly stand out. Later this year the upper floor will show more works, and there will be two other thematic exhibitions (the remaining five floors will be opening throughout 2010). Right now everything is displayed chronologically, showing the evolution of design innovation from the 1930s to the present, with the design and fashion pieces placed together to emphasize the relation between them.
Among the highlights is a strapless Jean-Paul Gaultier dress made of denim and ostrich feathers, and videos showing some of the displayed objects in use such as Hans Wegner’s 1949 classic chair in the Kennedy-Nixon presidential debate.
During this first month admission will be free, and the second exhibition opens already in June, showing political posters from around the world to highlight the importance of their design in building an image for Lenin, Che, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Barack Obama among others.

-See the complete Lisbon city guide.
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Altis Belem | Lisbon
Finally Lisbon’s new hotels are not opening in the business districts uptown, but in the city’s historical areas by the river. The new Altis Belem Hotel is found on the riverfront between the Discoveries Monument and Belem Tower, and although it’s only been open for a couple of weeks, its café with wonderful river views is already quite popular. At the restaurant you’ll be served Portuguese cuisine by a Michelin-starred chef, and the BSpa includes a gym, sauna, massage treatments, and both an interior and outdoor pool. The 45 rooms and five suites overlook the Tagus and are named after the territories explored by the Portuguese explorers who departed from this very spot.

Betsey Hotel | Miami
On April 1st, Miami’s landmark Betsey Ross Hotel officially reopened after a major makeover. Gone is the Ross in the name, and the new Betsey Hotel includes the BLT Steak restaurant with Laurent Tourondel as the acclaimed chef to draw the crowds, and a “safari-chic” décor to grab guests’ attention. The new high-tech interior includes televisions imbedded in the bathroom mirrors, while on the rooftop is a solarium with an ocean view — the perfect place to relax after a day at the beach or a treatment at the full-service spa.

Thompson LES | New York
New York’s Lower East Side has become an increasingly popular destination to go out at night, but has never attracted hip boutique hotels. That will surely change after the recent opening of Thompson LES, a hotel whose Chinese restaurant and lounge will surely attract those Lower East Side night owls. Then there’s Above Allen, the open-air bar with a retractable roof, and not only will this be the major new hotspot in the neighborhood, but also in all of Manhattan. The rooms aren’t exactly large, but they’re flawlessly designed, as you’d expect in a Thompson hotel.

Art Plus | Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv’s hotels are finally opening themselves up to a more discerning traveler who prefers places with the style and character not always found at big chain hotels. The latest one is Art Plus, formerly called Top Hotel and renamed following renovations that lasted until late 2008. The interior now features Israeli art in a gallery, and includes murals by local artists on every floor and video art in the lobby. The furnishings are modern but in retro style, while the breakfast room offers art books and magazines. After a day at the beach nearby, it is also possible to go up to the rooftop sundeck to watch the sun set over the Mediterranean.

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