Last year we
wrote
about the massive reconstruction project in the
Quartier des Spectacles
- namely, a new plaza for the yearly Jazz Festival and similar events. One year has passed and the project bore its first visible (or, rather, walkable) fruit.
The $40-million Place des Festivals plaza was unveiled last month with an inaugural show featuring fluttering multi-colored water jets (a rather expensive spectacle, opined some local journalists) and packs of awe-stricken tourists enjoying the last warm days of Montreal's short summer.
Having snubbed the inauguration festivities, I went by with my camera to take a look a few days later...
Next week not one, but two of Madrid's most prominent symbols are going to disappear from its central square. One is the statue of a bear licking (or sniffing) a tree (el oso y el madroño) currently installed a few steps from the Puerta del Sol. The other one, which we wrote about last year, is the Tío Pepe sign perched atop one of the building surrounding the plaza.
The LA Times reports and the NYPL confirms the opening of another
Wi-Fi hot spot at the library's main building on Fifth Avenue.
Now, visitors with laptops can go online at the Edna Barnes Salomon Room
(Room 316), in addition to the Bill Blass Catalog Room (315), the Rose Main
Reading Room and the DeWitt Wallace Periodicals Room (108).
Starting this month, diners in Paris and, more generally, in continental France, will see the sales tax (TVA) on their meals lowered from 19.6% to 5.5%. This Brussels-endorsed measure is supposed to stave off restaurant closings in France which have been become rampant in recent years, and create new employment in the industry. And, obviously, make dining more affordable to both French citizens and tourists.
But things are never quite simple in France: the discount rate doesn't apply to everything and the restaurants are not obligated to lower the final price on every single item on the menu. Read on for details and examples...
With only a minimal delay, Le Westin Montréal by Starwood opened
this month in the Quartier International, right next
to the Palais des Congrès. The hotel appears to be
a solid, reasonably stylish choice for business visitors,
although some PR claims do seem a bit exaggerated...
The moment has finally come! After many months in the making, the much-talked-about Montreal public bike rental system, Bixi, has launched. Over the past few weeks the city has installed a number of automated
bike rental stations
and launched a web site allowing users to see availabilities in real
time (both the number of available bikes and available docking slots).
Although the system is geared mainly towards residents of the city,
tourists can take advantage of it as well, with monthly and even daily
tariffs available.
The mayor of Lisbon announced the beginning of a 700 million euro renovation of the historic neighborhood of Baixa. The central Lisbon neighborhood, built after the 1755 earthquake, consists mostly of 4-to-5-story neo-classical walk-up buildings.
Once considered one of Europe's most elegant districts, Baixa has been on the decline for decades. Over half of its residents have left since the 1950's.
Last year we
Next week not one, but two of Madrid's most prominent symbols are going to disappear from its central square. One is the statue of a bear licking (or sniffing) a tree (el oso y el madroño) currently installed a few steps from the Puerta del Sol. The other one, which we wrote about last year, is the Tío Pepe sign perched atop one of the building surrounding the plaza.
After two years of construction, Le Bristol, one of the swankiest hotels of Paris, will open a new wing with 26 rooms, 5 suites and a new restaurant.
The LA Times reports and the NYPL confirms the opening of another
Wi-Fi hot spot at the library's main building on Fifth Avenue.
Starting this month, diners in Paris and, more generally, in continental France, will see the sales tax (TVA) on their meals lowered from 19.6% to 5.5%. This Brussels-endorsed measure is supposed to stave off restaurant closings in France which have been become rampant in recent years, and create new employment in the industry. And, obviously, make dining more affordable to both French citizens and tourists.
With only a minimal delay, Le Westin Montréal by Starwood opened
this month in the Quartier International, right next
to the Palais des Congrès. The hotel appears to be
a solid, reasonably stylish choice for business visitors,
although some PR claims do seem a bit exaggerated...
The moment has finally come! After many months in the making, the much-talked-about Montreal public bike rental system, Bixi, has launched. Over the past few weeks the city has installed a number of automated
bike rental stations
and launched a web site allowing users to see availabilities in real
time (both the number of available bikes and available docking slots).
The mayor of Lisbon announced the beginning of a 700 million euro renovation of the historic neighborhood of Baixa. The central Lisbon neighborhood, built after the 1755 earthquake, consists mostly of 4-to-5-story neo-classical walk-up buildings.
