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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or check out UCityGuides.com Hotels – Design, Boutique, Luxury, Cheap Hotels

Below are Brasilia’s government buildings as well as its stunning cathedral, pure sculptures that have turned the city into a bold metropolis that’s now being discovered by architourists.

All photos are by Marcio Cabral, Brasilia.

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or check out UCityGuides.com Hotels – Design, Boutique, Luxury, Cheap Hotels

Hotels are lowering their rates in order to attract at least the same number of guests as last year, and to guarantee a good price (and a good hotel) you should book your room now. Many travelers reach those hotels on low-cost flights, but for them to actually be low-cost, they must be booked months in advance. Then there’s deciding where to go: Since summer vacation also means more than just the typical city break, travelers often take the opportunity to see more than one destination, with many of them concentrating on several attractions in one country. Spain and Italy have spectacular villages, towns, and scenery to explore outside their major cities, and many visitors choose to discover them at their own pace by renting a car. Again, the best deals for the right car are found now and not when you arrive, when there will be more demand, fewer options, and higher prices.

Summer also means beach, so why not discover the Costa del Sol on a trip to Seville? You’d also be able to visit spectacular Granada and Cordoba, and the soulful villages of Andalucia. How about spending days in the warm Mediterranean while experiencing urban pleasures, as can only be found in Tel Aviv? You can then also drive to Jerusalem, making it a guaranteed rewarding summer vacation. Then there’s also Athens, a thriving city with ancient wonders that’s just a ferry ride away from the fabulous Greek islands…

You can also find out which events are planned for the summer in most destinations right now. You’ll notice that on most of our city guides we have a “Concerts & Events” link, and that’s where you should check what’s already scheduled for that particular destination, allowing you to plan your dates according to an event you may want to see.

Where and when you choose to go is up to you, and UCityGuides.com has the ultimate urban guides telling you what not to miss. How much you spend doing it all is also up to you, and how early you start planning it can actually help you benefit from these poor economic times.

-Check Hotel Prices
-Check Car Rental Prices

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Back to UCityGuides.com – The Ultimate City Guides
or check out UCityGuides.com Hotels – Design, Boutique, Luxury, Cheap Hotels

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.

The new year will bring a new kind of travel guides catering to today’s modern traveler. With new travel deals, low cost airlines, and a globalized world, people are now traveling more and for different reasons. There are short city breaks, business trips, or long vacations. Even if you choose a beach resort or a rural escape, you almost always pass by a major city on your way there and take some time to experience a little of it. You look for a central hotel offering more than just a bed to lie on, you search for a restaurant that can offer a memorable meal, and want to know which attractions are so outstanding and different that you should not miss before a night out on the town. The modern traveler doesn’t simply look at monuments, he or she wants to experience and live a city in a short period of time. While there are now many guidebooks available at the bookstore or online, the more urbane and discerning traveler needs to look at different sources before finding what he or she is looking for. Not anymore. With UCityGuides.com the very best of the world’s most exciting cities is presented clearly, going straight to what is important. It selects only what is worth finding, and that includes the most characterful neighborhoods, street life, the ideal hotels that meet your personal tastes and needs, and the coolest addresses of the moment. New York, Paris, Rome, and Lisbon are already fully available, while the total of almost three dozen cosmopolitan destinations will be complete in the new year. In the meantime, get the most of your urban experiences, and in 2009 when you think of traveling to a city, think of UCityGuides.com.

UCityGuides Travel News Blog is coming in January of 2009.
The latest happenings in the world’s major cities, including newest hotels, best restaurants, coolest bars, clubs, shops, gay attractions, and more.