The island is inhabited by some 8,000 people, amongst which there is a steadily growing community of expatriates from such countries as Great-Britain, America, France, Germany Holland & Switzerland to name but a few. Some have set up in business, whilst others have simply fallen in love with the island and have made it their home, Carriacou is well know by the international yachting fraternity, and some of those who have visited the island just decided to stay. The official language spoken is English, however, Creole-English (a colourful mixture of African, English and French.) is widely spoken. The islands where discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1498 on his third voyage. They were still inhabited by the indigenous Carib Indians, and was first colonized by British merchants in 1609.These islands where fought over by the British and French, changing hands on more than one occasion, before final cession to the British in 1763. Visitors are welcome to visit the island's museum in Hillsborough where they can view artifacts from archeological digs around the island.

Florence (Firenze in Italian) is the capital of the region of Tuscany, on Italy's northwest coast. Florence is a small city, located in the Arno River valley, and surrounded by olive-planted hills on the north and south. It extends west and slightly east along the Arno valley with suburbs and light industry. The centro storico (historic center), where visitors spend most of their time, is a tight tangle of medieval streets and piazze (squares). Most of Florence, and the majority of the tourist sites, lie north of the river, with a vintage artisan's working-class neighborhood wedged in between the Arno and the hills on the south side. The center is encircled by a traffic ring of wide boulevards, known as the Viali, that were created in the late 1800s by tearing down the city's medieval walls. Since the 14th century the cultural heart of the city has been the Piazza della Signoria with the Palazzo Vecchio (Town Hall), the Uffizi Gallery and a large number of publicly displayed world famous sculptures. Italy's early history was that of as a group of city-states constantly fighting each other. In the Renaissance period Florence was one of the most powerful and influential of those states. The wealthy and powerful de' Medici family ruled the city almost continuously from 1434 to 1743 and had a great influence on the architecture and arts. They built an abundance of palaces all over the city and commissioned such artists as Michelangelo to design and decorate these and other buildings. Florence is called the capital of arts. From the 13th to the 16th century it was a seemingly endless source of creative masterpieces and Italian genius. Both Dante and Michelangelo were born there. Boccaccio wrote his 'Decameron' in Florence. The Italian Renaissance (Europe's richest cultural period ) began in Florence when the artist Brunelleschi finished the Duomo, the cathedral, with the huge dome. Florence is also a city of incomparable indoor pleasures. Its chapels, galleries and museums are an inexhaustible treasure, capturing the complex, often elusive spirit of the Renaissance more fully than any other place in the country. Florence became the center of artistic patronage in Italy under the Medici family, whose members made their fortunes in banking and ruled the city as an independent state for almost three centuries. Lorenzo de' Medici, known as "Il Magnifico" held fiercely onto Florentine independence in the face of papal resentment. Later, in the late eighteenth century, Florence fell under Austrian and then French rule, and in the nineteenth century was for a short time the capital of the kingdom of Italy. The story of Florence since then has been less colorful. The city survived bombing by the Nazis as they retreated during the second World War, and a major flood in 1966. Through it all, the monuments and paintings of the city's Renaissance years were preserved and are the basis of its survival. Florence is a walking city. Visitors can take a leisurely stroll between the two most often visited sights, the Duomo and the Uffizi, in less than five minutes. The walk from the most northerly point, San Marco with its Fra' Angelico frescoes and the Accademia with Michelangelo's David, to the most southerly, the Pitti Palace across the Arno, should take no more than 30 minutes. From Santa Maria Novella rail station across town to Santa Croce is an easy 20 to 30 minute walk. Most of the streets were designed to handle the moderate pedestrian traffic and occasional horse-drawn cart of a medieval city. Sidewalks, where they exist, are narrow; often less than two feet wide. Though much of the centro storico is supposedly closed to traffic, taxis, residents with parking permits, people without permits who drive there anyway, and the endless stream of noisy motorini (mopeds) still enter, drive and park. Planning is extremely important when visiting Florence. Most visitors come to the city with a common purpose: to spend hours viewing and absorbing the beauty and wonder of Florentine works of art and architecture. However, trying to pack too much into a single, brief visit can result in cultural overload. Florence is not the choice of those seeking a seaside resort or a holiday with small children. Older children, well disciplined, and well prepared, can benefit from accompanying their parents on a tour of the museums, palaces, and churches, but interest for most youngsters will rapidly wane in the crush of crowds and intense heat of the small city. Adult tempers will fray as well. Boboli Gardens can provide a respite from the heat and activity, but the landscaped grounds of the Pitti Palace are designed to rest the eyes and delight the imagination. It is not primarily a playground. Festivals, shopping, feasts for the senses along every street, in every square, and in every museum: these are the gifts Florence offers to the visitor. Tuscany is known for its fine culinary traditions - in particular, its olive oil, meat dishes and classic Chianti. Restaurants of every type, offering bills of fare ranging from fast food to world-class cuisine abound, and there are clusters of little cafés in every neighborhood. Tuscan food is simple and excellent with a variety of bean dishes, soups, pork dishes, grilled meats and vegetables. Fine Tuscan wines accompany the meal. The Tuscan economy is rooted in craft traditions. The top designers of Milan use the textile factories of Florence for the execution of their designs. Gold working has been perfected over the centuries in workshops near the Ponte Vecchio, where jewelry is produced that is sold throughout Europe. Visitors will find a beautiful assortment of leather goods, including shoes, as well. Marbled paper, handmade perfumes and toiletries, decorative ceramic pieces, and sculpture are also locally produced.

Halifax, Nova Scotia is a modern port city teeming with culture and heritage and the perfect place for your next holiday vacation. The entire Halifax region delights visitors and citizens alike with its impressive array of entertainment, museums, galleries, historic sites, fine restaurants, colourful gardens and lively nightlife. Through our 188 communities, explore charming seaside towns, sun-drenched beaches, sparkling coves and miles of rugged shoreline guarded by graceful lighthouses. Imagine the vivacity of city living, the charms of small town life and the pristine beauty of nature - all in one place!

The City of Kingston is renowned as the fresh-water sailing capital of North America and prides itself in being a major port for scenic entertainment cruises of the breathtaking Thousand Islands. Culture and the arts abound, along with fabulous shopping, dining and outdoor recreational experiences. From dawn until dusk and beyond, you'll be amazed at what Kingston has to offer. Kingston has been shaped by a powerful sense of geography. The City was built at a watery cross roads, where the southernmost end of the Rideau Canal meets Lake Ontario at the source of the St. Lawrence River and the western gateway to the Thousand Islands. The City's strategic location provided prosperity through shipbuilding and national defense during the 1800s. Kingston was the first capital of the united Upper and Lower Canadas before the National Seat of Government was moved to Ottawa in the 1840s. From displays of woodworking tools to infamous penitentiary inmates to military and technological advances, each of Kingston's seventeen museums is unique in its contribution to the story of the City and the founding of a nation. Fort Henry, a majestic 19th Century British Military Fortress, features performances by the famous Fort Henry Guard, complete with canon fire, guns, and the music of the fife and drum. It is one of Kingston's greatest historical treasures. Visitors can also experience "History through Food" at the Barrack's Banquet, featuring authentic feasts from the 1860s and service fit for an Officer of the Queen's Royal Military. Fort Henry proudly presents the spectacular Sunset Ceremonies, complete with fireworks finale, every Wednesday evening throughout July and August. Bellevue House, deemed a National Historic Site, features interpreters in period costume welcoming visitors to the home of Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. Discover Canada's nautical heritage at the Marine Museum of the Great Lakes . Explore fascinating exhibits at the Correctional Service of Canada Museum located in the home formerly used by the warden of Kingston Penitentiary. Get acquainted with Kingston's gothic side with the lantern lit Haunted Walks of Kingston. Visitors can enjoy an historic one hour tour of the "Limestone City" aboard the Confederation Tour Trolley, including the campus of Queen's University, one of Canada's oldest learning institutions. Kingston's unique heritage and personality are not defined by museums alone. They are present in every stone, brick and timber of its eclectic architecture... within the trees of its many parks and green spaces... upon the breezes as they rise over the sun-kissed waterfront... and in the hearts of its residents who delight in a wonderful lifestyle. Kingston exudes a special energy.

Situated provocatively on the Franco-German border, over the centuries, Strasbourg has been passed back and forward like a ping-pong ball between these two countries. Annexed to France in 1681, after centuries of self-rule, Strasbourg was subject to German control from 1871 until the end of World War I and again between 1940 and 1944. The result is a city and people with a strong and distinctive local identity, combining the reputed efficiency and work ethic of the Germans with the lightness and sophistication of the French. The name Strasbourg comes from Strateburgum, ‘the city of the roads’, because of its strategic geographical position on the west bank of the Rhine. Today, it could be called ‘the city of the trams’, due to an excellent and recently expanded network. The city was already a thriving commercial centre in the Middle Ages, when building began on the impressive Cathédrale Notre-Dame. Its intellectual and artistic heights were reached during the Renaissance. In 1566, the university was founded and leading figures of the Reformation settled in Strasbourg. Religious strife during the 16th and 17th centuries caused considerable upheaval, although the 1681 annexation of the city by France brought stability and enabled Strasbourg to reassert its economic strength. Its symbolic significance as a major European city was confirmed when it was chosen as the seat of the Council of Europe in 1949, the European Court of Human Rights in 1994 and the European Parliament, whose position was finally guaranteed in 1992. After Paris, Strasbourg is now France’s most important diplomatic town. Strasbourg is far enough away from the capital to be truly independent on a cultural level, with its own opera, France’s only national theatre outside Paris, two international music festivals and Europe’s only bi-national TV station, Arte. Its international student population, of some 50,000, keeps the city vibrant and intellectually alive. Strasbourg is host to the permanent campus of the International Space University (ISU) and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration (ENA), the prestigious French Grandes Ecoles that relocated to Strasbourg in 1992. The Grande Ile (Big Island) is the heart of the city, encircled by the Ill River and Fossé du Faux-Rempart canal. The dominant landmark in Strasbourg is the Cathédrale Notre-Dame in the Vieille Ville (Old Town). It has remained unchanged since the Middle Ages. Around the cathedral, an impressive collection of museums is clustered. The central square is place Kléber – named after the brilliant Strasbourg-born military officer, Jean-Baptiste Kléber (1753-1800), who was singled out by Napoleon Bonaparte for high office in Egypt. Close by, is place Gutenberg – named after Johannes Gutenberg, who resided in Strasbourg between 1434 and 44, perfecting his famed printing press with moveable metal type. The main streets – rue des grandes Arcades and the parallel rue des Francs Bourgeois – are remarkably small and pedestrian friendly. The Petite France area in the Grande Ile’s southwestern corner, crossed by canals, is Strasbourg’s medieval quarter and classed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Its half-timbered houses and narrow streets could not be more different from the ultra-modern City of Europe to the northeast of the city. Strasbourg enjoys the semi-continental climate of the Alsace region, with sunny, warm and dry conditions. Nevertheless, because of the traditional Christmas market – the peak tourist season extends from May right through to the end of December.